This Slow Cooker Stew Meat and Potatoes recipe is made with tender chunks of stew meat and chopped potatoes, onion and carrots all simmered in a rich beef stew broth made without using any wine. Robust, hearty and easy to make, this basic crock pot beef stew is the perfect comfort food.

Slow Cooker Stew Meat and Potatoes

One of the first slow cooker comfort foods I learned to make was traditional beef stew.

I mean, it’s probably the easiest crock pot stewed beef recipe to start with and there’s nothing better on a cold winter day than a big, steaming bowl of slow cooker stew meat and potatoes .

Over time, I have added a bit of this and added a bit of that and tried different meats, potatoes, veggies… I even made a Guinness Beef Stew that is to die for!

I have added different spices and then taken spices out because if you Google “Easy Beef Stew Recipe”, you will find a zillion delicious recipes for beef stew.

Lesson learned is that you can always add to any recipe but sometimes you really just want where it all started from and that is what this is …basic beef stew!

Easy Recipe for Beef Stew In a Crock Pot

When it comes to a classic dish like Stew Meat and Potatoes, you will find so many recipes and variations. Let me tell you why this recipe for crock pot stew is the BEST!

This slow cooker beef stew recipe is an easy classic beef stew recipe without exotic cuts of meat or purple potatoes or tons of expensive spices… it’s just a really good homemade beef stew recipe.
When it comes to keeping life easy, nothing is easier than making a stew in a slow cooker. Yup.. your crock pot! Add this classic beef stew recipe to your crockpot and let your slow cooker do the work for you!
Breaking out traditional homemade stewed beef with vegetables is the perfect way to feed a hungry crowd.
Nothing screams ultimate comfort food like a steaming bowl of stew meat and potatoes.
Cooking this easy stew recipe in the slow cooker guarantees to deliver melt-in-your-mouth tender chunks of beef in a slow simmered sauce. Perfection!
The beef stew broth is made with NO WINE! Plenty of rich and robust flavors without the added alcohol.

Ingredients for Crock Pot Beef Stew

Chuck roast – Beef chuck roast is the perfect meat for beef stew (and Chili Colorado). It’s fall-apart tender, flavorful, and won’t dry out during cooking.
All purpose flour – Helps to thicken your stew and create a crust when browning your stew meat.
Vegetable oil – Oil to brown your chuck roast chunks.
Onion – -Flavor
Russet potatoes – Starchy and the perfect
Carrots – Adds a bit of crunch and healthy nutrition, carrots are a foundation ingredient to stew.
Garlic – Flavor and bite.
Tomato paste – Adds robust rich flavor
Soy sauce – Adds a bit of saltiness and rounds out your deep flavors
Beef stock – Adds extra beef flavor and is the base of your stew.
Cornstarch – Create a slurry to thicken your beef stew at the end of cooking.
Spices – Must have notes of flavor.

How To Make Beef Stew In A Slow Cooker

To make this slow cooker beef stew recipe, start by adding vegetable oil to a large skillet.

Heat oil over medium high heat while adding flour and dredge seasonings to a medium sized bowl.

How To Brown Beef for Stew

Toss your stew meat chunks in the flour and then move to the heated skillet and cook your stew meat for 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently, until browned on all sides.

You want to cook your meat in a single layer in the skillet so you may need to split the stew meat into to cooking batches.

Once cooked, move the stew meat to your slow cooker along with your onion, garlic, potatoes, carrots, tomato paste, soy sauce, beef broth, Worcestershire and spices.

Lightly stir together, cover and cook on Low for 7 – 8 hours or on High for 4 hours.

Scoop out 2 tablespoons of the broth and whisk in the cornstarch. Pour back into the slow cooker and stir to combine.

Cook for another 15 minutes on High to thicken the sauce and then garnish with fresh parsley and serve up with good, crusty bread.

Pro Tips for Perfect Beef Stew

By letting your beef stew simmer in a slow cooker all day, you are guaranteed tender chunks of meat. Stop lifting the lid, let the crockpot do it’s job! 🙂
Grabbing a chuck roast is the perfect meat for this stew. You want meat that has a bit of fat (for flavor) and slow cooking it allows the meat time to tenderize.
Don’t skip searing the meat! Browning the stew meat before adding to the crockpot gives the meat extra deep, rich flavor.
Adding fresh herbs at the end of the stew cooking time adds a whole new layer of delicate flavor. Sprinkle on fresh parsley, thyme or rosemary before serving.

Best Cut of Meat for Beef Stew

For the perfect bowl of basic beef stew, what cut of beef is best for stew?

You want large chunks of meat and my favorite kind of stew meat to use is a cut up Chuck roast.

Since you will be simmering your beef stew in a slow cooker over many hours, the Chuck roast meat, which is a tougher cut of meat, will become super tender and very flavorful.

Browning Beef for Stew

Do you need to brown your stew meat before adding the chunks to your stew? Technically, no .. you do not need to cook your stew meat before adding it to the slow cooker.

However, taking the time to brown the chunks of stew meat before adding it to your crock pot lends a rich flavor due to the caramelized surface of the meat chunks that you just can’t get any other way.

How To Thicken Beef Stew

Your beef stew will naturally thicken up a bit from the flour used to brown your stew meat and your chunks of potato but I like mine to be a bit thicker than that.

To thicken beef stew, I use a cornstarch slurry. It’s fast and easy to make and doesn’t impact the flavor of that delicious beef stew you’ve been cooking all day in your crock pot.

Simply combine equal parts cornstarch with beef broth or water and that is what is called a cornstarch slurry.

I usually add both to a small bowl and use a fork or tiny whisk to fully combine the two. You don’t want cornstarch lumps! Then pour that into your beef stew.

Adding that slurry mix to your beef stew right before serving will thicken up your stew broth to the perfect consistency. Just let your stew cook and do the work for you.

How To Store Leftover Beef Stew

Stewed beef and vegetables is an ideal make-ahead dish. Here are the best ways to keep stew fresh and ready for reheating:

Move to a plastic dish and cover tightly when completely cool. You can also use a large zip-top bag if you have one. Refrigerate up to 3 days.
Have too much to use up that fast? Move your leftover container to your freezer. Then thaw your stew in the refrigerator when needed and reheat to serve.
Your stew can be reheated on the stovetop over medium heat or in the microwave for 1 or 2 minutes or until heated through.

More Easy Crock Pot Recipes

Enjoy ♥ Heather