The Best Crockpot Beef Stew

Beef stew served in a white bowl

Beef stew has to be one of my ultimate comfort foods, especially during the winter months. And what goes better with Sunday football than a big ole’ bowl of beef stew!

Now, this isn’t any old stew. This has been proclaimed as The Best Crockpot Beef Stew by my friends and family. So add this recipe to your menu next week and let the compliments roll in.

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The Best Crockpot Beef Stew 

  • 2 pounds beef stew meat, (cut into bite-sized pieces)
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 2 celery ribs, sliced
  • 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 6 oz can tomato paste
  • 32 oz beef broth
  • 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 cups baby carrots carrots
  • 4-5 small red potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces (about 3 cups)
  • 1 tablespoon dried parsley
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
  • 1 cups frozen peas
  • 1 cup frozen corn
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 1/4 cup water
  1. Combine beef, celery, carrots, red onion, potatoes, salt,  pepper, garlic, parsley, oregano, Worcestershire sauce, beef broth, and tomato paste in the crock pot. I used a 6 qt crockpot for this stew.  Cook on LOW for 10 hours or on HIGH for 6-7 hours.
  2. About 30 minutes before serving, mix the flour and the water together in a small dish and pour into the crockpot. Mix until well combined. This will add a nice thickness to the stew. Next add in your frozen peas and corn. Continue cooking covered for 30 minutes.

vegetables, broth, beef, tomato paste and seasonings in a crockpot

 

Want even MORE crockpot ideas?  Make sure to check out my 30 EASY CROCKPOT MEALS!collage image of 6 different crockpot recipes

Here are more of our favorite slow cooker recipes!

4.84 from 296 votes

The Best Crockpot Beef Stew

This has been proclaimed as Best Crockpot Beef Stew by my friends and family. So add this recipe to your menu next week and let the compliments roll in.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 hours
Total Time 10 hours 10 minutes

Ingredients
 

  • 2 pounds beef stew meat (cut into bite-sized pieces)
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 1 medium onion finely chopped
  • 2 celery ribs sliced
  • 2-3 cloves of garlic minced
  • 6 oz can tomato paste
  • 32 oz beef broth
  • 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 cups baby carrots carrots
  • 4-5 small red potatoes cut into bite-sized pieces (about 3 cups)
  • 1 tablespoon dried parsley
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
  • 1 cups frozen peas
  • 1 cup frozen corn
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 1/4 cup water

Instructions

  • Combine beef, celery, carrots, red onion, potatoes, salt, pepper, garlic, parsley, oregano, Worcestershire sauce, beef broth, and tomato paste in the crock pot. I used a 6 qt crockpot for this stew. Cook on LOW for 10 hours or on HIGH for 6-7 hours.
  • About 30 minutes before serving, mix the flour and the water together in a small dish and pour into the crockpot. Mix until well combines. This will add a nice thickness to the stew. Next add in your frozen peas and corn. Continue cooking covered for 30 minutes.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 324kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 70mg | Sodium: 1033mg | Potassium: 1369mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 4885IU | Vitamin C: 24.3mg | Calcium: 73mg | Iron: 5.2mg

Nutritional Disclaimer: Family Fresh Meals is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.

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Post updated September 2020

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574 Comments

  1. Corey this is just the recipe I NEED! We just returned from Florida and it is freezing here! Going from the high 80’s everyday to the rainy cool 50’s is hard on us older folks. You can bet that this weekend, your stew will be warming our tummies!! Thank you for the great timing! You just never know how you help others!

    1. YAY! I am so glad I could help 🙂 Thank you so much for the super sweet comment Laura 🙂

      1. I made this today. Followed recipe to a T. I have an excellent crockpot. Potatoes and carrots were hard. Cooked 10 hours on low. Found the stew to be bland. I had to add a 1/2 packet of onion soup to the mix.

        1. If your crockpot had carrots and potatoes in it for ten hours stewing in vegetable juices and a quart of beef broth, and the carrots and potatoes were still hard, then there’s either something wrong with your crockpot, or something wrong with your crockpot operator. This recipe had nothing to do with it.

          1. I agree! It only takes 3 hours to cook vegetables in a crockpot.

        2. Vicki Crone says:

          I had a crockpot that would not cook items in 10 hours once. This is meaning the temperature is too low on it and is not considered safe for cooking. Often times this happens with the all in one cookers. For some reason they just don’t crock pot well. It is best just to use a plain old fashioned style one. Cheap and they work well.

