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).
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.
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.
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Slow Cooker Poor Man’s Stew Recipe
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!
How to Video:
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 Information:
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
Connie says
This is very similar to a dish that my mother-in-law taught me many years ago that we call hamburger soup. The only difference is we use a jar of spaghetti sauce, and a little bit of water, (in place of the tomato paste), along with a can of corn. I’ve never tried it in the crockpot, though. What a great idea, Sarah! Thanks for making something we love to eat even more simple. Love this!
Sarah Olson says
That all sounds great, I will have to try it that way.
Carie says
That’s what I call goulash in our house. Really quick, easy & cheap.
shari says
can the leftovers be put into the freezer? if so how long.
thanks
Sarah Olson says
I have not tried, has anyone else?
Sandy Lang says
I’m sure they can. We have frozen soups and stews often and I bring them to work for lunch months later. This type of dish is a staple in our house and we are making this one tonight 🙂
Sandy
Phil says
This is just Scottish “mince” as they call it. Toss the tomato paste and use Bisto instead. Slow cooker is a new twist though. We make it on the stovetop in a pot, and have for decades. Lovely!
Sarah Olson says
Interesting! I’ve never heard of Bisto!
Maggie says
I have this in my slow cooker right now and it smells delicious! And as an added bonus, I spent less on mine than you did yours. I buy my ground beef in bulk and it ends up costing a little less than $2 a pound. I buy 10 pound bags of potatoes for $2.50, so the 1.5 pounds of potatoes were about $0.40. $0.88 for a pound of carrots and I used about $0.30 worth. The tomato paste was only $0.60. I had all the seasonings on hand (I just used onion powder instead of an actual onion because my husband hates the texture of onions) so I spent about $3.30! Can’t wait until this is ready.
Haley says
This looks like an awesome dinner idea–I’m looking to cook it for tonights dinner but do not have 6-7 hours; would you recommend putting the crock pot on high for 4 hours or is there a reason it needs to be on low?
Sarah Olson says
I think it will be fine on high.
Tiffany says
Thank you for this easy budget friendly recipe!!! I had everything on hand already and I used ground venison instead of beef (so that was free!!) I cooked my onion with the meat and I seasoned that with seasoned salt and pepper. I added celery in with the carrots and potatoes because I had it. I used ketchup instead of tomato paste and added onion soup mix with that the water and the other seasonings. It’s in the crockpot right now. I am cooking it on high with the hopes that it doesn’t take as long, as I didn’t get it going til later than I wanted to.
I’m very excited to try this!
DLD says
Thanks so much. I made this tonight and really enjoyed it. I couldn’t get my act together to do this in my slow cooker, so I did it in my pressure cooker. I just didn’t stir after adding the tomato mix (tomatos scorch under pressure). 13 minutes at high and fast release may have been too much, next time will try 10 minutes. Thanks again – so easy I will teach my 12 year old to prepare this.
Dani says
This is the best post I’ve ever stumbled upon! I love everything about it. The Princess Bride reference especially! One of the (many) reasons I knew my husband was the one was his ability to quote the movie to me at random moments. I’ve always wanted wanted to eat that stew from that moment! Your post just made my day!
Walter says
This came out excellent! Both cookers took 7 hrs for the carrots and potatoes to cook. Lots of juice. Great flavor. Definitely a keeper.
Walter says
Oh. I forgot. A can of baby corn, and low sodium beef broth.
Walter says
O.K. Didn’t work. Next best thing. I’ve doubled the recipe, and am making this in two 6 Qt. Slow Cookers. My sons birthday today. We got him a Slow Cooker. So I am making this in his Cooker and the same in my Cooker. For some reason, his Cooker holds more than mine.
Lets see…1-1/2 lbs. ground beef, 2 lbs. potatoes, 4 carrots, 8 oz. sliced mushrooms, fried. 6 oz. whole green beans, 6 oz. squash, small green pepper, 1 can, Cream of Mushroom soup. I had cabbage, but I forgot. Each Cooker took the same amount of food. Now I’ll see which one can cook this in 6-1/2 hrs. Have to add more meat next time.
Walter says
What are my chances of doubling this recipe and stuffing it in a 6 Qt. Slow Cooker. I also have turnips, green beans, squash, and peas i’m hoping to fit.
Sarah Olson says
Hi Walter. I don’t think it would fit, but it would be a chance to make it your own and add all that you want to fit! Add extra sauce ingredients and seasonings and cook a bit longer than the recipe says. Oh and add the peas right before serving. They thaw out in less than a minute in the hot stew.