Witches Brew Stew
72 Comments Sep 11, 2023
Updated May 30, 2025
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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.
Recipe FAQs
Note that the ground hot sausage really makes this meal hearty and decadent. If you want to use another type of meat the flavor will be altered and you may need to add more salt and seasonings. You can use chicken breasts, ground turkey or kielbasa if desired.
Yes! You can freeze this soup before OR after cooking with no issues. Wait to add the mushrooms though if you are freezing before cooking.
No! If you are short on time, just cut them as usual, will still be a great meal.
Yes! This can be doubled in a 6 quart or larger crockpot.
Featured Comment
“Great recipe! Will make again. Used turkey sausage instead. Thank you for the recipe!”
– Mariann
Slow Cooker Witches Brew Stew
How to Video
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 1 lb. hot breakfast sausage, I use Jimmy Dean (use original if you don't like spicy)
- 3-4 large carrots, sliced then cut into pumpkin shapes
- 2 cups small diced gold potatoes
- 3 celery ribs, diced
- 1 cup diced leeks, (1 large leek)
- 1 tsp. minced garlic
- 1 Tbsp. Italian herb seasoning, This is found with the other spices at the store. It has oregano, marjoram, savory, thyme, basil, rosemary and sage. If you do not have this, use a mixture of what you do have.
- 3/4 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. pepper
- 10.5 oz. Campbell's Condensed French Onion Soup
- 10.5 oz. Campbell's Condensed Tomato Soup
- 1.5 cups water
- 32 oz. box beef broth
- 10 mushrooms, (cut in half, then skull face cut into it, see directions)
Instructions
- NOTE- wait to add the mushrooms until the end of cooking time.In a large skillet on the stove top set to medium high heat, brown the ground beef and sausage together. Crumble and drain off fat. Add to the slow cooker.
- 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 them into slices and add to the slow cooker.
- Add the remaining ingredients EXCEPT for the mushrooms.
- Place the lid on the slow cooker.
- Cook on HIGH for 4 hours or LOW for 8 hours.
- When the cooking time is near done. Prepare the mushrooms. Cut them down the middle length wise, making them each into two pieces. Use a straw to poke out the eyes and use a knife to make two slits for a nose. I also make slits on the stem.
- Add the mushrooms to the slow cooker after the cooking time is done. Let the mushrooms cook for 10 minutes along with the rest of the soup. I add the mushrooms at the end of the cooking time so they will keep their shape.
Sarah’s Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
More Slow Cooker Soup Recipes
Slow Cooker Stuffed Pepper Soup, Hamburger Soup, and Poor Man’s Stew are hearty, budget-friendly meals made with ground beef, veggies, and rich broth.
Brunswick Stew and Camp Stew bring bold, Southern-inspired flavor with a mix of meats, vegetables, and a tangy tomato base. If you want something cheesy, try my Slow Cooker French Onion Soup.
For something creamy and cozy, try Slow Cooker Chicken Stew, Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings, or Slow Cooker Broccoli Cheese Soup—perfect for any night of the week.
Absolutely delicious!! I did make a few changes to fit my diet and preferences. I used dairy free condensed mushroom soup instead of French onion, a yellow onion instead of leek, and pasta instead of potatoes because I didn’t realize I was out. I also added some tomato paste for extra flavor and it’s one of my new favorite things to make.
Hoping to make this very soon, but I was wondering if there is something I could sub for the French onion soup? I’m personally just not the biggest fan but I’ve wanted to make this the last year or two.
A can of beef consumme from campbells would work great.
The soup looks yummy! Where did you get the pumpkin shaped soup bowls? Thank you.
Pottery Barn!
Interesting. What more can I say?
Would using Russet potatoes instead of Golden potatoes change the flavor?
Hello, I was wondering if you remembered where you got those pumpkin bowls from?
Pottery barn!
This is my third time making it. I mixed the burger and the sausage together when raw. that sausage makes it the best, and you could do pretty much whatever else you want and it would still be awesome. 🙂 Great for Halloween dinner too!
This got good reviews from our pumpkin carving party crew. Making each slice of carrot into a pumpkin is time consuming, so plan accordingly. It took nearly as long as all of the other steps combined. Make sure to use a sharp knife! I thought it would be thicker and based on a previous review that said it was more brothy than stew, I even cut back on the water by 1/2 cup. I will make this again, but not bother with the carrot pumpkins and just used them sliced….that’s a once a year type thing, lol! Super cute seeing the skulls floating in it. I only made eyes on each and skipped the nose and neck slits and they still looked great.
There is a way to slice the carrot prior to cutting it into pieces that makes it very easy. Look up carrot pumpkins on Pinterest! Takes very little time to do!
I used a metal cookie cutter that had a corner and just popped a little triangle out of each side. Worked great.
Made this and came out very well
My family loved this dish, I have a son who NEVER eats soup and he had two servings of this so I know it was a huge hit with our family.