CrockPot Beef Stew is one of my all-time favorite slow cooker meals.
This hearty slow cooker stew beef stew recipe is packed with flavor. Tender chunks of beef, carrots, potatoes, and peas (or green beans) are cooked in rich brown gravy.
Serve with a side of buttermilk biscuits, crusty bread, or cornbread slathered with butter.
Ingredients for Slow Cooker Beef Stew
Ingredients for this beef stew CrockPot recipe are beef chuck or stew beef, root vegetables like potatoes, carrots, and fresh peas or beans.
Beef for Stew: The best beef for beef stew is chuck steak or chuck roast. Chuck is a flavorful cut of beef from the shoulder and front end of the animal. You may have to cut it into cubes yourself. It is perfect for Crock Pot Beef Stew or pot roast because when cooked low and slow, it becomes fork-tender and buttery in texture with a rich, beefy flavor.
If you don’t have chuck, stewing beef works well in this recipe too.
Broth: Use regular beef broth (not low sodium) for the best results. The broth is flavored with vegetable juice, rosemary and thyme.
If you have red wine on hand, it’s a great addition to this stew (although it is optional). Substitute a cup of a hearty dry red wine, such as Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot, for one cup of the beef broth and use it to deglaze the pan you used for browning the meat.
Vegetables: This crockpot stew recipe uses carrots, potatoes, and celery. You can add extra vegetables like turnips or mushrooms if you’d like.
How to Make Beef Stew in a Crock Pot
I love a classic beef stew recipe, but if I’m not going to be home or want to prepare dinner early, this easy slow cooker recipe is just as delicious. Crock Pot stew comes together in just a few simple steps.
- Toss the beef in the flour-garlic powder mixture to coat per the recipe below, and brown in olive oil in batches. Don’t crowd the pan. (You can skip this step, but the browning adds great flavor to the stew).
- Sauté the onion in the same pan (use a bit of broth or red wine to help deglaze and add any brown bits to your crock pot).
- Add everything to the slow cooker (I use a 6qt crock pot) and cook until the beef is tender. Stir in peas before serving.
Ladle this beef stew into bowls and serve with crusty bread or homemade dinner rolls.
How Long to Cook Beef Stew in a Crock Pot: This is the best slow cooker beef stew recipe since it’s a set-it-and-forget-it kind of meal. Cook it on high for 4-5 hours, or on low for 8-9 until the meat is tender. You can leave it on warm for an additional hour or so if needed.
To Thicken Beef Stew in the Crock Pot: I use a cornstarch slurry (equal parts cornstarch and water) and add it in at the end. Allow it to cook about 10 minutes after adding the slurry to get rid of any starchy flavor.
Leftover CrockPot Beef Stew
Leftovers will keep for about 3-4 days in the fridge.
Freezing Beef Stew: CrockPot Beef Stew freezes really well, so make plenty for those quick-fix meal nights. Leave about an inch of headspace for expansion in plastic containers, and the stew will keep for 4 months in the freezer.
More Slow Cooker Beef Recipes
Did your family love this Crockpot Beef Stew recipe? Leave us a rating and a comment below!
Crock Pot Beef Stew
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 pounds beef chuck or stewing beef
- 3 tablespoons flour
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 cups beef broth *see note
- 1 onion chopped
- 3 cups potatoes peeled and cubed
- 2 cups carrots cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 cup celery cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 cup vegetable juice such as V8
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary or 1 sprig fresh
- ½ teaspoon thyme or 2 sprigs fresh
- ¾ cup peas
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons water
Instructions
- Combine flour, garlic powder, 1 teaspoon of salt & ½ teaspoon of black pepper to taste. Toss the beef in the flour mixture.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium high heat in a large frying pan or skillet. Add the beef and brown in batches, about 2 minutes per side. Place the beef in the bottom of a 6qt slow cooker.
- Reduce the heat to medium and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pan. Add the onion and cook until tender. Add the onion to the slow cooker.
- Add 1 cup of beef broth (or red wine per the recipe notes below) to the pan and scrape up any brown bits with a spatula.
- Add the broth to the slow cooker along with the remaining 3 cups of broth, potatoes, carrots, celery, vegetable juice, Worcestershire sauce, rosemary, thyme, and ½ teaspoon of black pepper.
