Hearty slow cooker beef stew, loaded with vegetables, super tender meat, and packed with incredible flavor. Dig into classic comfort food after a long day, this crock pot recipe is family dinner perfection!
Other slow cooker recipes we love include this slow cooker pot roast and homemade applesauce – the house smells amazing when those cook all day!
I took my unbelievable classic beef stew recipe (<< seriously the best beef stew ever – MAKE IT!), tweaked several ingredients and converted it to the crock pot and this slow cooker beef stew was born. It’s so delicious!
That’s saying a lot, since I’m not a huge crock pot lover. But this recipe is great – the vegetables are tender, but not mushy and the flavor is totally there. Not bland at all, like so many slow cooker recipes tend to be. Whomp whomp.
Slow Cooker Beef Stew Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need!
- Meat – beef chuck roast
- Veggies – baby new potatoes, carrots, peas, onion, and garlic
- Seasonings – thyme, oregano, smoked paprika, mustard seeds, bay leaves, fresh parsley, salt, and pepper
- Liquids – low sodium beef broth, vegetable juice (like V8), Worcestershire sauce, and tomato paste
- Other – extra-virgin olive oil to sauté the meat and flour (or cornstarch) to thicken the gravy
How to Make Beef Stew in Slow Cooker
It’s really easy to make this beef stew crock pot recipe! Here’s a brief rundown of steps. (Scroll down for the detailed printable.)
- Warm olive oil in a large skillet.
- Season beef with salt and pepper, add to the skillet and brown all over.
- Place beef, potatoes, carrots, onion, and garlic into a greased 6-quart slow cooker.
- Whisk together the liquids and seasonings until well combined; pour over the the beef and vegetables.
- Toss in bay leaves and season with salt and pepper.
- Cover and cook on low heat until meat is super tender and falling apart at the touch.
- During the last 5 minutes, stir in the peas.
- Discard bay leaves and thyme sprig.
- Serve immediately in bowls, garnished with parsley and enjoy!
How long to cook beef stew in slow cooker? This recipe calls for 7-8 hours on low and then an additional 30 minutes if you’re thickening the broth. While you can cook on high for 3-4 hours, I do not recommend it. Low and slow is the way to go to achieve tender, fall-apart meat and deep flavors!
How to thicken a beef stew in slow cooker? If you want the liquid to be more like a gravy, you’ll create a slurry. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and 1/2 cup stew broth until combined and smooth. Slowly stir the mixture into the slow cooker. Cover and cook on high heat for an additional 30 minutes, or until thickened.
Beef Stew Crock Pot Recipe Notes
- Don’t cut the cubes of beef too small or they’ll fall apart before being able to soak up all the flavor from slow cooking all day.
- Brown the beef! Browning the beef before adding in all the other ingredients is key! Forming a nice crust on all the pieces of beef locks in flavor. This extra step is so worth it!
- You can peel your potatoes if you want, but for baby new potatoes, it’s not necessary. If they are on the extra large side, you might want to quarter them.
- Chicken broth can replace the beef broth if that’s all you have, although the overall taste will not be as deep.
Storing Leftovers
Stews are so good the next day, so make sure you save enough to have leftovers for lunch!
How long does beef stew last? Allow stew to cool completely, then transfer to airtight containers and store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Can I freeze beef stew? Yes, you can freeze beef stew (although the vegetables tend to get softer and break down into smaller pieces after thawing.) Make sure to leave a 1/4-1/2 inch gap in the container to allow for expansion. Stored properly, it will keep in the freezer up to 3 months. If you know in advance you’ll want to freeze the stew, wait to thicken it until you reheat it.
What to Serve with Beef Stew
Loaded with beef and so many veggies, this is a complete meal in a bowl and doesn’t need anything else, but it’s hard to resist not serving it with fresh popovers or Irish soda bread warm from the oven to mop up the gravy!
Watch it Being Made
My mouth is watering just thinking about this dish again. Truly the best ever slow cooker beef stew – you’re going to love it!
I hope you love this delicious and easy recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube!
