Soup & Stew

Slow Cooker Beef Stew

By Amy Flanigan

Published Jan 3, 2026

Read 104 Reviews

Prep 15 minutes mins

Cook 8 hours hrs

Servings 8

By Amy Flanigan

Published Jan 3, 2026

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This Slow Cooker Beef Stew is so hearty and flavor-packed, loaded with vegetables, super tender meat, and a well seasoned broth. Dig into classic comfort food after a long day, this crockpot beef stew recipe of mine has so many 5 star reviews, I just know it will become a family dinner favorite of yours, too!

What’s in This Crockpot Beef Stew Recipe?

• Meat. Boneless beef chuck roast is the best meat to use for beef stew. It’s nicely balanced with meat and fat and contains a lot of connective tissue that breaks down after slow cooking all day, making it fall-apart tender.
• Veggies. Baby new potatoes, carrots, peas, onion, and garlic add aromatics, heartiness, texture, and a variety of color to the stew.
• Liquids. Low sodium beef broth, vegetable juice (like V8), and Worcestershire sauce make up the base for the stew, providing great depth of flavor. (I don’t add red wine to this crockpot beef stew recipe like I do in my Irish beef stew, but you certainly could, which would add another layer of great flavor!)
• Tomato paste. Adds a rich tomato flavor to the base.
• Flour. To helps thicken the gravy. Cornstarch could be used instead, if needed.
• Olive oil. Used to sauté the meat for a golden crust before transferring to the slow cooker.
• Seasonings. A combination of thyme, oregano, smoked paprika, mustard seeds, bay leaves, fresh parsley, salt, and pepper season the meat and broth perfectly!

Helpful Tips & Variations

• 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 first! 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.
• Cook on low, not high. Make sure you cook this beef stew on the crockpot low setting. Slow-cooking allows the collagen to break down into gelatin, which adds moisture and tenderness. If you don’t cook it long enough, the meat fibers will tighten up. Additionally, if you could the stew on high, the liquid could end up boiling the beef and make it tough.
• Why is my slow cooker beef stew tough? If your stew beef ends up tough, it’s likely due to not cooking long enough (it needs 7-8 hours to properly break down and become tender), you used a lean cut of meat (instead of chuck roast that has more fat and collagen), there wasn’t enough liquid, and/or you cooked the stew on high and the meat boiled.

4.99 from 104

Slow Cooker Beef Stew

Prep: 15 minutes mins

Cook: 8 hours hrs

Total: 8 hours hrs 15 minutes mins

Servings: 8

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Hearty slow cooker beef stew loaded with tender meat, vegetables, and flavor-packed. This crockpot beef stew recipe is perfect comfort food!

Step-by-step photos can be seen below the recipe card.

Equipment

• 6 quart slow cooker

Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 2 tablespoons 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 

• Spray a 6-quart crockpot with nonstick spray.
• 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 seared beef, potatoes, carrots, onion, and garlic into the crockpot.
• 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

For recipe tips, thickening the stew, and storage info, please refer to the full article.

Nutrition

Calories: 341kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 78mg | Sodium: 358mg | Potassium: 1045mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 6405IU | Vitamin C: 27mg | Calcium: 62mg | Iron: 4mg

Nutritional information given is an automatic calculation and can vary based on the exact products you use and any changes you make to the recipe. If these numbers are very important to you, I would recommend calculating them yourself.

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• Warm 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Season 2 pounds beef chuck roast that’s cut into 1 to 1 1/2-inch cubes with salt and pepper, to taste. Add beef to the skillet and cook until evenly browned, about 2-3 minutes.

• Place seared beef, 1 pound halved baby new potatoes, 4 medium peeled carrots cut into 1/2-inch thick pieces, 1 large diced sweet onion, and 3 cloves minced garlic into a greased 6-quart slow cooker.

• In a bowl, whisk together 2 cups low-sodium beef broth, 1 cup vegetable juice (such as V8), 3 tablespoons tomato paste, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire, 1 sprig fresh thyme, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, and 1 teaspoon mustard seeds until well combined; pour over 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.

• If you want the liquid to be more like a gravy and thicken the beef stew, you’ll create a slurry. In a small bowl, whisk together 3 tablespoons flour and 1/2 cup stew broth. 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 1/2 cup frozen peas.
• Discard bay leaves and thyme sprig. Serve immediately in bowls, garnished with parsley, if desired.

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 mashed potatoes, or fresh popovers or Irish soda bread warm from the oven to mop up the gravy! It also pairs well with cornbread or butter noodles. A simple side salad could round out dinner, too.

I hope you love this easy delicious recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and YouTube!

My Slow Cooker Beef Stew recipe was originally published 10/17/20. It was retested and republished to be better than ever 1/3/26.