This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
This saucy slow cooker beef stew with juicy chunks of beef, tender veggies, herby aromatics, and hints of dry red wine is the perfect way to warm up this winter. Slow-cooked in a rich and comforting beefy broth, it practically cooks itself in the crock pot!
If you love cozying up with a warming bowlful on a cold day, you need to try my Guinness beef stew and classic beef bourguignon next.
This slow cooker beef stew is a convenient weeknight recipe that practically cooks itself! After hours in the crock pot or slow cooker, juicy chuck steak becomes so tender that it falls apart at the touch of a fork. Combined with wholesome vegetables, herbs, and a velvety, gravy-like beef broth, this is one stew you’re going to want in your bowl ASAP.
What Makes This Easy Slow Cooker Beef Stew So Good
- Hearty. There’s lots of tender beef, carrots, mushrooms, celery, and onions in every bite.
- Convenient. Throw it into the slow-cooker in the morning and come back to a self-made, freshly-cooked dinner.
- Great for chilly weather. Everyone loves a bowl of thick, hot stew when it’s cold outside.
- Rich beefy flavor. Searing the beef before adding it to the slow-cooker, as well as deglazing the skillet, intensifies the savory beef flavor in this recipe.
Beef Stew Ingredients
Most of this stew’s richness and flavor comes down to easy ingredients, including red wine, tomato paste, and Worcestershire sauce. Scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of the post for exact measurements.
- Olive Oil – Corn and canola oil work too.
- Beef Chuck Roast – My first choice in slow-cooking recipes, whether it’s a classic pot roast, beef ragu, or birria. Trim off any excess fat.
- Carrots – You can also use baby carrot leftovers.
- Celery Ribs – Make sure they’re still crunchy so they don’t soften too much in the stew.
- Mushrooms – Use creminis for the most flavor, but any type will work.
- Yellow onion – Feel free to use white onions instead.
- Garlic – Fresh garlic is best. Shallots or garlic powder are good swaps. If you’re using garlic powder, substitute ½ teaspoon per fresh garlic clove.
- Red wine – This needs to be a dry red, like a Cabernet Sauvignon or Syrah. I’ve also used a lager like in my beer beef stew recipe.
- Tomato paste – Don’t use tomato puree instead.
- Worcestershire sauce – You can skip this or swap it for soy sauce or 1/8 teaspoon ground cumin.
- Beef broth – Use homemade or a low-sodium store-bought broth.
- Herbs – Bay leaves, fresh thyme (or rosemary), and fresh or dried parsley for garnish.
- Cornstarch – To mix with broth or water to make a slurry. You can swap cornstarch with all-purpose flour instead, though you’ll need about double the amount of flour as cornstarch.
Which Cuts of Beef Can I Use for Slow Cooking?
My favorite stewing beef is chuck roast. It’s relatively affordable with a rich flavor and a good amount of marbling that makes it ideal for slow cooking. Good alternatives are bottom round roast, brisket, and short ribs.
Tips for the Best Slow Cooker Stew
- Ask the butcher. Most grocery store butchers will be more than happy to chop up the meat for you and remove the excess fat.
- More veggies. Adding baby potatoes, sweet potatoes, and parsnips can make the stew extra hearty.
- Skip the browning. This will save you prep time, so skip searing the meat if you prefer. It does add more flavor, though.
- Don’t just add the cornstarch or flour. It might be tempting to throw the flour into the pot, but don’t. It’ll clump, and you won’t be able to get rid of the bits of lumpy flour. You need to dissolve it in a slurry.
Try These Variations
- Go alcohol-free. Deglaze the pan with beef broth or water instead of red wine for an alcohol-free dinner.
- Make it Tex-Mex. Stir 1 cup black beans and 1/2 tablespoon taco seasoning into the stew for a Tex-Mex flair.
- Make it spicy. Add cayenne pepper, red pepper flakes, or chili oil to taste for a kick of heat.
What to Serve with Crock Pot Beef Stew
This slow cooker beef stew is best served over rice or pasta. I love it with my mushroom rice or jasmine rice. Brown rice works, too. For pasta, go for plain short pastas like penne or fusilli. If you prefer bread, I recommend sweet potato cornbread, crusty focaccia, or classic dinner rolls for soaking up leftovers.
Pin this now to find it later
Pin It
Slow Cooker Beef Stew
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 2 1/2 pounds beef chuck roast, cut into 2-inch pieces, fat trimmed off
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 3 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 3 celery ribs, sliced
- 8 ounces sliced mushrooms
- 1 large yellow onion, sliced
- 3 cloves garlic,, minced
- 1 cup dry red wine
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 4 cups low-sodium beef broth, divided
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 sprig fresh thyme
FOR THE THICKENER
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 3 tablespoons water
- 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
Instructions
- Place cut up beef in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper.
