My slow cooker beef stew recipe blends the good stuff you want your family to eat with the mouth-watering deliciousness that’ll have them running for the table!
Coming home to the delicious aroma of beef stew just makes the rest of the day a little better. All those rich, yummy flavors married together in a delectable sauce immediately beckon to every nearby taste bud. Not only is this stew wholesome and nutritious for the entire family but it practically dances down to your tummy, slowly warming your insides to a soft, fervent glow.
If you find yourself craving beef stew and want it in a hurry, try my Instant Pot beef stew or my stovetop classic beef stew recipe (my Grandma’s recipe!) I promise you’ll love them all!
This recipe will fill your house with that cooking-all-day aroma without actually having to sweat over a stovetop. Let’s make this!!
Do I Have To Brown Stew Meat Before Slow Cooking?
Actually, no you don’t. But let me tell you, it makes a huge difference in the overall flavor of the finished stew. It’s a small investment in time for the flavor it adds. Browning the meat caramelizes the exterior and adds a richness that nothing else can create.
What Is The Secret To Tender Beef Stew?
The secret to a perfect tender beef stew is choosing the right cut of beef. Chuck roast is the perfect choice. It’s a tough cut of meat, but with low, slow cooking, it becomes meltingly tender and delicious!
Ingredients For Beef Stew Slow Cooker
- All-purpose Flour: The flour that coats the beef cubes ultimately creates a roux when browned and thickens the gravy.
- Vegetable Oil: Use a flavorless oil with a high smoke point.
- Beef Bouillon Cubes: Creates a deep beef flavor. I use Knorr beef bouillon cubes.
- Condensed Tomato Soup: This soup helps creates a deeply delicious flavored gravy.
- Italian Seasoning: My favorite brand is McCormick Perfect Pinch Italian Seasoning.
- Bay Leaves: Even though these are dried, they add a herbaceous brightness to the stew. Be sure to fish them out before serving.
- Onions: I use yellow onions.
- Russet Potatoes: You can choose another type but I love the flavor and creaminess Russets add. As they cook, their edges break down just a bit and contribute to thickening the gravy.
- Mushrooms: These add even more meatiness to this delicious stew. If you don’t care for them, simply omit them.
- Frozen Peas: I love these in my stews but they are optional, of course. I know there are a lot of pea-haters!
Tips
- Browning: This stew recipe begins in a skillet. It is best to use a heavy-bottomed skillet for this step because it will distribute heat more evenly.
- Be sure not to overcrowd your pan when browning your meat. Overcrowding traps pockets of heat and prevents all surfaces from cooking evenly.
- Sauce: When making the ‘sauce’ you’ll be stirring up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan (commonly known as deglazing) and dissolving bouillon cubes. I find that a wooden spoon works best because it’s sturdy and it won’t scratch your cookware.
- Bouillon: Speaking of bouillon cubes, it’s best not to add salt until the end. Bouillon cubes are pretty salty, and you may not need extra.
- Mushrooms: This slow cooker beef stew recipe calls for mushrooms and they really take the meatiness factor of this dish to the next level.
- Soup: This recipe also calls for a can of condensed tomato soup (undiluted) unlike slow cooker beef stew with onion soup mix. Your stew will not taste like tomato soup!
- Instead, you’ll get slightly sweet nuances to balance out those salty bouillon cubes. It’s a rich, complex flavor profile that is off the charts on the yummy factor!
- The soup is added as an ingredient straight out of the can. You do not need to add water to the soup as directed on the can.
Storing + Freezing + Make Ahead
- How Long Can You Keep This In The Fridge? Once cooked, you can store your in the fridge for up to four days. You don’t want to mess with the safety of beef, so toss any extras after that time. Or just gobble it all down before that four-day deadline!
- Can You Freeze This? You can certainly freeze this stew recipe and keep ready-made meals in the freezer. It works best if you store it in a size-appropriate air-tight container.
- Just remember to leave room for expansion and make sure that it is completely cooled before placing your beef stew in the freezer.
- Make-Ahead Tips: Creating a recipe ahead of time will just ensure that it has a superior flavor and it’s ready when you are. This slow cooker beef stew healthy recipe will taste even better the next day after marinating in that incredible sauce.
- Of course, you may want to consider waiting to add the potatoes until you are ready to serve your slow cooker beef stew because they could get softer than you like bathing in that tasty sauce for an extended period of time. It’s a personal preference choice.
- Food Safety: If you’d like more food safety info check out this article.