        3. Ruth Kramer says:

          Did you put the vegetables on the bottom or around the sides of the crock? My crock pot manual says to do that so they’ll get done with the meat.

        4. Dana Bonnell says:

          Clearly something wrong with your Crockpot. Made this recipe a number of times…. never an issue.

      2. 5 stars
        Worked your recipe twice.. Gets better every time, even with our new AllClad 7 QT crock pot…We cooked all the ingredients as instructed on high for 4 hrs.. Then low for 4 hrs. I prepped the meat with Adolfs meat tenderizer the night before. and used Sweet Vidaeliea onions instead of red onions.. and no tomato paste… Off the wall good.. everything in that crock you could cut with a fork… Good stuff…… Thanks..

        1. Wally Smith says:

          I noticed that you indicated that you left out the tomato paste. I intend on doing this also the next time that I make it. I followed the recipe using the tomato paste the last time and it came out good but I could not understand the reason for the tomato paste. To me . . . a tomato flavoring just does not complement a Beef stew. Can’t wait to try it without the tomato paste.

          1. Ruth Kramer says:

            I haven’t made this yet but I’ll probably leave out the tomato paste too because i agree it does not go with beef stew. I never put that much Worcestershire sauce in anything because I don’t like it or the way it overpowers the other flavors. Probably will use 1 teaspoon of it at most. The dog can’t have tomatoes and I don’t make meat she cannot eat.

    2. 5 stars
      Love the recipe! I’ve made it multiple times but was never aware of the nutritional facts of the recipe and I am a bit surprised on the calories and carbs for this dish. However it is still really good

    3. G.D. stevenson says:

      Not findings calories and carbs. Am I missing something?

      1. You could just look up calories and carbs yourself. If you google like “Calories in 1 medium potato” it will give you all the nutrition info.

    4. 5 stars
      This was really good. I only put 1 1/2 TBSP of Worcestershire sauce. I didn’t have flour so I used 1/2 the amount in corn starch. I didn’t have 6 ounces of tomato paste , but used 3 ounces of tomato puree.I also used a package of McCormick’s Beef stew. I added chicken broth from kitchen accomplice. Wow , this was really good.

      1. I don’t use flour. I use instant potato buds. It’s great for thickening soups or stews and adds to the flavor.

    1. Wally Smith says:

      A “COLD” day in San Diego ? I would rather be out West right now than here in Maine !

  2. Made this the other night. It was delicious I followed the recipe exactly but used some venison stew meat I had in the freezer along with the beef. So good and very easy with the crock pot.

  3. I bet this would be yummy with some barley thrown in. I have a major thing for barley thought 🙂

    1. YUM! Sounds good to me!

    2. Hi Ashlet,

      Barley sounds like a great addition! When would you add it?

      Thank you!

      1. I think it would be about an hour before?

  4. This is a great! Mine came out a little spicy….maybe the pepper? What do you think?
    Thank you so much for a great new meal!

    1. That is strange since nothing spicy went in! haha. Maybe the pepper then?

      1. Pamela Bayless says:

        5 stars
        mine came out spicy.too. Then I read the recipe closer. The ingredients call for onions. The instruction calls for red onion. Thinking the yellow onion I used made it spicy.

        1. 5 stars
          Had same spiciness when I followed the recipe. Great flavor but too “hot” for our taste. Will definitely make it again and leave out the pepper. I think that was the culprit!

    2. Brigitte Mason says:

      4 stars
      I loved the stew, but also thought it was a little spicy. I am thinking its the oregano. Next time I will use half the amount or leave it out and see if that was it.

    3. I would think it’s the worcestershire sauce seeing that it is a little spicy…. Just a thought

    4. 5 stars
      I think James is right about the Worcestershire, but I think it’s an important ingredient (I love it!). I would suggest using less to taste, adding it near the end of cooking.

    5. I agree, probably way too much pepper. Mine was spicey and too flavorful as well, I think. Maybe half the pepper. Or even just 1/4 tsp. Pepper can easily make things “spicey”.

      1. 4 stars
        I substituted beer for the wine (I’m a single Dad and don’t really drink wine, was cooking this up for some buddies during the Buffalo storm a few weeks back) came out delicious. My buddies asked me where I got the recipe and showed it to them.

        1. Wine? Beer? I’ve read the ingredient list 3 times…. am I missing something?! 🙂

          1. I said the same thing, when I read this comment. Beer? Wine? Neither are in the list of ingredients…..Maybe he was making a joke and drank beer instead of wine while making the stew…HAHAHAHA!!

