Cosy up with a big bowl of this comforting Slow Cooker Beef & Vegetable Stew. A delicious stew with tender pieces of beef and hearty vegetables all wrapped up in a thick and rich broth. Serve it with a Rustic Bread loaf ore the No Yeast Whole Wheat Bread for a complete comfort dinner.
Our temps have gone straight to brrrrrrr overnight. It’s the middle of the afternoon and I have the fire roaring away in the living room . I’m not complaining because comfort season is my season! I say, bring it on. And if you read along on the blog, you’ll know my love for rich and comforting dishes. Just the other day I posted a recipe for a Potato & Spinach Gratin, that’s not only comforting but absolutely delicious. A great one to keep in mind for a holiday table. A great vegetarian main course option that you can keep in mind.
For for now, we’re talking Beef Stew. I don’t make a lot of beef dishes as we’re not big meat eaters. That being said, if it were up to my 16 year old, Ollie, we’d probably have it several times a week. So in trying to satisfy his meat eating cravings, I made this stew the other week. Success. It was a great stew that I tried out a few times to get it just right to share here on the Blog.
Here’s All The Ingredients You Will Need To Make The Slow Cooker Beef Stew
- Stewing beef
- Potatoes
- Carrots
- Celery
- Shallots
- 4 cloves garlic crushed
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 3 1/2 cups beef broth
- 1 teaspoon rosemary
- 1 1/2 teaspoons thyme
- 4 bay leaves
- 1/3 cup flour
- fresh chopped parsley to serve
- salt to season
- black pepper to season
REMEMBER, The Full recipe and instructions can be found at the end of the post in the recipe card.
How To Make The Crockpot Beef Stew with Vegetables
- Chop vegetables – chop and prepare everything that you need to make the beef stew. I cut my potatoes into quarters, sliced the carrots, quartered the shallots and finely diced the celery.
- Trim & cut beef – I bought my stewing beef already cut into pieces, but you may be cutting your own. Trim off fatty pieces and cut into about 1 inch pieces.
- Season & brown the beef – season the beef with salt and pepper. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a large skillet and add the beef pieces. Allow to brown all over for about 2 – 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Sautee the shallots – In the same pan you cooked the beef, add the remaining one tablespoon of olive oil and the shallots. Give a good stir and allow to cook for about 3 – 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
COOKING TIP – I left the skin on my potatoes as I feel it gives a better flavour. But you can just as easily peel them if your prefer.
Add Everything To The Slow Cooker
- Add the beef to the slow cooker – tip the beef into the slow cooker
- Tip in vegetables – add all the vegetables, bay leaves, garlic, seasonings, tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce to the crockpot.
- Pour over beef broth – Pour over all the beef broth and give a good stir.
- Cover and cook – put the lid on the slow cooker and set the temperature to low. Cook between 8 – 10 hours or until the beef is tender and vegetables cooked all the way through.
COOKING TIP – Remember all slow cookers cook slightly differently. This cooked perfectly in mine at 9 hours on low. Yours may take a little longer or be done a bit quicker.
Finish Off The Slow Cooker Beef Stew
- Make thickening agent – Remove about 1/3 cup of broth from the crockpot and mix it with the 1/4 cup of flour. Stir well so there are no lumps. Pour it into the crockpot and stir it in good.
- Allow it to thicken – Cover and allow it to thicken for a further 20 – 30 minutes.
Are There Any Substitutions I can Make to This Beef Stew
One of the great things about Soups & Stews is that you can quite often make substitutions. Here’s some other ingredients that would work well.
- Potatoes – I used large cooking potatoes, but you could use baby new potatoes, fingerling potatoes or red potatoes. I chose tow wash my potatoes and keep the skin on. You can peel your potatoes if you prefer.
- Shallots– any kind of onions will work really. I used shallots, but yellow onions, white onions or leeks would all work well.
Can This Beef Stew Be Made in Advance
Honestly, we thought it was better the next day. Here’s what to do if making it the day before hand.
Make Ahead Beef Stew
- Cook the Beef & Vegetable Stew according to recipe in recipe card. Allow to cool completely.
- Store in refrigerator safe container and seal properly. Store in the fridge up to three days.
- To reheat. Remove from fridge and put in a large pot on the stove and cover. Set stove to a medium heat and allow to heat through until hot.
What’s Great To Serve with This Beef Stew
Well, I’d say anything bread! The Fluffy White Dinner Rolls, Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls, Rustic Bread Loaf or even the Parmesan and Chive Biscuits would all be great choices to serve on the side.
Get The Recipe!
Slow Cooker Beef & Vegetable Stew
Ingredients
- 2 lbs stewing beef cut into small pieces
- 1 lb potatoes cut into 1 inch pieces
- 5 medium carrots peeled and sliced into 1/2 inch thick slices
- 4 ribs celery diced
- 8 shallots halved and quartered
- 4 cloves garlic crushed
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 3 1/2 cups beef broth
- 1 teaspoon rosemary
- 1 1/2 teaspoons thyme
- 4 bay leaves
- 1/4 cup flour
- fresh chopped parsley to serve
- salt to season
- black pepper to season
Instructions
- Season the beef with salt and pepper. Heat a large skillet over high heat and add 2 tbsp of the olive oil. Brown the beef on high heat for 3 – 4 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
- In the same skillet add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and tip in the shallots. Give a good stir and cook for just about 2 – 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Add the browned beef, sauteed shallots, carrots, celery, potatoes, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaves, garlic, rosemary , thyme and beef broth to the slow cooker. Stir well, cover and cook on low for approximately 8 – 10 hours * (see note at bottom)
- Remove 1/3 cup of broth from the slow cooker and mix with the 1/4 cup of flour. Stir well to ensure there are no lumps. Pour back into the slow cooker and give a good stir. Cover and leave to cook for a further 20 – 30 minutes until thickened.
- Serve with fresh chopped parsley on the top.
*A note on times provided: appliances vary, any prep and/or cook times provided are estimates only.
Notes
- All slow cookers cook at different timings. This Beef Stew cooked perfectly for me at 9 hours. But cooking time may vary an hour either side of that. So check yours and allow more time if needed.
- Once cooked, you can shred apart the beef or leave it in small tender pieces. I chose to leave it in chunks.
- The only added salt I used in this recipe, was when seasoning the beef. My beef broth, had salt. You may need to add additional salt to your liking at the end.
Thanks For Stopping By & Hope To See You Soon!
Uh…when do you add the potatoes??? There’s no mention in the recipe.
Hi Lisa, thanks for pointing that out, it was in the step-by-step section but I overlooked it in the recipe card. It’s fixed now. You add them with the other vegetables. And again, thank you!