Serving Recommendations
I like to serve this with a simple green salad and our homemade balsamic vinaigrette, or strawberry salad (feel free to switch berries for those in season or on hand).
My all-time favorite things to eat with this stew are warm, tender, and buttery homemade crescent rolls, lion house rolls (with make-ahead instructions), my quick and easy Bisquick biscuits, or my homemade Olive Garden breadsticks.
How to Make Beef Stew In The Slow Cooker
- Shake beef with flour to evenly coat.
- Brown both sides of the beef. Set aside.
- Add water and bouillon cubes. Scrape the brown bits.
- Add tomato soup, Italian seasonings, bay leaves, and black pepper.
- Transfer the beef to the crockpot and pour the liquids.
- Add the vegetables and mushroom. Cook for 8 hours.
- Add peas and cook.
- Serve.
See full instructions below.
More Delicious Stew Recipes
Slow Cooker Beef Stew
This warm, savory slow cooker beef stew blends everything you want your family to eat with flavor that satisfies the soul.
Servings: 6 servings
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 pounds boneless beef chuck roast trimmed and cut Into 1-inch cubed
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 cups to 2 1/2 cups water
- 2 large beef bouillon cubes
- 1 (10 3/ -ounces) can condensed tomato soup, undiluted
- 3 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 medium onions sliced
- 2 large Russet potatoes peeled and cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
- 3 medium carrots cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 stalks celery cut into 1-inch pieces
- 8 ounces whole mushrooms trimmed
- 3/4 cup frozen peas thawed
Instructions
- Pour flour (1/4 cup) into a 1-gallon Ziplock bag. Add meat (2 1/2 pounds), in batches, and shake to evenly coat all pieces.
- Add oil (2 tablespoons) to a large skillet and heat. When the oil is hot, brown the meat in batches without crowding it. Transfer meat, when it's browned, directly to the crockpot. Add 1 1/2 cups water and bouillon cubes (2) to the skillet and cook, stirring up the brown bits from the bottom of the skillet and dissolving the bouillon cubes. Remove from heat and add tomato soup (1 can), Italian seasonings (3 teaspoons), bay leaves (2), and black pepper (1/2 teaspoon) and stir to combine. Pour into the crockpot over beef. Add the onions (2), potatoes (2), carrots (3), celery (2 stalks), and mushrooms (8 ounces).
- Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or until the beef and veggies are tender. If needed, add more water. Add the thawed peas (3/4 cup) to the last 20-30 minutes of cooking. Discard bay leaves and serve.
Fans Also Made:
Notes
- Browning: This stew recipe begins in a skillet. It is best to use a heavy-bottomed skillet for this step because it will distribute heat more evenly.
- Be sure not to overcrowd your pan when browning your meat. Overcrowding traps pockets of heat and prevents all surfaces from cooking evenly.
- Sauce: When making the ‘sauce’ you’ll be stirring up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan (commonly known as deglazing) and dissolving bouillon cubes. I find that a wooden spoon works best because it’s sturdy and it won’t scratch your cookware.
- Bouillon: Speaking of bouillon cubes, it’s best not to add salt until the end. Bouillon cubes are pretty salty, and you may not need extra.
- Mushrooms: This slow cooker beef stew recipe calls for mushrooms and they really take the meatiness factor of this dish to the next level.
- Soup: This recipe also calls for a can of condensed tomato soup (undiluted) unlike slow cooker beef stew with onion soup mix. Your stew will not taste like tomato soup!
- Instead, you’ll get slightly sweet nuances to balance out those salty bouillon cubes. It’s a rich, complex flavor profile that is off the charts on the yummy factor!
Nutrition
Serving: 1/6 of the recipe | Calories: 556kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 42g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 130mg | Sodium: 884mg | Potassium: 1321mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 5335IU | Vitamin C: 17mg | Calcium: 88mg | Iron: 5.8mg
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My family loved this recipe!
Yaaay, that’s amazing, Chris! Thank you for your positive feedback 🙂
This beef stew was AMAZING! The beef is so tender! I will definitely make this recipe again. Thanks.
Yaaay! Thank you so much 🙂 Enjoy!
Love this recipe, have been making it for several years, today I didn’t have any celery, so added a handful of chopped squash and a turnip, plus when I deglaze I use 1/2 cup do red wine, don’t add potato’s but served with mashed potato’s in the middle, gotta tell you it’s really good
Oh my, that made me hungry! I love your version! Thank you for your positive feedback 🙂
Can I use cream of mushroom soup to substitute mushrooms and stewed tomatoes instead of tomato soup
Hi, Chris. I’m not sure about the cream of mushroom soup substitute, you can leave the mushroom out. But I think stewed tomatoes will work. Let us know how it turns out!
