This old-fashioned Crockpot Beef Stew is so easy, you can make it any day you want! The slow cooker saves you so much time and energy, but still results in a delicious home-cooked meal. In this case, a super tender roast with plenty of veggies and a thick gravy. It's truly like a warm hug in a bowl!
Recipe Essentials
- 🍽️ Course: Main Dish
- ⏱️ Cooking Time: 8 hours and 15 minutes
- 🍴 Servings:
- 🧄 Flavor Profile: Hearty, savory, and comforting with tender beef and veggies in a rich broth.
- 🍚 Best Served With: Crusty bread, mashed potatoes, noodles, rice, or cornbread.
- 🧊 Make Ahead?: Yes, great for meal prep. Keeps 4-5 days and freezes up to 3 months.
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Out of all the stew recipes I've made, this is the best slow cooker beef stew ever. It's full of flavor and depth, not just saltiness, and the veggies are tender but not mushy. The star is the fall-apart tender chuck roast that cooks all day to perfection at dinnertime. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it!
If you love a bowl of comforting stew, try our Guinness beef stew and this easy cowboy stew. This Dutch oven Irish stew is another great one you need to check out.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- It can be prepared in advance: This is the perfect meal to make ahead, whether that's for meal prep or to reheat in the fridge for a family dinner the next day.
- It's inexpensive: This slow cooker beef stew recipe consists of affordable, everyday ingredients, so you don't have to worry about the cost.
- It's customizable: I like that you can swap or add ingredients to this beef stew to make it feel like your own.
Ingredients
The essential ingredients for the best slow cooker beef stew you'll ever make are listed below. This includes your roast, veggies, and items that will infuse flavor into your meal.
- Chuck roast: This is a tougher cut with a good amount of connective tissue, making it ideal for slow cooking to help break it down for a tender result. The fat marbling adds tons of savoriness as it melts down, too.
- Veggies: For this recipe, I use onions, carrots, and peas. I chop and peel fresh carrots, but you can use baby carrots as a shortcut. For the peas, you can add them straight from the freezer!
- Red potatoes: These hold their shape so well in the slow cooker since they are firmer than Yukon gold or russet potatoes. They're my favorite variety to use in stew.
- Red wine: Leave this out if you prefer, but the depth and acidity the red wine adds to this crockpot beef stew is so craveable!
- Tomato paste: I like to add some tomato paste for richness and complexity. The subtle tomato flavor works perfectly with the other ingredients.
- Worcestershire sauce: This is the best ingredient to add some umami and boldness to the stew.
See the recipe card below for exact ingredient amounts, nutritional information, and detailed instructions.
Variations
- Italian tomato: Add some diced tomatoes and herbs like basil and parsley for an Italian-inspired version.
- Spicy Cajun: Use your favorite Cajun seasoning blend to bring the heat!
- Creamy mushroom: Add a can of cream of mushroom soup and some sliced mushrooms for a delectable mushroom gravy.
How to Make Old-Fashioned Beef Stew in the Slow Cooker
Here are the steps needed to prepare your crockpot beef stew. Spray your crockpot or use a crockpot liner before you add any ingredients.
Step 1: Sear the meat. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and sear the pieces on all sides with butter and oil.
Step 2: Add the ingredients and cook. Put them into the crockpot with all of the other ingredients except flour and peas. Stick the lid on and cook the stew on low for 8 hours or high for 4-5 hours.
Step 3: Thicken the stew. Ladle ½ cup of broth from the pot and pour it into a liquid measuring cup. Now you can whisk the flour into the broth, and then pour it back into the pot. Let it cook for another 15 minutes on high heat.
Step 4: Add the peas and serve. Stir in the peas and let them soften and warm up for a minute. Serve and enjoy!
Recipe Tips
- Trim any excess fat from the beef: If there's a large fat cap or a lot of extra fat on your chuck roast, you may trim it. These are large pieces that don't usually fully cook down in the crockpot.
- Don't skip the browning step: You may be tempted to skip browning the roast, and you can, but you will lose out on the texture of the crust and the extra flavor the step adds to the stew.
- Cook at low heat if possible: You may cook your stew on low or high heat, but I always recommend low heat when possible. Low and slow allows the flavors to develop more and ensures a perfectly fall-apart tender cut of meat.
I highly recommend the slow cooker spicy beef stew as another tasty crockpot beef stew recipe.
Storage Directions
- Storing: Store leftover stew in an airtight container in your fridge for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Reheating: You may reheat a small portion in the microwave for 2-3 minutes or until hot. I cover the bowl with a paper towel to prevent splatter.
- Make Ahead: Feel free to chop your veggies up to a day in advance and keep them in the refrigerator to skip a couple of steps when you are setting up your slow cooker.
Serving Suggestions
- Any easy meal calls for an easy dessert like these cranberry white chocolate cookies.
- Reheat a leftover bowl of beef stew and prepare a toaster oven grilled cheese for a filling lunch the next day.
- Enjoy soft and fluffy homemade dinner rolls or some Cheesecake Factory brown bread to dip in the savory gravy!
- A refreshing side dish like a mixed green salad is a quick and easy option.
Recipe FAQs
The best fix for this is to cook it longer! This helps more collagen to break down, so the beef is more tender and succulent.
Make a quick cornstarch slurry with equal parts of cornstarch and water. Stir it into the crockpot and let the beef sit on low heat for 10-15 minutes or until the gravy is thick.
You have to be careful not to overcook them. A great way to help is to ensure that they are cooked evenly, so there aren't pieces that cook too quickly because of their size.
More Delicious Crockpot Recipes
Do you like crockpot recipes? Here are some recipes you may also like to try.
If you try this recipe and love it please leave a star rating in the recipe card below or even better, drop a review in the comment section. I always appreciate your feedback. Be sure to follow along with me on Facebook, Pinterest, and YouTube for more easy recipes!
Crockpot Beef Stew
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons butter unsalted
- 2 pounds chuck roast cut into chunks (blade roast in Canada)
- 2 ½ cups beef broth low sodium
- 1 pound red potatoes diced into cubes
- 2 cups carrots peeled and cut into ¼" thickness (larger round I cut in half)
- 1 large yellow onion cut into chunks
- ½ cup dry red wine I used a Chanti
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 3-4 tablespoons gluten free all-purpose flour can use regular, optional see notes
- 1 ½ cups frozen peas
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and add 2 teaspoon oil and butter at time, work in batches and lightly sear the meat on all sides (I find it saves time to use bigger chunks and allow them to rest then cut into bite-sized pieces, but you can do that in reverse).
- Once complete with all the meat, transfer to a large Crock Pot.
- Add in all remaining ingredients except for the flour and peas, stir to mix well.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours (high for 4-5).
- To thicken, transfer about ½ cup of the broth to a spouted measuring cup and whisk in the flour. Then pour it back into the slow cooker and cook for an additional 15 minutes but on HIGH.
- When ready to serve add in the peas and stir to combine. They will warm up very quickly and start to soften.
Video
Notes
- Don't rush the process! The beef needs plenty of time to cook down and break down the collagen to make it perfectly tender. If it's still tough, let it cook longer.
- Brown the meat first. You can technically skip this step, but that crust on the outside only adds more flavor, making your beef stew crockpot recipe even better.
- Cook your stew at low heat if you can. I find that the best flavor and texture happen when it cooks low and slow.
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