Slow Cooker Beef Stew
178 CommentsUpdated Apr 18, 2026
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If you are looking for thick Slow Cooker Beef Stew Recipe, look no further! This recipe is hearty and made from scratch with plenty of fresh vegetables.
Featured Comment
This was outstanding! Thank you for sharing! The whole house smelled wonderful and it tasted even better!
- mary
Though this slow cooker beef stew recipe has a few steps, you will have grandma-made traditional beef stew at the end of the day. This recipe will not disappoint; it is full of great flavor and nice and chunky. This easy recipe reminds me of a perfect comfort food pot roast dinner, with everything chopped to the perfect size, with gravy on it!
Key Ingredients
Beef:Find beef stew meat already cubed up; it is already the perfect size for beef stew. Or you can cut up a beef chuck roast or bottom round roast into cubes. Be sure to cut off the large pieces of gristle and fat.
Flour Coating: A combination of flour, salt, black pepper, dried thyme, and garlic powder is made and tossed with the beef cubes. This helps thicken the "gravy". Browning the meat adds a rich flavor to the stew.
Vegetables: Red potatoes, carrots, and onion. You can also add two celery ribs if desired. Frozen peas are added just before serving.
Broth: Beef broth or beef stock can be used in this dish. Don’t use water; it will dilute the flavor.
Tomato Paste: Beef stew has a slight tomato flavor, that is where the tomato paste comes into play. This thickens the stew as well.
How to Make Slow Cooker Beef Stew
- Brown floured beef to build a rich base.
- Deglaze the pan with broth, whisk in tomato paste to make a quick sauce.
- In the crockpot, layer potatoes, carrots, and onion; add the beef and pour the sauce over.
- Cook until tender, then stir in peas and get ready to eat!
Tips & Variations
- Additional Veggies: You can add sweet potatoes, corn, green beans, and even mushrooms if you desire! The flavors of the stew go well with just about any vegetable.
- Onion Soup Mix: Instead of adding salt to this recipe, add a packet of onion soup mix; this will add significant onion flavor.
- No potato stew: Out of potatoes? Don’t fret. Make this stew as directed, but without the potatoes. Instead, serve over steamed rice or egg noodles.
- Red Wine: You'll only want to add a 1/2 cup. Wine can be robust in slow cooker recipes. I suggest a red blend, Merlot, or Pinot Noir.
- Flour Substitute: Cornstarch: Mix 3 Tbsp cornstarch with 3 Tbsp cold water; stir into the broth at the start for a thicker gravy. Brown the beef as usual before adding.
- Worcestershire Sauce: Add one tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce to the stew for a rich depth of flavor.
How to serve Beef Stew
- Serve crock pot beef stew warm right out of the slow cooker. This recipe is great for potlucks or bringing a meal to a sick friend.
- Serve with dinner rolls or crusty bread, butter, and a side salad if desired. A glass of red wine is a great accompaniment to beef stew as well!
Does the meat need to be browned?
You can forgo browning the stew meat, though it adds more flavor to the stew if you do. If you don’t sear your meat, you’ll want to skip using flour, the flour will clump if added straight to the slow cooker. Instead, thicken the stew instead use cornstarch and cold water.
Storing Beef Stew
Store leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container. I don't recommend freezing beef stew with potatoes, for potatoes turn mealy after being thawed.
How to Video
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. stew meat, or 2 pounds any lean roast cut into 1-inch squares
- 1/2 cup flour
- 2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- 1 tsp. thyme
- cooking oil, about 2 tablespoons
- 28 oz. beef broth, (2 14 oz. cans)
- 6 oz. can tomato paste
- 1 1/2 lbs. red potatoes quartered or diced, cut into inch pieces - You can use yukon gold or russets if desired.
- 1 lb. bag baby carrots
- 1 white onion, diced
- 2 cups frozen peas, optional
Instructions
- Add the potatoes, carrots and onions to the slow cooker.
