Crockpot Beef Stew

Name: Crockpot Beef Stew
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 600 min
Total time: 620 min
Ingredients: 3 lb beef (fat trimmed and cut into 1 inch cubes, I used sirloin tip roast); 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (use a bit more if needed); 1 tbsp olive oil; 4 cups beef broth (or chicken broth); 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce; 3 tbsp tomato paste; 1/2 tsp salt; 1/4 tsp pepper (or to taste); 1 tbsp smoked paprika; 1 tsp cumin; 1 tbsp dried oregano; 1 onion (chopped); 5 cloves garlic (minced); 6 medium potatoes (peeled and cut into cubes); 2 medium carrots (peeled and cut into slices); 1 cup green beans (frozen or fresh, ends trimmed and cut in half); 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (optional)

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Crockpot Beef Stew is a hearty and savory slow cooker beef stew, perfect for those cold winter nights! This stew is loaded with beef, potatoes, carrots and green beans.

Crockpot Beef Stew in a bowl topped with basil

What’s not to love about beef stew. Tender, fall-apart chunks of beef loaded with potatoes, carrots and the most flavorful gravy there is. Totally delicious and a true comfort dish. Beef stew is perfect for slow cooking, giving the beef enough time to get super tender and melt in your mouth delicious.

I learned this recipe from my mother and the beauty of it is that it really is versatile. I like to make this dish in the crockpot now that I’ve turned this recipe into my own little creation as it ensures that our beautiful stew will cook low and slow.

This is a perfect recipe for winter, giving you a comforting beef stew loaded with flavor and providing you with lots of leftovers but don’t let that stop you from making it on a particularly rainy day during the spring or summer! So get ready to curl up with a big comforting bowl, it’s exactly what the doctor ordered after a long day.

Ingredients In Beef Stew

Beef – Cut into 1 inch cubes with the fat trimmed, I’ll include a section below detailing what kind of cuts you can use below.
Flour – You have to dredge the beef through flour to brown it in a skillet, an important step flavor wise!
Olive oil – To brown up our beef in the skillet.
Liquids – Low sodium beef broth and Worcestershire sauce add tons of flavor and some needed liquid to this stew.
Tomato paste – This will give a rich flavor bomb to the dish and will cook down low and slow better than say diced tomatoes.
Spices – Cumin, smoked paprika, dried oregano.
Veggies – Potatoes, carrots, green beans.
Garlic – Use as much or little as you like.
Seasoning – Salt and pepper.

Crockpot Beef Stew in a casserole dish with a spoon

How To Make Crockpot Beef Stew

Prep the beef: Place the beef in a ziploc bag and add the flour over the beef. Close the ziploc bag and shake until each piece of beef is fully covered in flour. Add more flour if needed.
Brown the beef: Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add beef to the skillet and brown on all sides. You will have to do this in a couple batches since you don’t want to crowd the meat.
Assemble the stew: Add the broth to the skillet and scrape up all the brown bits with a wooden spoon. Add Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, salt, pepper, paprika, cumin and oregano to the skillet and stir everything together, bring to a boil and remove from heat.
Incorporate the veggies: Add the chopped onion, garlic, potatoes, carrots and green beans to your crockpot. Add beef and the broth we made earlier. Stir everything together.
Cook the stew: Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours or high for 5 to 6 hours. If you prefer your stew a bit thicker, one hour before the stew is finished, take 1/4 cup of flour and whisk it together with some of the sauce from the crockpot, about a cup or so. Then pour this mixture back in the crockpot, stir and let it cook for the remainder of the time.
Finish the stew: Garnish with freshly chopped parsley before serving.

What Is The Best Cut Of Beef

Usually you can find stewing beef in your grocery store, and it comes already cut into cubes. You want the tough, lean cuts. However, they have collagen which breaks down over long cooking resulting in fork tender meat. Moreover, look for chuck roast, top round, rump roast, chuck shoulder or eye round roast.

How Else Can I Make Beef Stew?

Oven

You can definitely make this stew super easily in the oven! Follow the directions just as above but pop the ingredients in a dutch oven instead and cook at 350 F degrees for 2 – 2 1/2 hours.

Pressure cooker

You’ll want to follow the directions outlined above, including browning and sautéing right in the pressure cooker on its saute setting. Assemble the ingredients in the pot, make sure to scrape the brown bits from the inner pot once the broth is added! Cook on high pressure for 35 minutes and allow the pressure to release naturally before serving!

Other Ingredients You Can Use

There’s lot’s you can incorporate into this stew! It’s a blank canvas for whatever you’d like to use up in your pantry or fridge, so feel free to have some fun with it.

Veggies

Cauliflower
Peas
Broccoli
Zucchini
Celery

Meat

Lamb
Pork
Chicken
Turkey

Using other proteins may effect the cooking time so just keep that in mind when incorporating other meats into your stew.

Storing Leftovers

Allow the stew to come to room temperature but don’t leave it out, unrefrigerated for more than two hours. Store it in airtight containers in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.

Freezing

You can freeze this stew for up to 6 months. Simply transfer it to airtight containers or resealable freezer bags and pop them in the freezer. Just allow to thaw overnight in the fridge and warm back up to temperature over the stove when ready to eat.

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I’m Joanna (Jo for short) and this is my blog where I share with you my culinary adventures. Here you will find a variety of recipes using simple everyday ingredients and creating wonderful, delicious and comforting meals, including some decadent desserts.

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