My cowboy stew recipe is one part beef stew, one part chili, five parts DELICIOUS! Three types of meat and wholesome veggies will have everyone in your family begging for more of this stew recipe!
Love hearty stew recipes? You’ll flip for this! With the tender meat of a slow cooker beef stew (one of the most popular stew recipes in the history of my site!!!), and the veggies and beans of a Brunswick stew, cowboy stew takes the best parts of your favorite recipes and simmers them to perfection.
The only thing it doesn’t have is a nod to chicken stew…but hey, let’s throw in some shredded poultry! Why not? Cowboy stew welcomes every ingredient!
Let’s make this 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.
- 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
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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.
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Brown until the beef is no longer pink.
-
Sprinkle flour, salt, pepper, and chili powder over beef. Stir and cook for 1 minute.
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Add diced tomatoes, baked beans, green chilies, sweet corn, potatoes, bacon, sausage, and water.
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Bring to a boil then immediately reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
***See Full Instructions Below.
Cowboy Stew Crockpot Instructions
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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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More Hearty Soups And Stew
- Hungarian Goulash (Authentically Dee-Lish!!)
- Instant Pot Beef Stew
- Hamburger Stew
- Green Chile Stew
- Shipwreck Stew
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, 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
Meagan says
Have you ever mixed everything earlier in the day, put it in the fridge and then heated it later that day for dinner? Wondering how it would turn out?
Kathleen says
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.
But you can store the leftovers in the fridge.
Bj says
I Love this recipe. I’ve made it a few times now. My husband loves it as well.
Kathleen says
Thank you so much! I’m so happy this was a hit 🙂
Denise Hovatter says
Looks delicious!😋 Well try!
Kathleen says
Thanks, Denise! Enjoy 🙂
Tami says
I was trying to decide between this and minestrone so to this I added shell macaroni and then fresh cut green beans because my mama always said every dinner needs something green 😂. When a recipe calls for tomatoes and green chillies, I like to take the opportunity to use an older jar of my canned salsa to make room for next year’s bounty.
I was searching for something satisfying and different from our usual and this fit beautifully. I will be adding it to my list of seasonal soups. Oh, and I served it with fresh sourdough bread.
Kathleen says
Hey Tami so happy your family enjoyed this. Your additions sound delish!!!
Debbie says
What a wonderful meal. Perfect just as written and leftovers just as good.
Kathleen says
Thanks so much Debbie. I’m so happy this was a good recipe for your family, too!
Memi says
Simple and tasty. We used deer sausage & of course being from the south had to put our Cajun seasonings in it.
Kathleen says
That’s perfect! Thanks, Memi!
Melissa says
Made this tonight and it was a huge hit! My kids loved it. I didn’t have russet potatoes so I used sweet potatoes. I also didn’t have baked beans so I used pinto beans and beef bone broth. I also didn’t have bacon thawed so I didn’t use that but this dish turned out great and I think can easily be made with many variations and still taste great. I will be making this again for sure!
Janita says
This has become a staple in my house full
of manly appetites. They love it! It’s in the heavy dinner rotation for fall and winter and I have a feeling I’ll be making this one forever. Thanks for another awesome idea!
Kathleen says
Hi Janita! So happy this is a hit with your family! <3
Reba says
Holy cow! This is like a cross between Texas chili and an adult version of franks and beans.
My husband and I devoured it! I can imagine it will be just as good the next day, if not even better.
Highly recommend!!!
Kathleen says
OMG, you’re amazing! Thank you so much, Reba! I’m sooo happy this was a hit. 🙂
Sonya Heideman says
Thank you, once again, for an awesome recipe! Delicious! My husband said, “Wow! Tasty!!”
Of course, I made your incredible Beer Bread to go along with it.
When he asked about the recipe, I told my husband it was from you — and mentioned another of our favorites — your Hamburger Stew.
Kathleen says
You’re amazing, Sonya! Thank you so much for trying our recipes and for your positive review 🙂 Cowboy stew and beer bread are really perfect together, right?
Kim says
This sounds delicious! When you say baked beans, do you mean something like Bush’s baked beans?
Thank you for sharing
Kim
Kathleen says
Hi, Kim! Yes. You’re correct 🙂
Gretchen Krueger says
Wow! What a wonderful recipe! Forget a t bone steak- I’d much rather eat this!
Kathleen says
I’ with on that Gretchen!
Vicki says
I’ve made this several times & it’s always perfect for those cold days, my family likes it a lot.
Kathleen says
I’m so happy this stew is a hit with your family. Vicki!
Connie Huey Morrow says
Made this tonight for first time!! No bacon used and I used beef broth instead of water and added a can of cream of chicken!! Teenage son Loved it!! Will definitely make again!!
Kathleen says
Wow, that’s amazing Samantha! I’m so happy it was a hit!
Ru says
Oh, my WORD!! I just made this for our staff “snack” week, tasted it, and yummy!! I used beef smoked sausage along with the kielbasa, added cayenne pepper, and did not use the green chiles. I cannot wait for everyone to taste this.
Thank you so much.
Kathleen says
Hi, Ru! Thank you so much. I love your tweaks and am so happy it was a hit! 🙂
Brian says
Discovered this last year and loved it, making some today subbing venison burger for beef, bet it will be delicious!
Lori says
Omg this sounds so. Good I will be trying it soon
Kathleen says
Yaaay! Enjoy, Lori. Let us know how it turns out 🙂
Peggy says
I made this recipe. Everyone loved it. Had for dinner and again for lunch next day. Now they want me to make again.
Kathleen says
Hi, Peggy! I’m so happy it was a hit 🙂 Thank you for your positive feedback 🙂
Marissa Buchmueller says
Made it exactly to the recipe the first time! Yum! This is my favorite version now. Second time I realized I didn’t have green chilis, so I put in some fire roasted tomatoes instead of regular ones. It worked! Also, somehow I was out of bacon…..so, this is a great recipe that really is quite moldable to what you have in your pantries. No wonder cowboys made it on the trail.
Kathleen says
Hi, Marissa! I agree, whatever ingredients you have on hand will do 🙂
I’m glad you like this stew. Thank you for your positive feedback!
Amy Hobus says
Sounds delicious! Can’t wait to make this!
Kathleen says
I hope you enjoy, Amy!
Debra says
Delicious
Kathleen says
Thank you, Debra!