American
Slow Cooker Beef Stew
Beef chuck, potatoes, and carrots cook in a thyme broth until the meat is fork-tender. A spoon of flour at the start gives the gravy body without a separate pot at the end.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 8 hr
- Total
- 8 hr 20 min
- Servings
- 6
- Difficulty
- Easy
Why you’ll love it
- Chuck is the stew cut. It softens with time.
- Potatoes and carrots make it dinner.
- You brown the beef so the broth tastes like meat, not water.
- The lid stays closed for the long cook.
Ingredients
Ingredient amounts scale. Oven temperature and cook time do not. Salt, spices, and leaveners are a starting point after you scale. Taste and adjust.
Check the ingredients you still need, then add them. If nothing is checked, the full list is added. Saved on this device.
Instructions
- 1
Toss the beef with the salt, pepper, and flour.
- 2
Brown the beef in the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat, in two batches so it sears instead of steaming, about 3 minutes a side. Move it to the slow cooker.
- 3
Add the onion, carrots, potatoes, broth, thyme, and tomato paste. Stir.
- 4
Cover. Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 5 hours. Do not lift the lid early.
- 5
The beef should shred at the edge of a fork and the potatoes should be tender. If the meat is still tight, cook 45 minutes more on high.
- 6
Taste for salt and serve.
Pro tips
- Flour on the meat is the thickener. There is wheat in this stew, so it is not gluten-free.
- Cut the potatoes in large chunks. Small dice can fall apart by hour eight.
- Browning in a crowded pan turns the beef gray. Use two batches.
Easy substitutions
- All-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp cornstarch stirred in at the end if you need it gluten-free, then cook on high 15 minutes
- Thyme
- Rosemary, half the amount
- Potatoes
- Parsnips
Storage and reheating
Storage
Refrigerate up to 3 days, or freeze up to 2 months. Potatoes change texture in the freezer.
Reheating
Warm in a covered pot over medium-low until hot, stirring once or twice.
Nutrition
Estimates per serving, using standard ingredient averages and rounded to the nearest gram. This is not a lab analysis, and it shifts if you change brands or add sides.
- Calories
- 420
- Protein
- 36 g
- Carbs
- 28 g
- Fat
- 16 g
- Fiber
- 4 g
Moderate · Slow Cooker · Dairy-Free, High Protein
You might also like
Slow Cooker Beef Tips
Beef chuck tips simmer with onion, mushrooms, and Worcestershire until they are fork-tender. A little flour at the start turns the broth into gravy.
7 hr 20 min · Easy
View recipe
Slow Cooker Beef Bourguignon
Beef chuck, bacon, red wine, and vegetables cook low and slow until the meat is fork-tender. Browning the beef first gives the stew a deeper base.
8 hr 30 min · Medium
View recipe
Slow Cooker Beef Chili
Ground beef, beans, and tomato cook into a thick chili with a measured spoon of chili powder. You brown the beef first so the pot does not taste steamy and gray.
6 hr 15 min · Easy
View recipe
Slow Cooker Beef Short Ribs
Bone-in short ribs cook until the meat pulls cleanly from the bone in a savory red-wine broth. Serve with mashed potatoes or polenta to catch the sauce.
8 hr 20 min · Medium
View recipeStill hungry?
More in the same lane, not a random mix.
Slow Cooker Mississippi Pot Roast
Chuck roast cooked with butter, pepperoncini, and a ranch-style seasoning until it shreds. It is done when the center is about 200°F and a fork pulls it apart.
8 hr 10 min · Easy
View recipe
Slow Cooker Pot Roast
A chuck roast, potatoes, and carrots cook until the beef pulls apart. You sear the roast first, then leave the lid on for the long cook.
8 hr 20 min · Medium
View recipe
Slow Cooker Korean-Style Short Ribs
English-cut short ribs braise in a soy-ginger-garlic sauce until the meat pulls from the bone. Serve with rice and a quick cucumber salad.
8 hr 15 min · Easy
View recipe
Slow Cooker Lasagna
Ground beef is browned until it is cooked through, then layered with no-boil noodles, ricotta, and mozzarella. The slow cooker finishes the noodles until they are tender.
4 hr 30 min · Medium
View recipeFind something else
From the kitchen
Kitchen tools we love
Practical tools these recipes actually use. This is not a review roundup, and these are not paid placements. If affiliate links are added later, they will be labeled and disclosed.
A heavy 12-inch skillet
Most of the chicken and steak recipes are written for one pan that holds heat. Stainless or cast iron both work.
An air fryer with a real basket
The air-fryer recipes expect a single layer. A crowded basket steams instead of browning.
A half-sheet pan
Drumsticks, potatoes, sausage, and carrots all use one. A dark pan browns faster than a very shiny one.
A sharp chef’s knife
These recipes do not need a specialty blade. A sharp 8-inch knife is faster and safer than a dull one.
A large cutting board
Big enough that the onion and the raw chicken are not sharing the same puddle.
Dry cups and a liquid cup
Desserts in particular expect level dry measures and a separate cup for milk.
An instant-read thermometer
Use it for poultry, pork chops, and meatloaf. Color is a weak guide.
Read the affiliate disclosure.