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This easy slow cooker beef stew is full of flavor from simmering all day in the crock pot! No browning required, just throw everything in the slow cooker in the morning and come home to a hearty beef stew for dinner!
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Winter is HERE! Well, not officially for a few weeks, but it is getting chilly. There is nothing more comforting on a cold day than a big bowl of hearty beef stew. I have a few Beef Stew recipes on the blog, like this Red Wine Beef Stew and this Guinness Beef Stew. They are both delicious, but require you to be home for several hours because they are made in the dutch oven. It’s about time we get an easy Slow Cooker Beef Stew Recipe on the blog!
Do you have to brown stew meat before putting it in the crock pot?
For this recipe, I wanted to make an easy beef stew in the slow cooker. I tested it without browning the meat, and I was surprised that it still had a ton of flavor. I also tested both adding the vegetables at the beginning of cooking and an hour before the cooking was finished. If you like your veggies to retain their shape and not get too mushy, adding them in the last few hours of cooking is best. But if you just can’t be home for that, you can add them at the beginning with everything else. They will be more soft, but it still works.
How do I make my Beef Stew Thicker?
The key to making a thicker broth for beef stew is simple – make a slurry! A slurry is just a few tablespoons of flour mixed with some of the broth (or water). After mixing the broth and flour together and getting out the lumps, pour it into the stew broth. I do this about half an hour before the stew is finished. The broth will thicken as it continues to cook.
How do I make Beef Stew in a crock pot?
Making beef stew in the crock pot is simple – add all of the ingredients – beef, carrots, potatoes, beef broth, herbs, salt and pepper, diced tomatoes, beer – Cook on low heat for eight hours. In the last hour of cooking, remove half a cup of broth and mix it with 2 tablespoons of flour. Pour the flour mixture back into the slow cooker and continue cooking for another half an hour. You can also add the potatoes and carrots 1-2 hours before the stew is finished cooking instead of at the beginning of you prefer your veggies to be more firm.
Slow Cooker Beef Stew
Ingredients
- 1 large onion diced
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tablespoons chopped rosemary divided
- 2 tablespoons chopped thyme divided
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1-2 teaspoons kosher salt to taste
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 3 pounds beef chuck roast cut into 2 inch cubes
- 12 ounces beer
- 3 cups beef broth
- 1 can (15 ounce) fire roasted diced tomatoes
- 1 sweet potato peeled and diced into 1 inch cubes
- 1 pound yukon gold potatoes diced into 1 inch cubes, peeled if desired
- 3 carrots peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to slow cooker EXCEPT the flour and 1 tablespoon each of the thyme and rosemary. If you prefer firmer vegetables, do not add them until the last 1-2 hours of cooking. You can add them now but they will be softer. Cook on low heat for 8 hours.
- If you left out the vegetables at the beginning, add them in the last 1-2 hours of cooking.
- About 1 hour before stew is done cooking, remove 1/2 cup of broth. Whisk 2 tablespoons of flour into the broth until there are no lumps. You can add more broth if it gets too thick. Once mixed, pour the flour mixture into the crock pot and stir to mix. Continue cooking until done.
- Right before serving, remove the bay leaves. Add the 1 tablespoon of thyme and rosemary. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed. Serve with crusty bread and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
