Crock Pot Beef Stew is easy, hearty, and comforting. Toss everything into the crock pot at night then pop into the base and cook the next day!
A few weeks ago my kids and I were on a Target run (I had an extra $100 just laying around – NOT!) and I could smell them before I saw them:
Crayons. Construction paper. Rubber erasers. Rulers!
Ok, maybe not the rulers but seriously, back to school shopping has begin. Although we’ve got a few more glorious weeks of summer left, the school year is coming, along with busy evenings, early mornings, and all the chaos in between. Take a beat to get Crock Pot Beef Stew simmering in your slow cooker to take the stress out of dinner time, at least!
With school age children comes karate, cub scouts, swimming, etc, and once evenings get crazy I’ll be turning to my crock pot to make dinner for me more and more.
If you’re in the same boat and are looking for a hearty, filling, and comforting family-friendly recipe that couldn’t get any easier – Crock Pot Beef Stew is for you!
Chopped stew meat is slow cooked in beef broth seasoned with pantry staples like dried thyme, rosemary, and bay leaves, and pumped up with tons of vegetables including potatoes, carrots, celery, mushrooms, and peas. A complete meal in one pot that requires no pre-cooking. Just toss everything into the crock pot – which you can even do the night before – then press start!
How to Make This Recipe
To a 6 quart crock pot add: 1-1/2lbs stew meat cut into bite-sized pieces, 1 chopped onion, 2 chopped carrots, 2 ribs chopped celery, 8oz chopped mushrooms and 3 cloves minced garlic.
Rounding the stew out is 3 Tablespoons tomato paste, 1 Tablespoon gluten-free Worcestershire sauce, and spice cupboard staples including salt, pepper, dried thyme, dried rosemary, and a bay leaf.
Add 32oz gluten-free beef broth then cook on low for 6-8 hours or until the meat is fall-apart tender.
Once the meat and vegetables are tender, whisk together 1/4 cup gluten-free flour (or AP flour if not GF) with a scoop of the cooking liquid then stream it in and give the stew a big stir.
Cook on high for 30-45 more minutes, or until the stew is slightly thickened, then stir in 1/2 cup frozen peas and let them warm through for about 5 minutes. Serve with a side salad, Gluten Free Focaccia, or crostini for dunking, then dig in!
More Crock Pot Recipes You’ll Love
- Crock Pot BBQ Pulled Pork
- Crock Pot Mojo Pork with Cuban-Style Black Beans
- Crock Pot Italian Beef Sandwiches
- Crock Pot Shredded Beef Enchiladas
- Crock Pot Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1-1/2 lbs stew meat, cut into bite sized pieces
- 1 lb white potatoes, about 1 large potato, peeled then chopped
- 8 oz whole mushrooms, cut into quarters or sixths if large
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 2 ribs celery, chopped
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 Tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 Tablespoon gluten free Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 bay leaf
- 32 oz gluten free beef broth
- 1/4 cup gluten free flour, or AP flour if not GF
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
Directions
- Add ingredients from stew meat to beef broth into a 6-quart crock pot then cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or until meat is fall-apart tender.
- Add flour to a bowl then add a ladleful of cooking liquid and whisk until smooth. Pour back into crock pot then stir well to combine and cook on high for 30-45 more minutes, or until broth has thickened (Note: broth will continue to thicken as it cools). Stir in peas then let sit until heated through, 5 minutes, before serving.
Notes
- Leftovers, when cold, will be thick. Heat it up and if it’s still too thick feel free to splash in beef broth to your desired level.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
Just tried this recipe out. Its been cooking for 7 hours now (6 on low and last hour on high) and the potatoes and carrots still aren’t tender. I can chew them but still firm and not as cooked as they should be. This has happened with other soup recipes I’ve tried in the crock pot as well. Any suggestions? Is there something wrong with my crock pot?
Hi Chiara! It sounds like there might be some issues with your crock pot not cooking hot enough. I just shared a recipe for Chicken and Wild Rice Soup this week and the carrots and celery in that soup are tender after 4 hours. I wonder though, instead of buying a new crock pot, if you try chopping whatever you add to it a little smaller to help them cook faster. If you are ready for a new one, I really love this crock pot!
Same issue… I lost my awesome beef strew recipe and thought I’d give this one a try. My crockpot doesn’t have issues and chopping isn’t the issue. So weird and a bit disappointed.
HI Kristin! I just wanted to pop in and say I have been SO absent in my comments, but loving everything you have been posting lately! (When do I not love what you post, really?) As always, I only cook from your blog. I am an IGE snob and proud of it. I love this crock pot beef stew but I am a HUGE fan of Ben’s too. They look so similar. Is the only diff a crockpot? Maybe Ben’s looks a little thicker huh? xo
I’ve totally got a craving for comfort food – now that the heatwave has left Seattle!! Winner!
Lauren, you have to put the crockpot in the fridge until you’re ready to cook the stew. Many crockpots have a stoneware “crock” that lifts out of the base for washing and serving (and refrigerating).
I just made skinny tastes pork carnitas, Heaven! I definitely need to make your crock pot Italian beef sandwiches, they look awesome! And boo…we don’t have a Hyvee’s around where I live in Kansas :(
This sounds delish! Ok, silly question but when you prep the night before do you put the crockpot in the fridge or just leave it out? Raw meat and all? I’m a planner too and like the idea of preparing ingredients the night before but just wanted to check.
Thanks for another great recipe! (we had your veggie tostada bowls this week! Mmmmm)
Hi Lauren! My crock pot has a crock that you can take out of the base (vs being one whole unit) so I put everything in there then refrigerated it overnight. The next day I took the crock out of the fridge and put it into the base. Here’s the model I have!
Do you have tips about doing a crockpot meal when I have to leave for work at 7 am but we are not able to eat a finished meal until about 6 pm. I love crockpot meals but I feel like the time frames never work out.
Could you make it overnight while you sleep, put in containers in the morning, then reheat that evening? I have done this before with no problems. Just make sure if you have any animals, to keep it out of their reach!
Jane, this is a great idea – that would work out really well! Also, Alyssa, a crock pot with the ability to turn from low/high to a “warm” setting is ideal when you’ll be gone for a long period of time. I was out of the house when the stew stopped cooking but since my crock pot switched to “warm” and not completely off, I could still add the flour/broth mixture and it was brought up to temperature really quickly. I hope I explained that clearly!
I am looking forward to comfort food season!
xoxoBella | http://xoxobella.com
Have another kid and you’ll stop worrying so much about the future because then all you’ll care about is getting a shower every so often……
Looks delicious! I love a good crock pot recipe.
I haven’t turned on the crockpot in a couple months, but this might break that spell! Yum!
I’ve never been a big fan of stew but I’m desperately needing some new crockpot recipes (bringing home a new baby soon- yikes!) and as you said- this looks more soup-y than stew-y and certainly worth a shot. It is definitely the kind of dish that will warm you from the inside out this fall!
I want to hate this because it’s only August and I still want all things berries and melon and sweet corn but this just looks soooo good. I think it was supposed to be around 60 degrees overnight, perhaps that justifies eating stew!
Trisha i or my husband is hungry for it we make it, even if it’s a traditionally and winter food in or a summer food at the wrong time of year. I say make what you want and just enjoy . =D