Make this spooky witches brew stew for a fun fall meal. Made with hot sausage and beef and the veggies are skull mushrooms and pumpkin carrots! This recipe tastes like an ultra jazzed-up hamburger soup! Try it this Halloween along with garlic bread and topped with parmesan cheese.

Who doesn’t love a good fall recipe like this stew. We also love to make slow cooker pumpkin chili, shipwreck stew or slow cooker Hungarian goulash.

How to make Witches Brew Stew in the crockpot:

This recipe came about from a soup I saw from a member in a recipe group on facebook. Her name is Juanita and her soup has adorable carrot pumpkins and she also uses hot sausage in her soup which I think is a wonderful idea. I had to make a variation of it before Halloween and share it with you! If you want to see her version, she calls it “Black Magic Soup”.

We love making this soup for our annual Halloween party. Did you know that a witch is one of the most popular Halloween costumes? It’s second to squid games, which I still need to watch. I’m always the crazy cat lady for Halloween without fail.

Recipe Ingredients

• Hot sausage – I use Jimmy Dean hot breakfast sausage. Please use mild if you do not like spicy foods. Or you can use Italian sausage if desired. (We use sausage in our Slow Cooker Sausage Lentil Soup recipe.
• Ground Beef – I cook the ground beef and the hot sausage together in the same pan. Crumble then drain off the fat.
• Vegetables – Carrots, mushrooms, gold potatoes, garlic, leeks and celery.
• Italian herb seasoning – This is mixture of oregano, marjoram, thyme, savory, rosemary, basil and sage and is found along with the other spices at the store. Use a mixture of what you have at home if you do not have this herb mix.
• Beef broth
• Campbell’s Tomato Soup – We use this instead of tomato sauce, has a better flavor
• Campbell’s French Onion Soup – This is the magic in the soup! Adds a carmelized onion flavor.

Step-by-Step Directions

Step One – In a large skillet on the stove top set to medium high heat, add the ground beef and hot breakfast sausage.

Step Two – Cook and crumble, drain off any fat.

Step Three – Add to the slow cooker.

Step Four – For the carrot pumpkins; first make two straight slits for the stem, then cut 2 triangles from the sides of the stem and remove them. Cut into slices and you now have pumpkins!

Step Five – Add the remaining vegetables, pour over the tomato soup and French onion soup. WAIT TO ADD THE MUSHROOMS.

Step Six – Pour over the broth and cook on HIGH For four hours.

Step Seven – For the skull mushrooms; Use a standard sized straw and poke eye holes, the piece you poke out should come out in the straw. Make 2 slits for the nose and I also make slits on the stem of the mushroom, to make it look like a collar.

Step Eight – Then add the mushrooms to the slow cooker and cook for 10 minutes longer. I don’t cook the mushrooms very long so the hold their shape.

Step Nine – Serve and enjoy!

What do I serve with this?

• Garlic bread, cornbread or buttered french bread.
• Topped with Parmesan or mozzarella cheese.
• Saltine crackers or oyster crackers.

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