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My Cowboy Stew recipe is one part Beef Stew, one part Classic Chili, and five parts delicious comfort food. With three kinds of meat and plenty of hearty vegetables, it’s a rustic, stick-to-your-ribs dinner that always has everyone going back for seconds.
If you’re looking for something similar but a little brothier, be sure to try my Cowboy Soup, which has the same bold flavors in a cozy soup version.
If you’re new to cowboy stew, there are two delicious ways to make it — and the beans you choose change the flavor of the stew.
BBQ baked beans give the stew a slightly sweet, nostalgic flavor. This is the version many Girl Scout and Boy Scout troops made at campouts.
Ranch Style beans aren’t sweet and create a richer, more savory stew. If you’re making cowboy stew for the first time, this is usually the version most people prefer.
Love hearty stew recipes? Try my Old Fashioned Beef Stew, Pork Stew (one of the most popular recipes on the site!),, and my fabulous next.
Let’s make this stew!
What Is Cowboy Stew?
Cowboy stew is thicker and heartier than Cowboy Soup. While Cowboy Soup has a rich broth, cowboy stew cooks down into a chunkier, more filling dish that’s closer to a chili-style stew.
What I Love About This Recipe
This ain’t your mama’s stew recipe! Loaded with three types of meat and tons of veggies, this stew is the lip-smacking dinner your family’s been waiting for.
- Tender, juicy meat
- One-pot wonder
- Easy cleanup!
- Crowd-pleasing flavor
Cowboy Stew Ingredients
- Bacon
- Kielbasa Sausage
- Ground Beef
- Onion
- Garlic
- Flour
- Salt + Pepper
- Chili Powder
- Diced Tomatoes
- Baked Beans
- Green Chilies
- Sweet Corn
- Potatoes
- Parsley
Cowboy Stew Recipe Notes
My cowboy stew recipe is an amazingly wholesome and easy-to-prepare meal that you’ll feel great about feeding your family! Cooking everything in one pot helps contain the mess and build incredible layers of flavor.
- Let’s Talk Beans!! This is the exact taste of Cowboy stew that my Girl Scout troop used to make. That said, some people find the baked beans, too sweet. I’ve received many suggestions (Hello, Texas! Love you!!) to use ranch-style beans, including the liquid in the can instead!
- Kielbasa – This recipe uses three types of meat for a fully dimensional flavor sensation! If you’re thinking about skipping one, don’t — I promise, it’s worth it. For instance, the kielbasa brings a delicious smokiness that the bacon and beef don’t have. You just can’t have cowboy stew without all these treats!
- Tomatoes – I use canned tomatoes for this recipe to save time in the prep stage as well as the cooking stage. And using petite diced tomatoes helps them break down even faster! If you can’t find petite, using crushed is a good alternative.
- Beans – I love the flavor and sweetness that comes with using canned baked beans in this stew! My favorite is good ol’ Bush’s Original, but you can use any brand at your store. Baked beans add a sweetness to the stew. If that doesn’t appeal to you, use Ranch Style instead!
- Corn – Playing up the sweetness, even more, I use sweet corn in this recipe too. Sweet corn is NOT just corn canned with sugar — it’s a specific type of corn. So make sure you’re reading labels and not just getting plain corn with added sugar. Yuck!
How To Make Cowboy Stew Recipe
-
Cook bacon until brown and crispy in a large pot. Set aside.
-
Add the sausage to pot drippings and brown on both sides. Set aside.
-
Add beef, onion, and garlic to the pot.
-
Brown until the beef is no longer pink.
-
Sprinkle flour, salt, pepper, and chili powder over beef. Stir and cook for 1 minute.
-
Add diced tomatoes, baked beans, green chilies, sweet corn, potatoes, bacon, sausage, and water.
-
Bring to a boil then immediately reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
***See Full Instructions Below.
Cowboy Stew Crockpot Instructions
-
Cook bacon until brown and crispy in a large pot. Using a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to a plate lined with a paper towel to drain.
