Crockpot Beef Stew

This easy Crockpot Beef Stew recipe is so flavorful with tender chunks of beef, vegetables, seasonings and a thick tasty gravy.

Served with Biscuits, Cornbread, or crusty bread, it’s the ideal warm-up food on a cold night.

In the Fall and Winter months nothing is better than a hearty bowl of rich beef stew, It really is the ultimate comfort food.

I’ve experimented with many variations of stew recipes throughout the years. Yet I always come back to this best beef stew recipe. It has such a rich flavor.

This hearty beef stew is an easy recipe to make, with no searing or an extra step of prep involved.

This easy beef stew recipe without wine, is a dump and cook recipe. It reinforces why you love slow cooker recipes.

This great recipe also has the perfect blend of seasonings. The result is a great flavor explosion in every bite.

This one-pot meal is one of our favorite meals on a cold winter nights.

Our beef stew recipe without wine is a kid-friendly version of a classic beef stew recipe.For another stew variation, try our Creamy Chicken Stew!

Ingredients for Slow Cooker Beef Stew

Here are the simple ingredients needed to make this crock pot beef stew recipe.

Beef – The beef meat for this recipe is chuck or shoulder cuts. Depending on price, I pick either beef chuck roast or chuck steak beef stew meat.

You’ll want your beef cut into cubes, yet not too small so that you have tender beef. Sometimes I opt for packaged stewing beef.

Vegetables – This recipe uses potatoes, carrots and frozen peas. If preferred, you can used frozen vegetable mix, yet fresh potatoes and carrots are recommended.

You can also add any other vegetables if you wish. Some ideas include mushrooms, green beans, celery, or root vegetables such as turnips or sweet potatoes.

Stew Gravy – The tasty gravy or broth for this stew is made with beef stock (low sodium beef broth) and tomato paste. At the end this stew is thickned with some all purpose flour.

Seasonings – This stew has the best flavor thanks to dry onion soup mix (store bought or try our Homemade Onion Soup Mix), minced garlic, Worcestershire sauce, dried thyme, salt and black pepper.

How to Make Crockpot Beef Stew

The full recipe for this delicious beef stew is on the printable recipe card at the end of the post.

1. Add all the ingredients in order to the Crockpot, with the exception of the flour.
2. Cook on high for 5 hours (or on low heat or low setting for 8 hours).
3. With 20 minutes left in the cook time, remove a cup of the broth. Add in the flour and whisk to combine. Then add it back into the slow cooker, and stir to mix with a wooden spoon. Continue to cook for the last 20 minutes of cooking time.
4. Serve this classic comfort food with your choice of great side dish, and enjoy.

How to make Beef Stew Thicker in Crock Pot: 

To adjust the thickness of the gravy for this slow cooker beef stew recipe, there are a couple of different ways to do this.

For best results: adjusting the thickness of this homemade beef stew recipe is best done when the cook time has almost ended.

Simply take out a little bit of the broth, adjust and add it back into the crockpot. You can also use cold water in a small bowl, if you wish.

For Thick Stew:

Take out some of the gravy from the slow cooker, or use additional beef broth. Make it thicker using one of the following options, and add it back in to continue to cook.

• Add a tablespoon of flour to liquid, to make a flour mixture.
• Make a cornstarch slurry with corn starch as a thickening agent.
• Use a gluten-free thickener for thick beef stew if preferred.

PRO TIP: If using a tablespoon of cornstarch to make thicker gravy, make sure it continues to cook longer (for the last half hour), so it doesn’t taste like cornstarch.

For Thin Stew:

You’ll need more liquid in the gravy to make this cozy beef stew thinner. Add in a tablespoon of beef broth up to a cup of liquid.

What to Serve with Beef Stew

Beef Stew is a perfect combination with Homemade Biscuits, crusty rolls, dinner rolls, french baguettes, corn muffins, or garlic bread.

You can never go wrong with more veggies, so a perfect side dish could be a tossed green salad using romaine lettuce or fresh spinach with fresh vegetables.

This hearty meal is also a complete meal. With or without a glass of red wine as the perfect accompaniment!

Other serving suggestions for a beef stew dinner:

• Cucumber Salad
• Roasted Brussels Sprouts
• Tomato Salad

Beef Stew Leftovers

Storage:

Crockpot Beef Stew Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container and refrigerated for up to 4 days.

Can you Freeze Beef Stew?

Yes, and leftover beef stew freezes well! Place this delicious stew into a freezer bag or containers and freeze for up to 3 months.

Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat for a quick dinner on busy weekdays.

More Beef Recipes

• Stovetop Salisbury Steak
• Instant Pot Beef and Broccoli
• Air Fryer Steak Bites
• Beef Stroganoff
• Homemade Hamburger Helper