{Best Ever!} Slow Cooker Beef Stew
Equipment
- 6 quart slow cooker
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 pounds beef chuck roast , cut into 1 to 1 1/2-inch cubes
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper , to taste
- 1 pound baby new potatoes , halved
- 4 medium carrots , peeled and cut into 1/2-inch thick pieces
- 1 large sweet onion , diced
- 3 cloves garlic , minced
- 2 cups low-sodium beef broth
- 1 cup vegetable juice (such as V8)
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 sprig fresh thyme (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup frozen peas , thawed
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves , for garnish
Instructions
- Warm olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Season beef with salt and pepper, to taste. Add beef to the skillet and cook until evenly browned, about 2-3 minutes.
- Place beef, potatoes, carrots, onion, and garlic into a 6-quart slow cooker.
- In a bowl, whisk together the beef broth, vegetable juice, tomato paste, Worcestershire, thyme, oregano, paprika, and mustard seeds until well combined; pour over the the beef and vegetables.
- Toss in 2 bay leaves and season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Cover and cook on low heat for 7-8 hours.
- In a small bowl, whisk together flour and 1/2 cup stew broth to create a slurry. Slowly stir the mixture into the slow cooker. Cover and cook on high heat for an additional 30 minutes, or until thickened.
- During the last 5 minutes, stir in the peas.
- Discard bay leaves and thyme sprig.
- Serve immediately in bowls, garnished with parsley, if desired.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Other Notes
Great beef stew recipe. We loved it and now it’s my go-to. I usually use a dutch oven though and cook for about 3 hours at 325. Comes out great
Hello from South Australia . Made this stew today and have just had a bowl full on a chilly night. Delicious! Thank you for posting. Followed it exactly will def make again. Suzy
Looking to give this as freezer meal to someone so they can just throw it in the crockpot for the day and not have to worry about any prep. Can I prep as directed then just freeze and they can cook later?
Really nice good flavour
Perfect taste!
Can I use chicken broth instead? I dislike beef broth
Of course. The flavors won’t be as deep and rich, but it will still be delicious.
This is my 5th time making this! My hubby loves it and I do too. It’s so easy and flavorful.
This was so delicious, I will definitely make it again. Saw a suggestion about adding green beans. Didn’t have any, but will add them next time! I made brown gravy and put that in to thicken it at the end.
We enjoyed this so much. No changes. Would make again.
THE BEST STEW I EVER MADE!
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING THIS RECIPE
Excellent! Great flavor, perfect amount of every ingredient and great flavor. Definitely my new go-to beef stew recipe! Thank you for sharing!
This is a great stew recipe – my teenaged/early 20’s kids who are usually picky eaters loved it. I I skipped the bay leaves (we don’t like the flavor) and used ground mustard instead of seeds and it turned out great. This will be my go to stew receipe now. Thank you.
How much of the ground mustard did you use instead of the mustard seeds?
Can I brown the meat the night before and then put it in the next morning? I like to chop up everything the night before so I don’t have too much to do in the morning to start the slow cooker.
Sure!
What can be used as a substitute for the V-8 juice?
Solid beef stew! Would make again.
We loved this stew! Definitely will make it again
Good recipe but a little too heavy on the tomato for me. Perhaps replace some V8 juice with red wine. Overall still very tasty.
Delicious! Best beef stew I ever made! You have to make it, you will
not be sorry you did,
I didn’t add the mustard seeds. I hate them. I also added rutabaga, radishes, celery, and kohlrabi. Didn’t have beef broth so I made it and also didn’t have vegetable or tomato juice so I pureed my home canned tomatoes. Love the flavors! It was delicious! Thank you!
I didn’t have to thicken it either! It was perfect! Thank you again!
If I’m using cornstarch to thicken, how much should I use? Is it 1:1 with the flour?
In process, quick question what do you think about adding mushrooms?
This recipe sounds great, but I’m wondering if there’s anything I can use to substitute for the vegetable juice and tomato paste. My 7 year old has a digestive issue with tomatoes, so I want to see if I can make this a bit friendlier for him. Thank you!
Hi Hillary! Sorry to hear this. The tomato juice could be replaced with vegetable broth. Unfortunately there isn’t a proper sub for tomato paste that isn’t also tomato based. The closest thing would be a beet and carrot puree, but you’d need to make it first, which seems like more work than it’s worth. You could simply omit it, but it does add depth of flavor to the overall soup. Try it and let me know how it turns out.