-
Add the sausage to the pot drippings and brown on both sides, adjusting the heat as needed so the fond (brown bits on the bottom of the pot) does not burn. Remove to the plate with bacon; set aside.
-
Add beef, onion, and garlic to the pot and brown until the beef is no longer pink. Sprinkle flour, salt, pepper, and chili powder over beef. Stir and cook for 1 minute.
- Add all meats to a large crockpot.
- Add diced tomatoes, baked beans, green chilies, sweet corn, potatoes, and water to crockpot.
- Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 6-8 hours.
Storing + Freezing + Make-Ahead
- How Long Can You Keep This In The Fridge? Store your cowboy stew leftovers in an airtight container, and they’ll last in your fridge for up to four days. If saving space is a priority, you can put your cooled cowboy stew in a gallon-sized Ziploc.
- It does tend to thicken a little as it sits in the fridge so you may need to thin it out with a little water when you reheat it.
- Can You Freeze This? Yes and no. This cowboy stew recipe is fantastic for meal prep and it always helps to have a ready-made meal in the freezer. But the potatoes can be quite finicky in freezing temps, so you may want to leave those out — you can always add canned potatoes to this when it’s time to serve!
- If you do freeze it sans potatoes, you can let it sit in your freezer for up to three months. To thaw, let it sit in the fridge overnight. Then add your potatoes and reheat!
- Make Ahead Tips: This one-pot wonder comes together pretty quickly thanks to those canned goodies! The various meats can’t be cooked ahead because you need them to build the flavor for your stew, but you can always chop the onions, garlic, potatoes, and kielbasa ahead of time.
- The onions and garlic can be stored together, and the kielbasa can go in a sealed plastic bag — all of it can sit for up to a week in the fridge.
- Food Safety: If you’d like more info on food safety check out this link.
Serving Recommendations
This cowboy stew recipe goes with pretty much any favorite chili and stew sides! Southern cornbread or Bisquick cornbread if you like it sweet, Bisquick biscuits, beer bread, or tender buttery crescent rolls. Looking for biscuits instead? I don’t blame you! Try my easy peasy Bisquick biscuits, butter swim biscuits, big ol’ cat head biscuits, or for a sweet addition, my Bo Berry biscuits!
I also like to add some veggies and crunch via my KFC coleslaw, strawberry spinach salad, carrot salad, or broccoli salad!
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Cowboy Stew
Ingredients
- 4 slices bacon, chopped
- 2 (12-ounce) package kielbasa sausage, cut into 1/2 inch slices
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef, 80/20
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes, with liquid
- 2 (16-ounce) cans baked beans (sweeter) or ranch beans (more savory) with liquid
- 1 (7-ounce) can chopped green chilies, with liquid
- 1 (15-ounce) can sweet corn, with liquid
- 2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
- 1 cup water
- 2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Cook bacon until brown and crispy in a large pot. Using a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to a plate lined with a paper towel to drain.
- Add the sausage to pot drippings and brown on both sides, adjusting heat as needed so fond (brown bits on the bottom of the pot) does not burn. Remove to the plate with bacon; set aside.
- Add beef, onion, and garlic to the pot and brown until the beef is no longer pink. Sprinkle flour, salt, pepper, and chili powder over beef. Stir and cook for 1 minute.
- Add diced tomatoes, baked beans, green chilies, sweet corn, potatoes, bacon, sausage, and water. Bring to a boil then immediately reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
- Garnish with parsley.
- Add additional water if stew is too thick.
Fans Also Made:
Notes
- Let’s Talk Beans!! This is the exact taste of Cowboy stew that my Girl Scout troop used to make. That said, some people find the baked beans, too sweet. I’ve received many suggestions (Hello, Texas! Love you!!) to use ranch-style beans, including the liquid in the can instead!
- Kielbasa – This recipe uses three types of meat for a fully dimensional flavor sensation! If you’re thinking about skipping one, don’t — I promise, it’s worth it. For instance, the kielbasa brings a delicious smokiness that the bacon and beef don’t have. You just can’t have cowboy stew without all these treats!
