Slow Cooker Beef Stew
The best, old fashioned, classic, easy slow cooker beef stew recipe, homemade with simple ingredients. Loaded with herbs, juicy beef, tender vegetables, lots of potatoes and hearty wine and beef broth.
Yield: People
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp All-purpose flour
- 2.5 pounds Stew meat, Cut into 1.5 inch cubes
- 2 tbsp Oil
- 1 tbsp Butter, Unsalted
- 1 cup Onion, Finely chopped
- 4 cloves Garlic , Finely minced
- 4 cups Beef broth, Low sodium
- 1/2 cup Merlot , Or Red wine Or Cabernet Sauvignon
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 3 tbsp Tomato paste
- 1 Beef bouillon cube, Or 1 tsp Better than bouillon, Low sodium
- 1 tsp Dried oregano
- 1 tsp Dried thyme
- 1 tsp Dried parsley
- 1/2 tsp Ginger powder
- 1/2 tsp Paprika
- Salt, To taste
- Pepper, To taste
- 1 sprig Rosemary , Fresh
- 2 Bay leaves
- 3 Potatoes, Medium size, Diced into 1.5-2 inch cubes
- 1.5 cups Frozen vegetables, I used a mixture of peas, carrots, corn
- 2 tbsp Cornstarch, Can add up to 3 tbsp cornstarch if you like it thicker, Flour can also be used instead
- 2 tbsp Butter, Cold, Sliced, Unsalted
- 1 tbsp Parsley, Fresh, For garnish
Instructions
- Combine flour and stew meat in a Ziploc bag. Shake it around until meat is fully coated. You can add some salt and pepper too, if you like.
- Heat oil in a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat.
- Add the floured beef and cook until beef is browned on all sides.
- Transfer to crockpot.
- Heat butter in the same pan and add onion and garlic. Saute for a few minutes until garlic is fragrant and onion is partially softened.
- Add some of the broth to the pan and scrape up any brown bits from the beef.
- Transfer this onion mixture to the crockpot too.
- Add broth, Merlot, Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, beef bouillon cube, dried oregano, dried, thyme, dried parsley, ginger powder, paprika, salt, pepper, sprig of rosemary, bay leaves, potatoes.
- Mix until combined.
- Cover and cook on Low heat for 7- 8 hours or on High heat for 3.5 -4 hours or until the potatoes are tender and beef is cooked through.
- In the final 20 minutes, mix in frozen vegetables.
- At the same time you are adding veggies, you can also add a thickening agent. To thicken stew: In a small mixing bowl, whisk together cornstarch and 2 tbsp of the stew broth to create a slurry. Slowly stir in this slurry into the stew. To prevent any cornstarch lumps from forming, be sure to keep gently stirring while you are pouring the slurry.
- Discard bay leaves and sprig of rosemary stem.
- Add butter on top and swirl it around. This makes the stew super smooth and luscious!
- Garnish with fresh parsley. Enjoy!
Notes
- Read all my tips above.
- The stew will thicken a bit more as it cools.
- Leftovers can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days and reheated in the microwave or stovetop.
Nutrition
Calories: 553kcal, Carbohydrates: 36g, Protein: 53g, Fat: 20g, Saturated Fat: 7g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 132mg, Sodium: 526mg, Potassium: 1407mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 4g, Vitamin A: 2776IU, Vitamin C: 32mg, Calcium: 88mg, Iron: 6mg