I am going to make this for tonight. Can I use tomato soup instead of v8 juice? Thanks!
I wouldn’t use tomato soup, but tomato sauce would be fine. Neither will give you quite the flavor of V8, but the sauce will work.
I used smoked beef ribs that we’d frozen in the stew. Absolutely delicious!
Easy and excellent
This recipe was outstanding. I used corn starch to thicken rather than flour – for some gluten sensitive friends. I’ve never used V8 juice in beef stew before. Great idea (just use the lower sodium version).
This was so easy and delicious. Made for a meal train family but so good, kept some f or us.
This is the best beef stew!! I’m so glad I found this recipe – whole family loved it. Leftovers the next day were even better!
Hmm didn’t have a lot of the ingredients so made do with what I have in my pantry. Tasted the juice – hmmm something is missing so added chilli flakes and powder (it is extremely cold here and we love our spicy food) but there’s still something missing that I can’t quite put my finger on it… Will wait and see the verdict from the kids for lunch.
Well if you were missing most of the ingredients why are you shocked that it was ‘missing’ something? Try it with all the ingredients next time before making silly comments.
Whole family loved this!
Hi! Is there a reason they must be frozen peas instead of canned? I’m hoping you answer quickly because I’m going to try this tonight! I’ll come back and review it when I’m done, it looks great. Thank you!
We just prefer frozen peas more because of their color and sturdiness. Canned peas are so much softer and can break down more easily. But you can use them.
So, I’ve made this stew 3 times already since asking my question and it is probably the best stew I ever made. After trying it my daughter literally asked me if I could make it again the next day, and I did! It wasn’t just for her, I loved it. I made some for my grandma and left it in a couple more hours (still put the peas in at the end though) and the meat was delicious, it just fell apart, we ate it all in a few hours, and we’re two fairly small girls lol. Thank you so much for this recipe, it’s one I will surely use many more times! And thanks for your response too, the peas were perfect so it seems like good advice. Take care!?
Are you dense? Use all the ingredients listed, don’t blame the recipe for your mistake
Whole family loved it!
I don’t have mustard seeds. Can I use dry mustard?
Yep, that’s fine.
This was so delicious! Perfect flavor and ratio of ingredients Leftovers the next day heated up very well.
Entire family loved this recipe!
This recipe goes together so we’ll. What a hearty, tasty meal! “Food critics” at my house just loved it. They said KEEPER! So this is the 2nd time for us. I did up a he amount of peas. Lots of color, loads of flavor. It’s on the rotation.
I tried the juice even before it was completed that tells me it’s gonna b a great dish. I added celery fresh tomatoes and jalapeños. Thanks for this recipe!
I used tomato soup there was vegetables juice at store I didn’t have mustard seeds it’s cooking now it smells good hope it will come out good
Made this recipe tonight for dinner and it was wonderful – will definitely make again.
Great recipe! Easy, complete, great tip about size of meat! Thank you!
I LOVE using my crockpot, beef stew and V-8, so this recipe is definitely going to be appearing in my kitchen soon!
I thought I hated veggies as a kid and look at me now! I definitely think part of the aversion is just weird kid palate and part is just immaturity. But I suspect they’ll grow out of it!
I’ve tried your traditional beef stew and this one and my family loves them both so much! They are different enough that you don’t feel like you’re eating the same recipe.
This was WONDERFUL! Going in my regular rotation of dinners.
This looks amazing – going to try it, thanks!
Absolutely fantastic. Will make this again and again.
This stew looks perfect! What a great meal!
I just went to the kitchen and put V8 on my grocery shopping list. Thanks for reminding me that it has been quite some time since I’ve had a V8. And I don’t know why! I used to drink it every day. I especially like the idea of adding it to a delicious beef stew! Yum.
This stew is so good – my kids loved it too which is saying alot. I’d give it 10 stars if I could!
Fun V8 story–my dad used to drink it like water when I was a kid. I always thought it was yucky and my dad would just chuckle and say some day I’d change my mind. Low and behold, he was right! I had that first Bloody Mary and was hooked. :)
Made this. Only change was green beans instead of peas. Could not have been more delicious!!