- Combine flour, salt, pepper, onion powder, and thyme in a big ziplock bag. Shake, then add the stew meat.
- Shake to coat the pieces evenly. (or this can be done in a large bowl)
- Brown the meat in the cooking oil on all sides, you don't need to cook the meat through. You may need to cook the meat in batches.
- De-glaze the pan with the beef broth. Add the tomato paste, scrape up any brown bits of meat and flour into the sauce. The sauce will thicken and will only take a few minutes.
- Add the meat and sauce to the slow cooker. Stir.
- Cook on low for 7 to 8 hours.
- Add peas at the end of cooking time. Put the lid back on and cook for 15 more minutes to thaw the peas. If the stew thickens too much after being stirred, add water.
- Season with additional salt and pepper if desired.
Nutrition
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
More soups and stews
Warm up with a bowl of Slow Cooker Brunswick Stew, Slow Cooker Tomato Soup, or Poor Man’s Stew—each one packed with comforting flavor. Try my Beef Stew with Dumplings, which is made from scratch.
If you're in the mood for something creamy or veggie-filled, try Slow Cooker Corn Chowder, Slow Cooker Chicken Stew, or classic Minestrone. For a rich, slow simmered dinner, you can’t go wrong with a pot of hearty Easy Crockpot Beef Bourguignon.
Stew is a perfect weekend recipe. You can make a big batch and eat the leftovers for lunch over the next few days. Also, try my Shipwreck Stew or Guinness beef stew.
Excellent flavor! I added 2 stalks celery, 2 bay leaves and 4 cloves of garlic, minced and cooked 3 1/2 hours on high (pinched for time). This will be my go-to beef stew recipe!
GF Could you use cornstarch instead?
I don’t see why not!
Does 1 beef bullion cube dissolved in 1 cup boiling water equal 1 10 oz can beef broth?
I believe 8 ounces is a cup, do you have a measuring cup with ounces? I’ve never done this recipe with boullion cubes. I would say probably 3 cubes for the 28 ounces of water.
Omg! This was so easy to make and so, so delicious! I used sweet potatoes instead and added 2 bay leaves and a splash of Worcestershire sauce. Will be making again. Thank you for the recipe!
I just made this. Followed the recipe exactly. Word for word. I thought it was horrible. All I could taste was thyme and it looked like mush. Help! What am I missing???
Did you use ground thyme? Or the leafy kind? I’m wondering if your crock pot cooks hot?
I used the McCormick Thyme. What I did notice after I posted my comment is, I only used 14oz of beef broth. That would have made it too strong and mushy wouldn’t it? You’ll have to excuse me, just started cooking recently. Lol. Think I’m gonna give this recipe another try with the correct amount of beef broth. ☺
I added brown ale to deglaze, garlic and worstershire sauce, it is cooking away and smells amazing!
I want to try this recipe & tend to add my own favorites. I like the idea of the Worcester but what is HP?
Cdndly, added 2Tbls of HP.
I have tried to think what it could be, I cook all the time but this on escapes me. Probably something easy I am sure.
Thanks, Lise
Hi Lise, I did some research, and I think HP is a sauce from UK. Like a steak sauce. I’ve never seen it in the states.
Thank you. I do have another question for you, though which, red wine would you suggest as a marinade for red meat before cooking. Do you have any recommendations for which, wine works best when soaking chicken or pork in
prior to cooking.
HP is a brown sauce, originating in Britain – the Brits call it ‘brown sauce’. You can find it in any grocery store in Ontario, Canada as well, on the shelf beside the ketchup & mustard. 🙂
My husband and I absolutely loved this! This is one of our favorite dishes. Thank you!
I found this recipe on Pinterest. I made it tonight and it is terrific. I love how there so much flavor. My sometimes finicky daughters love it too.
Going to have to try this soon, maybe for dinner tonight. I have some stew I need to use up anyways. Normally I cook it in my dutch oven but in the crock pot sounds even better.