- Cook on high 4-5 hours or on low 8-9 hours or until beef is tender.
- Mix the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water. Stir into the stew a little bit at a time to thicken (you may not need all of the cornstarch mixture). Stir in peas.
- Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes or until thickened and heated through. Season with salt & pepper.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Beef, Main Course, Slow Cooker
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
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I made this today and it is delicious….Thank you for the recipe!
Perfect! I usually make slow cooker pot roast but decided to give stew a try instead when I found this recipe. Made a double batch for friends & family coming over. So easy, so delicious…compliments from everyone & a request to take some home. Definitely making again!
We love hearing that, Julie! So happy this recipe was a hit for you :)
This is a really good beef stew recipe! I followed the recipe and added the red wine. My husband loved it! Will be making it again! Thanks
I LOVE this blog and its recipes but I always like to read the comments before trying one out. I saw a few comments that said the recipe was bland. I always season my beef with steak seasoning before browning in a lot of my crockpot dishes, I feel like it adds great flavor. I also added Italian seasoning and fresh garlic instead of the powder.
I made this Beef Stew recipe a few months and it was so delicious-I made it again today.
Definitely a keeper and a winner!
I am just learning to cook at 70 years old. This was my third main dish I prepared in my slow cooker. It turned out really good and had a ton of flavor. I added a cup of thickly sliced mushrooms. I will be making this again!
I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe Scott!
As Grace suggested more herbs are needed. Fresh garlic, tomato paste and swap out some of the broth for Guinness stout.
I am giving this recipe 2 stars because the meat was tender, the veggies were perfectly cooked and it looked just like the photo. That said, it had absolutely no flavor! I followed the recipe exactly and was looking forward to a delicious meal, but it was so bland. Will remove this recipe from my list and throw out what is leftover. At least I had good bread to fill up on!
Really good but needs a bit more spices added! I add ground savory, marjoram, rosemary, thyme, garlic & onion powder, red wine vinegar, lots of worcestershire sauce, and tomato paste. Yum!
This was my first using a crock pot recipe for beef stew and was very happy at the end results. It was very tasty and enjoyed by the family. I loved it also because it was an easy recipe to make.
A. Napolitano
This was great! As a new Instant Pot Duo owner, I was looking for a slow cooker beef stew recipe. I used homemade chix broth + red wine for the liquid, parsnips instead of carrots and celery, and substituted a tablespoon or so of gochujang paste for the veg. juice + worcestershire. The stew came out flavorful and tender! Thank you for this easy to follow recipe!
This is my go to Beef stew, easy and out of this world! Everyone loves it. I get request to make it all the time! It is easy and the BEST!
Delicious! Followed the recipe – used the red wines. Added mushrooms and a bit more Worcestershire. 2 hours on high-4 hours low. Beef was melt in your mouth and flavor of the veggies and broth yummy!
Absolutely wonderful and easy to prepare. The best stew I have had!
Dear Ms. Holly:
Thank you so very much for sharing this wonderful and heart warming recipe. This was my first time ever making beef stew and i was a little intimidated but I did it.One thing though that I did was at the end when you use corn starch to thicken it, I also added a teaspoon of Better than Boulion Beef and Vegtable and WOW!!! My hubby ate two bowl and I had one and it was so great that I went to bed. Again thank you and I look forward to more of your recipes!!!
I am so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe Myron!
I love “it was so great that I went to bed”! I have the same response to a great meal all the time.
Terrific…the recipe I have been looking for since I first got a crockpot! Thank you!
You’re very welcome Anne!
Hi Holly! This sounds great. I just have a question. The broth used in the video looks like chicken broth (because of the light color). Was it really beef broth?
Hi Altie, we like to use beef broth to give this stew a nice rich beefy flavor, but chicken broth can be used as well. Enjoy!
Why does one recipe say 4 hours to , total time 4 hrs, 20 minutes. Another recipe says 4to5 hours on high and 8-9 hours on low. I am not the greatest cook , but as a retired teacher I do know how to read!!
The minimum cooking time will be 4 hours on high but the beef may need up to 5 hours to become tender. At a lower temperature, this will need longer to cook.
Very easy to make. Nice tip to sub in the wine to help boost the flavour. Wonderful to come inside to the smell of a dinner that almost makes itself!