- Tomatoes – I use canned tomatoes for this recipe to save time in the prep stage as well as the cooking stage. And using petite diced tomatoes helps them break down even faster! If you can’t find petite, using crushed is a good alternative.
- Beans – I love the flavor and sweetness that comes with using canned baked beans in this stew! My favorite is good ol’ Bush’s Original, but you can use any brand at your store.
- Corn – Playing up the sweetness, even more, I use sweet corn in this recipe too. Sweet corn is NOT just corn canned with sugar — it’s a specific type of corn. So make sure you’re reading labels and not just getting plain corn with added sugar. Yuck!
Nutrition
I had decided to make this for tonight’s supper since I wanted something easy, one pot, and comfort type food. I went with Bushes original baked beans as I remember the dishes that the older ladies in church always brought to potluck had baked beans with hamburger and kielbasa so I knew I’d love it sweeter. I followed the recipe but in the end added 3 more tsp chili powder and 1 tsp more kosher salt and TBS more pepper. I didnt have kielbasa but had 24 Oz bag of Lil Smokies. I also added in the potatoes in the form of 2 HUGE Costco potatoes so actually doubled it, which works for us as we’re potato loving family. Our daughter, son inlaw and Granddaughter and her bf came over, made Biscuits to go with it and a cucumber and grape tomato salad. This will DEFINITELY be in my rotation, though will cut recipe in half when its just hubby and myself. Very very good, Thank you!
Hey Jan! So happy this made your dinner rotation and it was a hit with your family! I really hope you find many more “keepers” here. Thanks so much for your thoughtful comment, it really helps our community of readers. I especially appreciate the 5 stars
Absolutely love this. I used half a can of lager, half a beef stock and chilli powder and Smokey seasoning for my stock.
The beauty about this recipe. Is there are loads of options to play around with it and make your own stamp on it. An absolute family favourite
Hey Jordan! So happy this is a family favorite in your house, too! Thanks so much for leaving a comment and the 5 star rating! I hope you find a lot more family favs here.
I haven’t made the Cowboy Stew, but I plan on it very soon. I will let you know how I like it but I’m pretty sure I will give you a thumbs up.
Hi Theola! I sure hope you enjoy this yummy stew!
I’ve made this since November of 2022, I believe and love it every time I make it! This time I used fire roasted southwest corn with poblano and red peppers! So so good!
Hey, Carol! This stew has been a regular in your recipe list? That’s awesome! I love your tweaks! Thanks for the positive feedback and 5 star rating 🙂
I made this recipe except for the spices. My wife doesn’t like a lot of thyme and rosemary, so I used more chili forward spices (chili powder, cumin, paprika, and marjoram). It turned out excellent! 5 Stars
Hey, Mike! That’s wonderful! I’m glad you and your wife liked this as much as we do. Thanks for the positive feedback and rating 🙂
Hi, can I do this in a slow cooker? If so, what changes do I make
Hi, Maria!
For crockpot:
1. Cook bacon until brown and crispy in a large pot. Using a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to a plate lined with a paper towel to drain.
2. Add the sausage to the pot drippings and brown on both sides, adjusting the heat as needed so the fond (brown bits on the bottom of the pot) does not burn. Remove to the plate with bacon; set aside.
3. Add beef, onion, and garlic to the pot and brown until the beef is no longer pink. Sprinkle flour, salt, pepper, and chili powder over beef. Stir and cook for 1 minute.
4. Add all meats to a large crockpot.
5. Add diced tomatoes, baked beans, green chilies, sweet corn, potatoes, and water to crockpot.
6. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 6-8 hours.
Made this today!! Absolutely delicious! It was cold here today and it was so satisfying and filling! I agree with you, you have to use all 3 meats!
It was super thick, so I thinned it with some beef stock. Worked perfect and added the saltiness I was craving.
Thank you!!!
I loom forward to trying your other recipies.
