A thread of comfort-food nostalgia runs through this savory and warming Slow Cooker Beef Stew Recipe. 10 minutes of kitchen prep is all this satisfying beef stew recipe requires!
One of my very first food memories is my mother mashing carrots and potatoes and then stirring gravy into the mix. She had made a pot roast for the family and was whipping up a kid-friendly mix of the slow cooked veggies from the roast pan she knew I would love. And she wasn’t wrong! The knee-high me tore into that savory mixture with abandon. In fact, I loved that gravy-loaded mash-up so much that, for years to come, I ate my slow cooked carrots and potatoes just like that on pot roast night (long after I had mastered cutlery skills). Full disclosure: I still eat my veggies that way on pot roast night! This slow cooker beef stew recipe has the same savory, home-cooked, comforting flavors that made me fall in love with my mom’s pot roast as a little kid.
A Little Chopping and I Was Done
Best thing about using the slow cooker to make dinner? Most slow cooker recipes take very little actual time to prepare. Sure, three to four hours is no small amount of time to wait for dinner to be ready. However, in the case of this slow cooker beef stew, it only took 10 minutes of kitchen prep. A little chopping and I was done! As the deep savory flavors developed in the slow cooker, I was free to get on Facebook and chat with friends, work on my income report and watch some hockey. Let’s go Habs! Of course, by the time four hours was up, I was ready to dig into the thick and satisfying beef stew – but I was also finished with my tasks for the day. Let’s hear it for time management!
Much like boeuf bourguignon, the small amount of red wine I used in this slow cooker beef stew really went a long way to developing the flavors. The magic combination of onions, garlic, bay leaf and mushrooms didn’t hurt the flavor front either! Just like any dish you might consider ‘comfort-food’ there was an element of nostalgia through flavor that was totally undeniable. Plus, the rustic potatoes and carrots were there for a little modern day mash-up! YUM! Did I stop at one bowl of comforting slow cooker beef stew? No, I went for two! What food do you eat that triggers a food memory? I’d love to hear about your experiences in the comments!
Other simple, delicious slow cooker recipes:
- Slow Cooker Chana Masala
- Detox Crock Pot Vegetable Soup
- Slow Cooker Autumn Vegetable Soup
- Slow Cooker Mac and Cheese
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Slow Cooker Beef Stew (Video)
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 hours
- Total Time: 5 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: 3 people 1x
- Category: Main
- Method: Slow cooker
- Cuisine: American
Description
A thread of comfort-food nostalgia runs through this savory and warming Slow Cooker Beef Stew Recipe. 10 minutes of kitchen prep is all this satisfying beef stew recipe requires!
Ingredients
- 3/4 pound grass-fed beef (chopped bite size)
- 1 large potato (peeled and chopped bite size)
- 1 large carrot (peeled and chopped bite size)
- 2 stalk celery (chopped bite size)
- 1 cup button mushrooms (cut in half)
- 1 medium onion (peeled and chopped)
- 2 cloves garlic (peeled and minced)
- 1/2 cup frozen peas (thawed)
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 ancho chile (optional)
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 cup red wine
- 1 cup beef broth
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon flour
Instructions
- Put all the ingredients – EXCEPT FOR THE FLOUR – in a multi cooker or slow cooker.
- Cook for 3 hours for multi cooker and 4 hours on high for slow cooker.
- When there is an hour left to cook, extract ¼ cup of broth from the multi cooker or slow cooker. Whisk flour with broth and add mixture to stew. Stir well. Cook for another hour and serve.
Notes
This Slow Cooker Beef Stew Recipe is:
High in iron
High in niacin
High in phosphorus
High in selenium
High in vitamin A
Very high in vitamin B6
Very high in vitamin B12
High in vitamin C
High in zinc
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 336
- Sugar: 8.1 g
- Sodium: 358.1 mg
- Fat: 4.2 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 40.1 g
- Fiber: 7.4 g
- Protein: 32.6 g
- Cholesterol: 63.1 mg
This looks wonderful! I am going to try making it tomorrow night, but in an instant pot pressure cooker, rather than a slow cooker. Any advice? I am estimating a 35 minute cook time. I will let you know what my results were!
This look very “comforting” and is on my list to make as soon as it gets good and chilly around here! Will the flour thicken the gravy nicely?
Hi Colleen, the flour does help thicken the gravy to give it a nice, velvety texture 🙂