Slow Cooker Beef Stew

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Everyone likes beef stew, especially if it tastes like grandma's!

This is Beef Stew like Grandma used to make it with hearty chunks of meat, root vegetables, garlic and fresh herbs. And it’s so easy. Prep time is only 10 minutes and then the stew gently simmers all day in the slow cooker. Come home from a days work to delicious smells of the savory stew wafting through the kitchen. Open the lid on the slow cooker to an herby, savory broth brimming with bone-tender beef and rustic winter veggies.

What’s really comforting is that there’s nothing artificial, no preservatives or additives, in this beef stew. It’s a simple to prepare clean eating stew, with fresh, real ingredients that are delicious. You can feel good about feeding it to your family and yourself. It won’t break the diet or the bank, and the preparation is minimal for this nutrient-rich dish.

Slow Cooker Beef Stew can be garnished with chopped fresh parsley just prior to serving, if desired. Whole grain bakery bread is a delicious side.

For more delicious and nutritious recipes from Skinny Ms., check out our Skinny Ms. Recipe Collection of 101 Fan Favorites and 73 Best Slow Cooker Recipes. 

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Slow Cooker Beef Stew

A slow cooker beef stew is the perfect hearty meal for a busy family.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 8 hours
Total Time 8 hours 10 minutes
Yield 6 people
Serving Size 1.5 cups
Course Dinner, Soup
Cuisine Universal

Ingredients

  • 1 pound round steak 1 inch pieces
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil flavored oil is wonderful to use: basil, rosemary, or garlic-chile pepper
  • kosher or sea salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 white onion large, chopped
  • 4 teaspoons garlic minced
  • 2 cups potatoes cut into 3/4 inch chunks
  • 4 celery sticks cleaned and chopped
  • 2 carrots peeled and chopped
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme or 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 2 3/4 cups beef broth low sodium, fat free
  • 1/4 cup red wine (optional, beef broth, non-alcoholic wine, or grape juice)
  • 14 1/2 ounce diced tomatoes can

Instructions

  • Rub the meat with oil, salt and pepper. Let it sit at room temperature while preparing the other vegetables.
  • Prepare all vegetables and add them to the slow cooker. Place round steak on top of veggies. Add the broth, wine, tomatoes, thyme, bay leaves, and a little salt and pepper. Cover the slow cooker and cook on low 8 hours, or until the meat is fork-tender.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1.5cups | Calories: 263kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 46mg | Sodium: 213mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 5g |
SmartPoints (Freestyle): 7
Keywords Gluten-Free, Kid-Friendly

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This delicious, comfort food recipe was adapted for the slow cooker and submitted by guest contributor, Joanne from Apple Crumble.  Joanne expresses her creativity through food…and it shows!

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28 Comments

  1. It's in the crock pot right now. I don't have 8 hrs so I'm doing it on high for 6. I hope that doesn't make the meat tough! I think the red wine and fresh thyme will give it a lot of depth. Thanks for the recipe!

  2. I love making beef stew in the fall and winter for my family. It's my favorite kind of comfort food. I'm always up for quick and easy. That's why I picked this recipe as my favorite slow cooker recipe. I love this recipe. It was so yummy.

    1. There's no such thing as comfort food. That's the first thing you learn when you start dieting. But I'm always for the quick and easy meal. I'm on oxfordhealth's loaded gun diet and it's working great so far, I'm losing weight and eating what I want.

  3. It's a good thing I knew to take out the bay leaf because it doesn't say to. Anyway, my family didn't care for this. I think we're too used to more traditional beef stew flavor.

  4. I would brown the meat first–it makes it more tender and less grey–other than that, this is a fantastic recipe.

    1. Sarah, You can substitute the potatoes for sweet potatoes or butternut squash, yes. Just be sure to cut them into large pieces.

  5. I'm a young "cook" caring for my grandfather and don't have much knowledge about cooking. I know some basics, but that is about it. If you use the alcoholic wine or non-alcoholic, is some sort of cooking wine used? Do you need anything specific?

    1. Addy, Any kind of red wine would work, so you can get a cheap one, or any kind of cooking wine for the cooking aisle. Also you can omit the wine and still have great results. Good luck!

  6. Thank you so much for this recipe. My husband LOVED it!! It was my first time using a slow cooker and I couldn't be happier! Thanks!! 🙂

  7. I’ve been eating clean for 3 months now, have lost 40 lbs (15 more to go) and feeling great). Im always looking for healthy clean meals. I did use all organic ingredients and its in the crockpot now. I did brown the meat first and then added about 2 tsp of gluten free flour when browning beef to thicken it up just a little. Looks delicious. Can’t wait for dinner

  8. Thank you for this recipe! It was easy and delicious! And it smelled amazing in the house while it was cooking. Yum! Thanks!

  9. Heather, it’s a spice that you can find in Indian grocery stores and sometimes in supermarkets. But if you can’t find it, you can leave it out.

  10. It says optional, but DO NOT USE WINE IN THIS RECIPE!!! Or at least not a full cup.

    I usually make my beef stew without wine (with more of a savory, beef gravy-type broth), but I thought I’d give this a try after seeing the amount of shares and reading the comments. BIG mistake. I followed the recipe to a T, and it tasted like nothing but red wine!

    I was able to salvage it by thoroughly rinsing ALL of the wine-y broth off of the cooked meat and veggies, then leaving them in boiling water for about 5 minutes to remove as much of the wine flavor as possible. I whipped up some of regular broth, drained the meat and veggie combo and added a few more fresh veggies, and placed them in the new broth to simmer until the new potatoes softened. It still had a slight wine taste, but was much more like beef bourguignon and much less like I was chugging merlot straight from the bottle.

    If you plan to try this recipe, my suggestion is to either use 3 cups of beef broth and no wine, OR using only 1/4 cup of wine or less and however much beef broth you need to equal 3 cups of total liquid. I’d definitely like to try this again without the wine.

    1. Mel, I just remade this recipe and used only 1/4 cup red wine. You’re right, much better! I have made this with only broth and think it’s great with or w/o the wine. I updated the recipe as well. Thank you so much for making the suggestion. I love when our audience gives positive feedback. Thanks again! 🙂

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