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add beef and sear until browned, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Depending on the size of your skillet, you might have to do this in batches, adding more olive oil if necessary.
- Transfer the browned beef to a 6-quart slow cooker; arrange prepared carrots, celery, and mushrooms over the meat inside the slow cooker and set aside.
- Heat the rest of the olive oil and sauté the onions for 3 minutes, or until softened.
- Stir in the minced garlic and continue to sauté for 30 seconds, or until fragrant; transfer to the slow cooker.
- Put the skillet back on the stove over medium-high heat and deglaze the pan with red wine. Scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to get all the browned bits; cook for 1 minute.
- Whisk in the tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce; cook for 30 seconds while whisking.
- Slowly whisk in 2 cups of beef broth; cook for 1 minute.
- Pour the prepared liquid over the beef and vegetables.
- Stir in the remaining broth into the slow cooker and add bay leaves and thyme over the veggies.
- Close with a lid and cook on LOW for 7 to 8 hours, or on HIGH for 4 to 5 hours. Times may vary depending on how hot your slow cooker runs.
- 30 minutes before the beef stew is done cooking, make a slurry by whisking together 2 tablespoons of cornstarch with 3 tablespoons of water. Stir the slurry into the slow cooker, set to HIGH, and continue to cook for 30 minutes.
- When done, taste for seasonings and adjust accordingly.
- Garnish with parsley and serve.
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
How to Make Slow Cooker Beef Stew
Deglazing the pan with wine makes all the difference because you pick up lots of caramelized beef flavors. Scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of the post for more detailed instructions.
- Brown the meat. Season the beef with salt and pepper, then sear it in a large skillet over medium-high heat for 8-12 minutes, until it’s browned all over. You may need to do this in batches to avoid overcrowding the skillet.
- Add the veggies. Transfer the seared beef to the slow cooker. Add the carrots, celery, and mushrooms.
- Cook the onions. In the same skillet you used to cook the beef, sauté the onions until softened. Then, stir the garlic. Transfer this mixture to the slow cooker, too.
- Deglaze the pan. Pour the wine into the skillet. Use a non-metal spatula to gently scrape the bottom, lifting all the flavorful browned bits. Cook for another minute.
- Add the broth. Now, you’ll whisk in the tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce, and slowly pour in the broth. Cook everything for another minute, then pour the mixture into the slow cooker. Add the bay leaves and thyme, followed by the remaining broth.
- Cook! Cover and cook the stew on LOW for 7-8 hours or HIGH for 4-5 hours.
- Thicken it. 30 minutes before the cooking time is up, whisk the cornstarch and water to make a slurry. Stir it into the stew. Set the slow-cooker to HIGH for the remaining half hour.
- Serve. Adjust the seasoning to taste, garnish with parsley, and enjoy!
Storing and Reheating Leftovers
- Refrigerate. Leftovers need to be fully cooled before being refrigerated or frozen. Place it in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- Reheat. Cover the bowl with a microwave-safe lid or a wet paper towel. Microwave it for 2 minutes or until warm. Larger batches can be reheated in a pot over medium-low heat for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Freeze. Transfer it to large freezer-friendly bags or containers. Freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge.
This recipe is really well laid out and I am looking forward to trying it out but we cannot consume wine. Should I just increase the beef broth amount? Is there anything else that would work as a substitution?
Yes, just replace the wine with more beef broth. You can even try adding in a splash of vinegar to get that punchier flavor you get from wine.
I HAVE ADE THIS RECIPE. I FOLLOWERED HER INSTRUCTIONS EXACTLY. IT IS TRULY THE BEST STEW I HAVE EVER MADE. ALL OF MY FRIENDS LIKE IT AS WELL.
That’s wonderful to hear! I’m very glad you and your friends enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
I want to double this recipe and freeze for later. Do I need to adjust the cooking time?
Hi!
You shouldn’t have to adjust the cooking time much – maybe give it a few minutes longer while browning that much meat – but you will need a much bigger pot. 😊
Amazing!!! Meat and sauce comes out absolutely perfect!!!! As another reviewer said, I coated the meat in flour, salt and pepper before browning too.
I’m very glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
Best ever. Tried this recipe over the weekend. The meat is so tender it melts in your mouth and the carrots are not completely mushy, the sauce is on another level. Can’t wait to make this for my husband to try. I coated my beef in some plain flour, salt and pepper before browning.
Thank YOU! I am very glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Super excited to try this. Do you have a simple curry slow cooker recipe.
Hi!
I do have a few curry recipes, but none in the slow cooker.
Way to much work. I cooked a meal before turning on hte slow cooker. The idea behind a slow cooker is an easy meal
This is cooking in my crock pot right now…you should smell the aroma in my house… <3
If I wanted to add some small or diced potatoes, when do you recommend I do that? At the beginning and keep them on the top or midway through cooking?
Hi!
Just add them in at the beginning with everything else.