Slow Cooker Poor Man’s Stew
429 Comments Nov 14, 2022
Updated Mar 31, 2025
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Slow Cooker Poor Man’s Stew is made from scratch with ground beef to save money. A very hearty meal with minimal effort or money. This budget friendly ground beef stew can’t be beaten.
We love easy stew recipes like this one, Shipwreck Stew or A-1 Beef Stew, for an easy, hearty dinner.
When I first published this recipe in 2015, I made this entire Poor Man’s Stew for $6.24. Nowadays, the price of groceries is much higher than that. But you can still make an economical meal using fresh vegetables and ground beef.
I put ground beef, russet potatoes, carrots, onions, a garlic clove, tomato paste, water, and seasonings in my slow cooker and simmered it all day to make this Hearty Poor Man’s Stew. A great Sunday dinner recipe or for when you are even camping!
The inspiration for this hamburger stew came from my favorite old movie, The Princess Bride. I made a stew similar to the one seen in the movie where Fezzic (Andre the Giant) hand-fed Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin) a hearty stew trying to get him sober, so they could find and save Westley (Carey Elwes). You may also like my Slow Cooker Camp Stew Recipe!
What makes this meal budget friendly ?
- Fresh vegetables – I bought just what I needed for this recipe though you can buy bulk bags of gold potatoes (or russet potatoes), carrots, onion, and garlic, and your price will go down per serving.
- Look for ground beef in a roll (called a chub); it’s almost always cheaper than beef in trays. If you have leftover slow cooker ground beef, be sure to use that!
- Dried spices are always cheaper than fresh and last for years; for other recipes, I use onion powder, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.
- I use water instead of beef broth in this recipe to cut the cost, though beef broth can be used if desired.
- For the tomato flavor, a cheap can of tomato paste is used.
- {The full Recipe is in the recipe card below the photos}
Step-by-Step Directions
Step One – Brown ground beef in a skillet on the stove-top; drain fat. Add the meat to the crock pot and the potatoes, onions, carrots, and garlic.
Step Two -Whisk together the tomato paste, water, salt, pepper, onion powder, and Italian seasoning in a small bowl.
Step Three – Pour this mixture over everything in the slow cooker. Stir.
Step Four – Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on low for 7-8 hours or until the potatoes are tender. Serve in bowls and enjoy!
Variations
- More Vegetables – Add sweet potatoes, frozen peas, and canned green beans.
- Tomato Soup – Instead of adding tomato paste, use a condensed tomato soup for more flavor.
- Flavor enhancers – Add Worcestershire sauce or hot sauce for a kick of flavor. You can also add a pack of taco seasoning instead of the recipe seasonings.
- Toppings – To serve this crockpot poor mans stew, you may want to add some toppings such as shredded cheddar cheese, diced onion, or crushed saltine crackers.
- Bread – Don’t go out and buy special bread for this meal. It’s terrific with buttered sandwich bread as a side.
Recipe FAQs
You can use ground turkey, ground chicken, or ground sausage (basically any ground meat). Or you can use what traditional beef stew call for, which is beef stew meat.
If you have leftovers, store them in an airtight container for up to three days in the fridge, which will last a few months in the freezer.
More stew recipes you’ll want to try!
Slow Cooker Poor Man’s Stew Recipe
How to Video
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground beef, browned and drained
- 1 ½ lbs russet or gold potatoes, peeled and diced large
- 3 carrots, sliced thick
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 garlic clove, minced (or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder)
- 6 oz. can tomato paste
- 2 cups water
- 1 tsp. salt
- ¼ tsp. pepper
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- 2 tsp. Italian seasoning, (or oregano)
Instructions
- Add the cooked ground beef, potatoes, carrots, onions, and garlic to a 5-quart or larger slow cooker.
- In a small bowl whisk together the tomato paste, water, salt, pepper, onion powder and Italian seasoning. Pour this mixture over everything in the slow cooker. Stir.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 7-8 hours, without opening the lid during the cooking time.
- Serve with buttered sandwich bread or rolls and Enjoy!
Sarah’s Notes
- You can use ground turkey, ground chicken, or ground sausage (basically any ground meat). Or you can use what traditional beef stew call for, which is beef stew meat.
- If you have leftovers, store them in an airtight container for up to three days in the fridge, which will last a few months in the freezer.
- More Vegetables – Add sweet potatoes, frozen peas, and canned green beans.
- Tomato Soup – Instead of adding tomato paste, use a condensed tomato soup for more flavor.
- Flavor enhancers – Add Worcestershire sauce or hot sauce for a kick of flavor. You can also add a pack of taco seasoning instead of the recipe seasonings.
- Toppings – To serve this crockpot poor mans stew, you may want to add some toppings such as shredded cheddar cheese, diced onion, or crushed saltine crackers.
Nutrition
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
Since I didn’t want to dirty a pan just to transfer contents to my Crock Pot, I did the entire recipe on my stovetop and used ground turkey. I used (2) 14 oz. cans of reduced sodium beef broth instead of water. Other than browning the meat with the onion and adding garlic, it was just a dump, stir, and simmer recipe and smelled so good while simmering. I did add a handful of green peas at the last minute and used a slurry of cornstarch and water to thicken it. The tomato paste adds enough salt that no extra is needed. I added pepper and parsley at the last minute. Served this with a loaf of crusty French bread. Wonderful on a cold day.
I have been eating that soup for 70 years. My mom would thicken it with flour and water. Comfort food for sure .
love the resapeae for your nochoes
I have been making this recipe for a while, and my family enjoys it. However, my husband is a recently diagnosed type two diabetic, while the nutrition information is appreciated, it would be very helpful to know what the serving size is. While I know the recipe does say it is five servings. What size are those servings? Having to figure out myself while recovering from my own health issues, it’s just another thing that makes dinner a little more difficult.
Do you perchance know what the measurement of the serving size is?
I do not measure, I apologize!
I made this today. Loosely followed the recipe but did double check for the spices I was supposed to use. I made it on the stove top in about an hour with precooked ground beef. It was good just missing….something. Some kind of spice was missing for our taste. I did add a ton more water and added one can of mild rotel, one small can of drained corn and two knorr tomato cubes for extra flavor. Not sure what it’s missing but I’d definitely make this again to see if I can make it tastier next time.
This was just ok. I needed to add a lot more salt. I don’t think I’d make it again but it was easy.
I’ve made this recipe a few times over the last 2 years. My teen daughters really enjoy it. Especially on cold winter days.
I use beer broth instead of water and a little extra garlic as we are garlic lovers here.
Very good taste! A couple of things that went wrong – not enough liquid and too long of cooking time. Our crock pot might be a bit large for this recipe which I will make a note of next time.
I love this recipe! I’m lazy, so I use canned vegetables. I double the salt, because my husband and I prefer it with more, and I do add about a tbsp Worcester sauce. Sometimes I’ll cook up some pearl couscous or acini de pepe pasta to add as well. As it is, though, it’s great too. That makes it an excellent staple because I can switch it up occasionally!
Can you cook this on the stove top? it sounds and looks good but I hate my crook pot haha
I am sure you can, you would need to add additional liquid though.
I made this today for a second time, I used boneless skinless chicken thighs & the end result.. .deeeelicious! A great simple, no fuss recipe so thankyou!