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 our instant Pot beef stew or my stovetop classic beef stew recipe (my Grandma’s recipe!) If you’d like to try something with all the comfort of an amazing, slow cooked stew thats a little different, I hope you’ll try my pork stew and cowboy stew next! All of these stew recipes have received rave reviews from other readers. Our family takes stew seriously, so check out the list (right before the recipe card) below for even more comforting deliciousness! 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 for this stew. It’s a tough cut of meat, but with low, slow cooking, it becomes meltingly tender and delicious!
Slow Cooker Beef Stew Ingredients
- 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 For Slow Cooker Beef Stew
- 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, crisp, cool, and still crunchy KFC coleslaw, strawberry spinach salad, 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), cat head biscuits, butter swim biscuits, my super-quick and easy Bisquick biscuits, or my homemade Olive Garden breadsticks.
How to Make Slow Cooker Beef Stew
- 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
- Hamburger Stew
- Hungarian Goulash
- Chicken Stew
- Brunswick Stew
- Meatball Stew
- Guinness Beef Stew
- Green Chile Stew
- Shipwreck Stew
- German Goulash
Did You Try This Recipe?
Leave a review, I love hearing your feedback! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Slow Cooker Beef Stew
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 (10.75-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
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Steph says
I made this a couple of nights ago and although I didn’t have every ingredient I did have most. Very delicious…my husband and I loved it.
Kathleen says
Hi Steph. So glad you liked it 😉
Elizabeth says
I was just wondering if this could feed 6 people or if I would need to adjust it just a bit. It look really yummy and I think my family would like it. 🙂
Kathleen says
Hi Elizabeth. Well, honestly it depends on how big of eaters they are. You can stretch it but I’d probably another potato and maybe another 1/2 pound of meat. It’s really delicious so I hope you give it a try. I’d love to hear how it works out for your family! 🙂
Judy says
I’m short on time. Will it be okay to cook the stew on high for 3 or 4 hrs instead of low for 4 or 5 hrs?
Kathleen says
Hello Judy. I think that should work out perfectly 🙂 enjoy!!!
Sheila says
Found this on Pinterest & it looks & sounds yummy so I’m pinning it too!
Just one request though – Is there a way you can alter your blog settings so it automatically adjusts the line lengths of your descriptions & instructions? (I think it’s referred to as ‘dynamic’ pages.)
The problem is that if you’re using a tablet or phone & zoom in to enlarge the writing you then have to scroll right & left quite a lot to read each line of the descriptions or instructions, specially if viewed in vertical, ‘portrait mode’.
Anyway scrolling or not, I think my crock pot will be dusted off for this recipe! 🙂
Kathleen says
Hi Sheila. Thank you so very much for bring this to my attention. I will have my tech people see if they can make this alteration! Hope you try the stew. It’s truly a favorite!
Mary says
Made this stew yesterday and I have to say it was EXCELLENT! It did cook for about 7 hours on low…..meat was tender (not dry). Definite keeper! Thanks for sharing.
Kathleen says
Thanks Mary! So glad you like the stew. Thanks for your feedback 🙂
Sandy says
Great tasting stew.. I made it for my mom and a friend and they both liked it.. I will be making it from now on…Thank you for sharing,
Kathleen says
Thanks Sandy! So glad you liked it!
Diane says
I was unable to print this recipe. But giving it a a try. Looks delicious
Kathleen says
Hi Diane, sorry it isn’t printing. Will look into fixing it asap! Hope you try the recipe and let me know how you like it!
Cyndi says
Made this stew last night – so delicious. All three boys including my husband loved it. It was easy to put together and had excellent flavor. Very satisfying for a cold winter evening. Thanks very much.
Kathleen says
Thanks Cyndi! So glad it was a hit!
Susan says
Peas and mushrooms in stew is very good, always in mine. This question has nothing to do with the recipe, but I couldn’t find where I could ask you if you made your beautiful red scarf/cowl your wearing? If so, is there a pattern somewhere you could share?
Thanks.
Kathleen says
Hi Susan! Thanks you for the compliment! No I didn’t make it. Darn! It was a gift from my daughter 🙂
Suzette says
So I made this for dinner tonight for myself, my hubby and his mom. My Whole Foods didn’t have condensed tomato soup, so I picked up a can of creamy tomato soup and crossed my fingers. I also used beef broth instead of beef bouillon and sweet potato instead of regular to up the nutrition factor. I also started it a little late, so I set my crockpot on high for 3 hours and then to low for the last hour. It came out AMAZING!! Hubby went back for seconds, thirds, and fourths and kept commenting on how it tasted just like his mom’s….and she’s a great cook!! My MIL and I went back for seconds, too. I left out the onions because I don’t remember ever having beef stew with onions but my MIL said she puts them in hers, so I’ll add them next time. Either way, it’s a keeper…..thank you so much!!!!
Kathleen says
Hey Suzette. I love how you tweaked it! I can’t wait to check out that creamy tomato soup from Whole Foods! Thanks for sharing your experience with the recipe 🙂
Suzette says
Thanks….my mother-in-law asked me today for the recipe because she had the leftover for lunch. It was Amy’s Organic Cream of Tomato Soup….I wanted to make sure you picked up the right one. 🙂
Suzette says
Hi Kathleen…..this looks to-die-for! I was wondering if you think I can keep this in the crockpot on low for 8 hours or would that be too long?
Kathleen says
Hi Suzette, I find that if I cook things longer than recommended in a crockpot, it often drys out the meat in a dish. I would worry that would happen with an 8 hour cooking time.
Suzette says
Thank you for your input. I’ll stick with the 5 hours and then just keep it on warm. Happy New Year!
Kathleen says
You’re so welcome. Happy New Year to you as well 😉
Kelly says
The recipe that I’m looking at shows an eight hour cooking time where are you seeing five hours
Kathleen says
Hi Kelly. The original recipe called to cook the stew for 5 hours. I updated the recipe because I’ve found that it needs to cook longer.
Donna says
I made this yesterday & it was delicious! I doubled it as I was cooking for quite a few people. I pretty much stuck to the recipe. At the end, I thickened it with cornstarch. This was very filling, the meat came out tender & the veggies were perfect! Great recipe!
Kathleen says
Hi Donna! So happy you like the recipe. Thanks for sharing your experiences 😉
Julie says
Doing on stove top!
Kathleen says
Hope you enjoy 😉
Tara says
Mmmm. just looking at the pictures is making me feel warmer! Can’t wait to try this recipe!
Kathleen says
Thanks Tara 🙂
Betty819 says
I never put peas or mushrooms in my stew either but might have to try it. Peas are not one of my favorite vegetables, that’s why. What sides do you like to serve with this meal? Maybe some good tasting cornbread would be my choice and maybe cole slaw?
Marsha says
Looks amazing, can’t wait for a day off to try it!
Kathleen says
Hope you enjoy it Marsha 😉
monique vos says
looks yammie. i’m going to cook it. in landers we have reccepie with dark abbybeer end havy beer. the alcohol is not a problem because it diseparing by cooking it.
enjoy.
Kathleen says
Thanks Monique 😉
Marsha M, - SOCAL says
Beef stew is one of my husband’s favorites. I don’t put peas or mushrooms in mine, but this looks so good, I’m going to give this one a try. I think he’d love it.
Kathleen says
Hey Marsha. Hope you enjoy it 😉
Linda says
Oh my gosh! This looks so tasty. Wish I had all the ingredients right now. I’d be late for work, but I’d have a great dinner waiting for me when I got home. Tomorrow….!
Linda