Hey, Nikki! Wow, that’s amazing! It’s really perfect for cold weather, right? Thanks for the positive feedback and 5 star rating 🙂
I cannot add liquid from canned beans and corn, too much sodium. Can I add low sodium beef broth to make up for liquid in canned items?
Hey Cindy, you sure can!
This is so yummy. My husband is going to double the recipe and try canning it. I hope it goes well. We lido a lot of canning.
Could you provide this recipe portions asI would like to make it for 60 people
Hi, Vici! Here are the measurements for 60 people:
30 slices bacon, chopped
15 (12-ounce) package kielbasa sausage, cut into 1/2 inch slices
11.25 pounds ground beef, 80/20
7.5 medium onion, diced
22.5 cloves garlic, minced
22.5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
11.25 teaspoons salt
3.75 teaspoon black pepper
7.5 teaspoon chili powder
7.5 (14.5-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes, with liquid
15 (16-ounce) cans baked beans, with liquid
7.5 (7-ounce) can chopped green chilies, with liquid
7.5 (15-ounce) can sweet corn, with liquid
15 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
7.5 cup water
15 tablespoons parsley, chopped
Love Love Love your recipes! Keep em coming please 🙏 🙂 ☺️. And a Huge thank you is not enough!!
Enjoy! 🙂
My 16 year old daughter loves Jiffy cornbread and wanted a stew to go with it. She found this recipe and wanted to make it. We enjoy cooking together, but this was something she wanted me to be her sous chef in. She added some corn on the cob and it was delicious.
She’s so awesome! I’m so happy you both made this together <3 Cheers to more cooking with your daughter. Thank you for the positive feedback and rating 🙂
This is really good, I cut it in half because it was just for me and my husband. It was really delicious
Yay! Thanks, Dawn 🙂 So happy you like it!
Love your recipes
Thank you Sandra! I appreciate you saying that more than you know!
One day, as I was walking through the parking lot to the store, a gentleman about my age (Sr. Citizen) was also walking in.. In his hand was a computer printed page.
I remarked, “You’ve printed your shopping list, I’m very impressed!”
“Oh no,” he replied chuckling, “this is the recipe for Cowboy Stew. My wife is making this for me tonight. She highlighted everything I am supposed to get.” He showed me the recipe page as we entered the store together, highlights and all. “I hope I get everything right,” he told me.
“You’ll be fine. I’m sure!” I said to him as he walked away. And then I pulled out my phone, looked up the recipe, (thank goodness for the picture!) and bought everything I needed and served it that night. My family DEVOURED every bite.
I wish I could find him and say thank you, he’s such a cool guy.
We love this! The first time I made it, I followed the recipe exactly, the second time I added a couple carrots. Then I was asked to use the ranch beans instead. All three were great! Then I made it with anaheim, jalapeno and poblano peppers and baked beans. Tonights it’s hot links instead of kielbasa, with all the peppers plus a serrano. With 5 teens in the house, I need to cook BIG! A complete double recipe plus a total of 7 large russets, 6 large carrots and about a quart of “I don’t know what to do with this” oxtail/bone broth. The great thing about this recipe is that it can be morphed in so many ways.
Hi Rebecca! That is such a cool story! Thank you so much for sharing it! I’m so glad you found the recipe. I hope you’ll find lots more you love here too!
I like to throw a little w sauce in when I do the hamburg, onions and garlic.. 🤷🏻♂️
We have made this recipe several times and love it, but some of us in the family do not like Kielbasa, so the last time we made it my husband used chorizo sausage instead and we all loved it. I think going forward we will keep making it with chorizo, gives the cowboy stew a whole new flavor.
Can’t do tomatoes. Can I substitute tomato sauce or just leave them out?
Hi, Julie! I haven’t tried that but I think that will work out. Use 1 cup of tomato sauce. Let us know how it turns out 🙂
My son is allergic to tomatoes, I buy roasted red peppers and use them, it’s so good.
Hope this helps you