          2. 5 stars
            Dang, I never find these online conversations while they’re still active. Anyway, Lou sounds like me… I had 3 or 4 recipes that I was looking at before I picked this one. One of the other ones called for red wine.
            I started out to make this just the way you say, but after reading all the comments, I incorporated a few people’s good ideas. Hopefully it’ll turn out well… it’ll be ready at 7AM tomorrow morning!
            Oh, and the wine your recipe didn’t call for… I substituted beer also! 🙂

          3. My stew turned out very well with the bottle of beer added. I didn’t have tomato paste so I substituted a little Goya Sofrito tomato cooking base. I also didn’t have a red onion so I used a sweet white onion. The stew had a slight, not unpleasant, sweetness. Could this be from the onion? The beer?

    6. Worcestershire is pretty spicy and goes a long way with a little. But it’s so good.

    7. I reduced the pepper and the worcestershire. It sounds odd, but I’m wondering if it may be too much tomato paste that is overpowering the dish. My other beef recipes usually call for only 3 oz – half the amount here.

    8. That’s funny, I threw in a splash of Tabasco because I thought it needed a kick. 🙂

      1. 5 stars
        I was thinking the same!..but I am from South Louisiana so I put cayenne and pepper in all of my cooking. Lol. This recipe is good though, I’ve made it a few times, adding someof my own seasonings of course.

        1. Texas here! I added chopped jalapeños and some of the juice out of the jar. My stews and chili aren’t the same without it!

    9. I put in half the pepper and it was still too spicy! 1 tsp of black pepper is waaaay to much for a comforting beef stew. I’d say 1/4 tsp is enough.

    10. Heather Lampman says:

      I see this as a well seasoned dish. Too much Worcestershire would make it taste salty; too much oregano would make it taste “grassy” , or kind of “funky”. I’m thinking that, for you, it might be the pepper. There’s quite a bit of pepper in this recipe. And, of course, there’s always the question of personal taste. I know that I don’t like recipes that are “blazing hot”, or even medium hot, while others crave spicy and hot dishes.

      1. I wonder if it’s the garlic, frankly.
        The gentleman who put beer in? he probably had the right idea.

        1. Chef Austin says:

          5 stars
          I always put a bottle of beer in my stews and its great!!

  5. 5 stars
    Loved this stew! I will be making this again! 🙂

  6. In your picture, the meat looks cooked in when you put it in the crock pot. Do you need to cook or brown it prior to putting it in the crock, or can it be raw? I’ve never made beef stew before!

    1. You don’t need to brown the meat before putting it into the crockpot. If you want to cut down on the time, you can brown the beef.

      1. I looked up the 6 at crockpot you used/ is advertised here- the amazon reviews aren’t good?
        Glass lid shattering, copy shut off before done etc.
        did you encounter these problems?

        Also- I’m a widow. I need healthy food too- could I cut most of these soup recipes in half? If so- should I get a 4 at crockpot? The 6qt looks massive. Limited counter n storage space. Also- do you use an immulsion blender? Any sugggestin s?

        1. WOW! I have never had an issue with my crockpot and the lid shattering. Yikes! I think a 4qt crockpot would work well for doing this recipe halved. I hope that helps!

          1. I am a widow and I usually always half the recipes and just get what I need. Keeping a portion for the next day which cuts down on the energy used. You could make the full recipe and freeze two portions for the following week or two. You will then surely always have a meal prepared. You can then take it out of the freezer the previous night and just cook rice or mashed potatoes fresh from when you want to use up the other two portions.

      1. No, you do not need to brown the meat first.

  7. I don’t have any beef broth on hand, but I do have vegetable broth, and may add a couple of beef bouillon. I got the vegetables all cut up (in water in fridge), and ready to just throw together in the am. Can’t wait to try it!

  8. I have been searching for a recipe that was similar to my late Papaw’s beef stew recipe. He rarely cooked, but made this wonderful stew with no recipe. He even made my roommate and I a very large batch for our first year in the college dorms! When I saw your recipe I thought it sounded very close to Papaw’s so, I gave it a try. It was a near perfect imitation! It was soo delicious and when I brought the stew to my parents, they both echoed the same sentiment! Thank you for this recipe, it makes me so happy to finally find one that reminds me so much of my grandfather!!

    1. I forgot, I did add a can of diced tomatoes because my grandfather did the same.

    2. How cool Brigette! I feel honored to be in the same ranking as your Papaw’s beef stew. Thank you for the amazing compliment. 🙂