This Slow Cooker Beef Stew is super flavourful with fall-apart tender meat. It’s the ultimate comfort food for fall and winter!
Ingredients and substitutions
- Beef chuck – beef chuck or any other affordable, tougher meats like tenderloin, top loin and sirloin tough will work great in this stew. You'll want to skip the lean, pricier meats because the tougher meats will become very tender.
- Salt & pepper – to taste.
- Butter – you can switch the butter out for olive oil or any other neutral cooking oil like avocado oil or sunflower oil.
- Flour – using cornstarch in place of flour will give the same thickening effect to the stew.
- Italian seasoning – if you don't have Italian seasoning, you can use a mixture of all or some of these spices: basil, marjoram, oregano, rosemary and thyme.
- Thyme – extra Italian seasoning, marjoram or rosemary can replace thyme in this recipe.
- Yellow onion – red onion, shallots and white onions are all great substitutes for yellow onion.
- Worcestershire sauce – you can use balsamic or tomato paste to replace Worcestershire sauce, but the flavour will be different.
- Garlic – fresh garlic or jarred minced garlic will work.
- Celery – celery is an aromatic in this dish and is a classic ingredient in stews. You can replace celery for one of your favourite veggies or leave it out entirely.
- Carrot – apply the same substitution notes for celery.
- Baby potatoes – I use Yukon gold baby potatoes, but you can replace them with red or white baby potatoes. If you're looking to make this recipe a low carb meal, you can leave out the potatoes or replace them with an extra serving of your favourite vegetables.
- Beef stock – homemade beef stock is the best option but store-bought stock or broth in any flavour is fine as well.
- Red wine – pick any dry red wine of your choice (i.e. merlot, Cabernet sauvignon, Malbec or pinot noir).
- Frozen veggies – get any frozen veggie blend of your choice or just use your fresh vegetables.
- Parsley – if you don't like parsley, basil or cilantro are other options to consider.
How to make beef stew in the slow cooker
Step 1: Sear the beef.
Sear beef on high heat in a large skillet for 3-4 minutes until browned, seasoning with salt and pepper.
Step 2: Grease the crockpot.
Grease your crockpot with butter, then add in seared beef and juices. Sprinkle flour overtop, then gently toss to coat.
Step 3: Add the rest of the ingredients.
Add remaining ingredients in the order in which they are listed, except for frozen veggies and fresh parsley.
Step 4: Cook and serve!
Cook on high for 4 hours, or on low for 8 hours, adding the frozen veggies in the last hour of cook time. When stew is ready, stir in half the parsley, saving the other half for garnish. Serve and enjoy!
The secret to beef stew
Good beef stew is all about the flavour! To make your beef stew more flavourful, follow these tips:
- Sauté the beef ahead of time
- Add dried herbs at the beginning
- Add fresh herbs near the end
- Use wine
- Use aromatics
Frequently Asked Questions
The easiest part of this recipe is that it allows you to make it all in the slow cooker at once. Which means that yes, you can put raw beef into the slow cooker. What you should know is that it is better to sauté your beef first if you have time for the added flavour.
For this beef stew, you’ll need to add 2 cups beef stock and 1 cup dry red wine.
This stew is pretty thick, but if you want to make it even thicker, whisk in a cornstarch slurry or even a flour slurry in the last 30 minutes of the cooking time. You could also use an immersion blender to blend up some of the veggies.
Depending on how long you have to cook your stew, you can set your slow cooker on high for 4 hours or on low for 8 hours. The cooking time you set for your dish won't make too much of a difference on how tender your beef gets. The tenderness of your beef will be almost identical with either cooking time.
Storing and reheating
After enjoying your stew, you can store any leftovers in the fridge for up to 5 days in glass meal prep containers. This allows you to meal prep this dish and enjoy it throughout the week without the fuss.
When you're ready to enjoy your beef stew, take an individual serving and reheat it on the stovetop or in the microwave for 1 to 2 minutes until warmed through.
Freezing this recipe
The best part of this dish is that it is freezer friendly! This means that if you have any extra leftovers that you wouldn't be able to eat throughout the week, you can freeze those servings in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Once you're ready to enjoy your stew, let it defrost in the fridge overnight and then warm it up! You can warm it up on the stovetop or in the microwave for 1 to 2 minutes.
Meal prep tools for this recipe
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you plan on turning this stew into leftovers.
- I get all my beef from Butcher Box, conveniently delivered to me frozen.
- Freeze this recipe in glass microwave-safe bowls up to 3 months.
Slow Cooker Beef Stew {Super Flavourful}
Ingredients
- 2 lb beef chuck, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp flour
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 stalks celery, chopped
- 1 carrot, chopped
- 2 cups baby potatoes, sliced in half
- 2 cups beef stock
- 1 cup dry red wine
- 750 g bag frozen veggies
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Sear beef on high heat in a large skillet for 3-4 minutes until browned, seasoning with salt and pepper.
- Grease your crockpot with butter, then add in seared beef and juices. Sprinkle flour overtop, then gently toss to coat.
- Add remaining ingreidents in the order in which they are listed, except for frozen veggies and fresh parsley. Cook on high for 4 hours, or on low for 8 hours, adding the frozen veggies in the last hour of cook time.
- When stew is ready, stir in half the parsley, saving the other half for garnish. Serve and enjoy!
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