It’s a bit “watery” (not thick and hearty as I was expecting).
Hmmm! That’s unusual. This is a very thick stew that has been tested by many cooks. Is it possible you didn’t cook it long enough?
My family does not like mushrooms. Would eliminating them make that much difference in the flavor?
Hi Lynn. No, it will still taste great! 🙂
Best stew recipe ever! It was so good… my family loved it!
Thanks for a great recipe!
So glad you enjoyed Sue! You are so welcome!!
I made a large batch of this on Monday as I knew the week of Christmas was going to be crazy. It is outstanding and we have been eating on it ever since and it just gets better everyday. I would give this recipe a very hearty thumbs up for the busy cooks out there.
Thank you sooo much, Kathy! 🙂 🙂
Thank you, Kathy. What a great idea to make this the week before Christmas!!!
We just love this stew recipe 👍 My question is , can it be totally made on top of he stove? I was prepping everything and my crockpot decided to quit on me. I have everything ready to go but no crockpot . Is it possible to do it all on the stove top?
Thanks so much in advance
Mary
Hi, Mary! Yes, you can cook this on the stove instead. The cooking process may take you 2-3 hours.
You can also try this one:
https://www.gonnawantseconds.com/beef-stew-recipe/
Enjoy! <3
Made it today and it was fantastic! Thanks for sharing!!
You’re so welcome, Lisa. So happy you enjoyed! <3
My husband said this was the best stew ever!! My whole family loved it!
That seems like alot of italian seasoning…can I leave that out entirely?
Of course. It will be a lot less flavorful though.
Why would you want to? Considering it’s like, the ONLY seasoning added, 1 Tbsp is NOT going to be overpowering due to the large volume of the recipe. If anything, I would double it & add in some fresh minced garlic or garlic powder.
<3!!!
It has taken me over 30 years to find a beef stew recipe I like. I loved my mother in laws but could never replicate. We love this recipe and is the only one I’ll ever use. I use venison chops cut into small pieces for my meat. THIS IS THE BEST!
Hi Lynn! I’m so very happy to hear that!!
Can the tomato soup be substituted? I am preparing this dish for someone going through Chemo and they cannot tolerate tomato right now.
Hi! I’d try Cream of Beef. What do you think? 🙂
Made this recipe last night and followed it exactly. It was AMAZING! Everyone thoroughly enjoyed it. I just have one question. We bought stewing beef from Costco and I have more than enough left to make another batch. My question is have you ever froze the cooked stew? If so how did it turn out after thawing? Thanks!
Hey Brenda. Yes I have and it thaws out as any beef stew would, the veggies are very soft but it’s even more flavorful. I’m so happy you enjoyed the stew <3
Thanks so much! You were right. We are making another batch tonight. A new family favourite!
I’m so happy to hear that Brenda! <3
Tried the recipe with a few modifications to lower sodium intake and it was fantastic! Used low sodium beef broth (3 1/2 caps) cooked down to two for a concentrated flavor. Used Pomo crushed tomatoes which I purée’d instead of tomato soup and used salt free Italian seasoning.
Hi Scott. Your modifications sound great! I’m very happy you enjoyed it!
This is my second time using this recipe. I love it and so does my family. This is a keeper for me. I didn’t make any changes to it. I may try some changes using some posts I read. I love to try new recipes from Pinerest.
Hi Raymond. I’m so glad everyone in the family like the Crock Pot Beef Stew 🙂
Hi Kathleen,
My name is Raymonde (not Raymond). I am female and French. Raymonde is the feminine name of Raymond. I get that mistake all the time though so getting used to it.
Raymonde
Dear Raymonde,
I had also never heard of the name Raymonde as a female name.
I feel so sorry for you that people always misinterpret it. Thatwy
i. ve got 3 powerful solutions, then things can’t go wrong anymore !!
1. Is better when you write your name with an a at the end ! Raymonda.
2. is better when you mention Mrs. by your name – Mrs Reymonde P.
3. is better if you mention the kiss sign x at the end of your response !
. . because men never give away merciful kisses !!!!!!
I also have the same problem as a man, my name is Lesley, an female
name but I am a man. I solved this problem by always mentioning an alternative masculine sounding name, namely: Lesr.
Greeting and all the best from the Netherlands.
Lesr