This isn’t a “dump everything in and hope for the best” kind of recipe. This is a deeply flavorful, thick, fall-apart beef stew built with a few smart techniques that take almost no extra effort but make all the difference between a stew that tastes fine and one that tastes as if it came from a restaurant kitchen.

Whether you’re feeding a hungry family on a Tuesday night, meal prepping for the week, or just craving the kind of comfort food that wraps around you like a warm blanket, this recipe delivers every single time.

I love crockpot beef stew because it doesn’t just feed you for one night. A single batch typically serves 6–8 people, refrigerates beautifully for up to 4 days, and freezes exceptionally well for up to 3 months. Make it on Sunday and eat it all week. Or freeze half for a night when cooking feels impossible. Either way, you’re getting far more than one meal out of a single hour of effort.

HOW TO MAKE CROCKPOT BEEF STEW – step by step

2 pounds (907 g) Beef Stew meat ( cut into 1-inch pieces )
1 (1 medium) onion ( chopped )
4 cloves (4 cloves) garlic ( minced )
4 (4 ) carrots ( cut into medium size)
1 pound (454 g) potatoes ( cut into bite sized pieces)
2 stalks (2 stalks) celery ( chopped )
2 cups (480 ml) beef broth
14 ounces (397 g) tomato sauce (about 1 3/4 cups)
2 Tablespoons (30 ml) Worcestershire sauce (or soy sauce)
1 teaspoon (5 ml) dried herbs (thyme, oregano, basil)
1 Tablespoon (15 ml) sugar
1 teaspoon (5 ml) salt , or to taste
1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) black pepper
3 Tablespoons (45 ml) corn starch
3 Tablespoons (45 ml) water

1. This is a dump and go recipe and we’re going to start by putting in the pieces of beef.

2. Next add in the carrots, cut these into medium-sized I love carrots with a little bit of girth to give the stew a little bit of body.

3. Add in your potatoes. i love using gold potatoes like Yukon gold , use whatever you’ve got on hand. I didn’t peel them and love to use them with the skins on for extra fiber, just cube them into into bite-sized pieces.

4. Add in the celery stalks, roughly chopped and your beef broth which serves as the main liquid. You can also use good old red wine as your liquid for a hearty delicious beef stew.

5. Next, add in your chopped onions.

6. Next, add in your tomato sauce, this is going to help deepen that flavor of the beef stew.

7. Add in your dried herbs (thyme, oregano, basil) and Worcestershire sauce. If you don’t have this on hand, you can substitute with soy sauce.

8. Add in your minced garlic and some sugar to balance the beef stew. Not a lot, about 1 tablespoon of sugar is enough.

9. Next, add in the black pepper to finish seasoning the beef stew.

10. With everything in the crockpot, turn it on and mix so that all the ingredients are well combined.

11. Cover and set the crockpot for 6 – 8 hrs to cook the beef stew low and slow. Depending on when you want your beef stew ready, you can do this the night before and have your it ready when you wake up or do it just before you leave for work..

12. When beef stew is almost ready, it’s time to add in your cornstarch slurry to thicken the dish. I like to do this around the last 30 minute mark so the slurry has enough time to work. I prefer using cornstarch, however, if you don’t have it, feel free to make slurry with flour, It works just as well.

13. Your beef stew is now ready. Turn it off and unplug

13. Serve and enjoy!!

Important Recipe Notes

Sear your meat before adding it to the crockpot. While i didn’t do it for this recipe, it adds a deep, complex, and roasted flavor to your beef stew.
Cut everything at least 50% larger than you think looks right. Remember the ingredients are going to cook for over 8hrs. You want to cut everything a little bit chunky as they will shrink as they cook. You want your beef stew with a little bit of bite to it.
While it is tempting, avoid the temptation to constantly lift the lid to check on your beef stew. With each lift, the crockpot loses heat and steam. Besides, each time you lift the lid you add extra cook time which is unnecessary.
Want potatoes with a little bit of a bite, add them midday through the cooking process instead of the beginning.
A good beef stew should always be thick, not watery. Use a Cornstarch slurry for a glossier finish or flour for a gravy-like broth
Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of cold unsalted butter to your beef stew just before serving for extra richness and restraunt-quality beef stew.
Make your beef stew a day ahead If You Can. Crockpot beef stew is one of those dishes that tastes better the next day. Overnight the flavors continue to meld and deepen, the beef absorbs even more of the broth, and the whole dish develops a cohesion and richness that’s hard to achieve on the day of cooking.
If your finished stew tastes rich but somehow flat or one-dimensional, what it likely needs isn’t more salt. It needs a touch of acid to brighten and lift all those deep, heavy flavors. A splash of red wine vinegar, lemon juice, or more Worcestershire sauce will do the trick.

Old Fashioned Crockpot Beef Stew

A great crockpot beef stew should taste like it simmered all day. The beef should be fork-tender. The broth should feel thick and gravy-like, with the vegetables tender, not mushy. This beef stew recipe delivers exactly that. Whether you’re feeding a hungry family on a Tuesday night, meal prepping for the week, or just craving the kind of comfort food that wraps around you like a warm blanket, this recipe delivers every single time.

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Cuisine: American

Ingredients Equipment Method

Ingredients

2 lbs Beef Stew meat
1 medium onion
4 cloves of garlic
4 carrots ( cut into medium size)
1 lbs potatoes (quartered )
2 stalks of celery
2 cups beef broth
14 oz tomato sauce
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce
1 tsp dried herbs (thyme, oregano, basil)
1 tbsp sugar
salt and pepper to taste
3 tbsp corn starch
3 tbsp water

Equipment

Slow Cooker

Method

This is a dump and go recipe and we’re going to start by putting in the beef pieces.
Next add in the carrots, potatoes, chopped celery , diced onions,
Next, add in your tomato sauce
Add in your dried herbs (thyme, oregano, basil) and Worcestershire sauce
Add in your minced garlic and sugar
Season with salt and pepper. Stir to combine
Cover and set the crockpot for 6 – 8 hrs to cook the beef stew low and slow
30-minutes before the timer is up, add in your cornstarch slurry to thicken the dish.
Once timer is up, uncover and taste for seasoning. Adjust accordingly
Your beef stew is now ready.
Serve and enjoy!!