I am a huge fan of soups and stews. Especially during the cold months, which I will be honest isn’t very many here in Phoenix. One of my favorite stews to make is this super easy slow cooker beef stew recipe, that I make in my Crock-Pot.
While I personally believe Beef Bourguignon is the king of the beef stew, I don’t always want to take the “Active” time to make it. This simple slow cooker beef stew is a great replacement and still tastes really yummy.
If you are a fan of soups and stews give this easy little gem a try. It is so incredibly simple to make, if I can do it, you can do it. Let’s get stewing!
Step 1: Gather the ingredients
In order to make this incredibly easy slow cooker beef stew, you need just a handful of ingredients:
- Potatoes – I typically use Russets, but you can use whatever potato that you like. Yukon golds are great too.
- Carrots – To make it even easier, I just buy the baby carrots in a bag.
- Onion – Yellow onions are my favorite for stews, but white onions are great too.
- Beef – Your choice of beef stew meat. Chuck and round are my favorite cuts for stew.
- Beef stew mix – Most supermarkets sell a very cheap beef stew mix for under a dollar. You can also use beef broth or a beef bouillon cube.
- Celery – I don’t always use celery, it is definitely optional.
- Water – My tap water is gross, so I always use my filtered water.
- Salt
- Pepper
- Garlic Powder
Tools
- Knife
- Cutting board
- Crock-Pot/Slow cooker
- Spoon
Step 2: How to make slow cooker beef stew
Begin by washing the potatoes. You can certainly peel the potatoes as well, but I never do. That takes more time, and I really like the skin.
Then cut them up into bite-sized chunks.
NOTE: For every four people that you want to serve I usually add an additional potato. Of course, you can always use more or less of these ingredients to suit your needs.
Now remove the skin from the onion and cut that up into chunks as well. Make them whatever size that you want.
Next, all you need to do is add the potatoes, onions, baby carrots, and beef stew meat to the slow cooker. If you are using regular carrots you will want to wash them and then cut them up into chunks first. Again, peeling them is optional.
TIP: A lot of times supermarkets will already have a package of cut up beef stew meat ready to buy. I will normally buy this. But you can use whatever cut of beef you want and then just cut it up into chunks. Chuck and Round usually make for great stew meat.
Normally when making a fancier stew like Beef Bourguignon, you would sear the beef first. You can still do that if you want. Add some oil to a skillet and heat it to medium high heat. Add the beef stew meat and brown the sides first, then add it to the slow cooker. Searing the meat helps bring out more flavor, but isn’t necessary.
This is meant to be a straight forward cut up a few things and then throw it all together, set it and forget it, until it is done, haha.
Step 3: Cook the beef stew
Take the beef stew mix packet and add it to two cups of water. Mix and then pour it over the slow cooker beef stew ingredients. You may also elect to just use standard beef broth or use the beef bouillon cubes mixed in water.
Now pour enough water into the slow cooker so the top barely covers the top of the ingredients. Add a few shakes of salt, pepper, and garlic powder for flavor. I usually allow whomever I am serving the stew, add the final seasonings to their tastes.
Add the lid to the slow cooker. If you have a full 8 hours or more, you can set the heat to low and let it cook the whole time. But if you only have 4 hours, set it to high for the whole time. Another option is to set it to high for two hours, and then low for 4 hours.
And there is no need to stir during the cooking process. Just let it sit there and do its thing. The beauty of the crock pot!
If you don’t happen to have a slow cooker, you can use a normal large pot. If you are going to do that, you might as well brown the meat first as well. It will take about an hour at medium-high heat. And you should stir it occasionally.
The stew is done when the carrots and potatoes are nice and fork tender. Give it a stir and serve it up. I will generally make this for myself and then eat it for the next few days. Enjoy!
How long does homemade slow cooker beef stew last?
The stew will last 3 to 4 days in the fridge in an airtight container. Another thing you can do is freeze it where it will keep for a few months. Place it in freezer bags, or freezer-safe containers. One thing I like to do is put servings in separate containers and freeze them.
Then I can take one serving out, and heat it up, and eat it, without having to heat the whole thing. Yummy, I love leftover slow cooker beef stew!
Here are some other recipes you make like:
Homemade Waffles Jackie Kennedy Recipe
Slow Cooker Beef Stew
Equipment
- Slow Cooker/Crock Pot
- Knife
- Cutting board
- spoon
- Peeler, optional
Ingredients
- 4 to 5 medium potatoes add potato per person, plus one extra
- 1 lb of carrots baby carrots, or diced carrots, peeled (453g)
- 1 yellow onion
- 1 to 2 lbs of beef round or chuck (450 to 900g)
- 1 beef stew seasoning mix 1.5 OZ super cheap usually under a dollar (42g)
- 1/2 cup chopped celery optional (50g)
- 4 to 6 cups of water 948 to 1422ml
- Salt to taste
- Pepper to taste
- Garlic powder to taste
Instructions
- Rinse then cut the potatoes into chunks. Peel them first if desired. Place in the slow cooker/crock pot
- Rinse and cut/peel the carrots. Or use baby carrots and don't worry about it. Place in the slow cooker/crock-pot
- Peel and cut up the onions into chunks then place it in the slow cooker.
- If using pre-packaged beef stew meat, just open up the package and dump the meat into the slow cooker. Or take your beef and cut it up into bite-sized chunks and add it to the slow cooker. You may brown the meat first in a skillet if desired.
- Add the beef stew seasoning mix to 2 cups of water and stir. Then pour it over the stew. Or use beef broth or add a beef bouillon cube to the water. Then add additional water as necessary to cover the ingredients.
- Add a few shakes of salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Stir everything together with a spoon.
- Cover the stew with the lid, set the heat to low, and cook for at least 8 hours until the potatoes and carrots are fork-tender. Or set it to high and cook for 4 hours.
- Once the stew is done, serve it up. Add additional salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
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