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.
This sounds like the perfect “warm your bones” kinda meal. I plan to make this at the end of the week for a rainy day and serve it with French bread and a compound butter of garlic and herbs. I would like to put it in the crockpot when I leave the house at 6am so that it will be ready at 1pm when my husband gets up to get ready for his second shift job. Do you think it would be ok to cook off the beef, deglaze the pan and add it all to the crockpot (over the vegetables) refrigerate over night and then pop it in the base to cook the next morning? I’m trying to avoid busting out pots and pans before school/work and while he’s just went to bed. Thanks for the recipe!
Yes, will work fine!
Proper irish stew would have lamb meat, i dont like lamb myself, i and others i know use mince and beef together, i always make my stew day before as its more tasty next day, to heat next day im not great fan of microwaves so i put just enough in small pot on hob very low, sometimes we like a drop of HP brown sauce in it, would’nt fancy the mushrooms myself.
Watery watery watery. Panicked & added 1/4 cup flour mixed with with 1/4 cup waster. Still watery. Followed recipe to the letter. Now what?
I don’t know what could have happened Loren? I made a video with the exact measurements of the recipe and it’s really thick.
If I eliminate the tomato paste (tomato anything is too acidic for my daughter), what can I use to substitute? Or can I just not add it?
Hi Nancy! I think it will be fine without!
Thanks so much for your reply, Sarah! I’ve made quite a few of your recipes and they’re always a hit!! Sincerely, Nancy Pollock
Im going to make this for tomorrow, all the comments make it Sound so good….i am notably thee worlds WORST cook, so we’ll see thsnk you for sharing!!
Let me know how it turns out!
I made this beef stew today, cut the recipe in half because it’s only for one person for a few nights and it came out really tasty and pretty perfect… I did need more beef broth than if I cut it in half so I ended up using 2 cups of beef broth and extra water to make sure I covered everything enough… I used extra veggies, as in parsnips which I love so I had chunks of potatoes, baby carrots, parsnips and sliced onions. I didn’t use the frozen peas because I didn’t need them but I may add them with the leftovers later. I have a lot leftover but not too much. I also added in 2 tbsps of flour with 1/2 cup of water 1/2 an hour before it was done to thicken the sauce and it worked well. I cooked the stew for approx 6 hours on low which was enough time. I highly recommend this recipe!
Thank you for all your tips Karen! I’m sure it will be helpful to anyone who wants to cut this recipe in half.
Hi, I’m making this tomorrow and I’m cutting the recipe in 1/2 because I’m only making it for myself to have for the week. My question is would I cook it in my slow cooker for the same amount of time 7-8 hours on low or 4 hours on high or would it need less time because there’s less in the pot to cook?
I think the time will be the same, I’d do 7 on low or 4 on high. The beef and potatoes need that time to tenderize. It will be great!
Added a packet of ranch dressing powder to the slow cooker mix before cooking
making this now, though i forgot to use Worcestershire. I had an extra pound of meat so I threw it in anyway and increased everything slightly. I think this would be good with a bit of beer….boeuf carbonade! cheaper than wine and just as tasty and you don’t have to waste a whole bottle of wine.
Beer and beef go so good together! I’m sure it will be great.
I’m missing something here. “Waste a whole bottle of wine”??? In my house the wine will be gone long before the stew is ready.
Good one Tom!! That’s what I thought too.
We really loved this. Oh so tasty. Added a cup of sweet corn, at the end turned onto high and added two heaped teaspoons of corn flour in a little water to thicken. Beautiful. Thanks