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Is there anything more cosy and satisfying than a Slow Cooker Beef Stew bubbling away in the kitchen when the winter draws in and we need the ultimate comfort food to keep us going?
This stew recipe – or Slow Cooker Beef Casserole if you prefer – is, quite simply, satisfaction in a bowl. It’s packed with flavour, chunky vegetables and rich gravy, warming the cockles and brimming with goodness.
Can I be honest with you my friends? In the past I’ve not been quite convinced about slower beef stews.
Sometimes bland, sometimes watery. Curries work well because of the extra flavour from spices etc, but stews and casseroles can be a little disappointing.
So… I made it my mission to solve this problem! I have tweaked and polished this recipe about 20 times, I kid you not, and I feel like we’re finally there.
Mission to create a delicious, thick Slow Cooker Beef Stew is complete.
The beef is tender, the veggies wholesome and the beer makes for a lovely rich gravy.
I hope you love this classic as much as we do ❤️
Why you’ll love this Slow Cooker Beef Stew recipe
⭐️ Packed with rich flavour
⭐️ Lots of hidden veg for goodness
⭐️ Great for batch cooking
About Slow Cooker Beef Casserole
Could the humble stew be the one dish that dates back to the very beginnings of humankind?
It’s thought that might be the case, with evidence of the meal dating back centuries all over the world, from Japan to Amazonian rainforests, France and, obviously, Ireland with its famous Irish Stew.
While our early ancestors might have boiled up meat and some vegetables over a fire, cooking has come along a tad since then.
That said, the dish hasn’t evolved dramatically over the course of centuries, and with good reason. There simply is nothing more heartwarming over the colder months than a steaming bowl of beef casserole
And we all know that being able to make this kind of meal in the slow cooker is the dream scenario, so I hope you find this version works for you.
There are a few tips and ingredients involved that should elevate it from an ordinary just-ok recipe to one you go to time and time again, but we’re still keeping it super simple and very much affordable for an ideal family-friendly dinner.
Slow Cooker Beef Stew Ingredients Notes
- Beef cubes – I use braising steak, also known as stewing steak
- Plain flour – This helps to thicken the sauce
- Sunflower oil – Or another flavourless oil
- Onion – Use pre-prepared frozen and chopped for time-saving
- Garlic – Same goes, I use the cheat version but you can go fresh
- Beer – Any ale or bitter, or see substitutions list
- Carrots – Chopped into small bite sized pieces
- Swede – Called rutabaga if you’re in the USA
- Beef stock cubes – No need to dissolve
- Worcestershire sauce – Or Henderson’s Relish
- Salt and pepper – Use plenty
How to make Slow Cooker Beef Stew
- Coat the beef in the plain flour until it’s well covered.
2. Fry the beef in batches on the hob (don’t overcrowd the pan) until it’s browned and golden.
3. Add everything into the pan and stir. Transfer to your slow cooker or take your hob-friendly slow cooker off the heat.
4. Cook as per the recipe (below).
Substitutions
- Beer – If you don’t want to use alcohol, you can replace it with beef stock (in addition to the cubes mentioned in the recipe). Also, if your bottle of beer has less than 600ml (some are 500ml), just make up the difference with stock.
Leftovers
In the fridge You can keep this recipe in the fridge for 3 days. Reheat fully in the microwave or on the hob before serving.
In the freezer This recipe freezes really well and is great for batch cooking. Just wait until it’s totally cold and then put into a freezer proof container and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost thoroughly before reheating in the microwave or on the hob.
Top tips
Browning the beef
You have a choice on this. You don’t have to fry the meat on the hob first but I do feel that in this case, it is worth the 10 minutes or so as it adds a lot of flavour to the dish.
This isn’t always the case. In a Slow Cooker Beef Curry, for example, the spices add so much flavour that it’s not needed. But here, you want it to be.. BEEFY, right?
All that said, if you don’t have time, don’t stress just throw it in. It’ll be maybe 20% less tasty, but sometimes needs must don’t they?
Cut of beef
I use something like ‘braising steak‘, which is the name supermarkets and butchers use for a few different cuts of beef that need slow cooking. These include chuck, skirt, leg and flank.
It’s also sometimes labelled as stewing steak. Any of these cuts that need to be cooked slowly are fine for this recipe.
More slow cooker beef recipes…
FAQs
They are basically the same but if we’re nit-picking, it’s thought a ‘stew’ is a pan of ingredients simmered together on a stove (stewed), and a ‘casserole’ refers to the type of pot you use when cooking ingredients together in an oven.
So what if it’s in a slow cooker?! We call it a Beef Stew or a Beef Casserole and forget about it!
Sure. Cook at 160C for about an 2-3 hours or until the beef is soft and tender.
You will almost certainly need to add some more liquid if cooking in the oven. Probably about 300-400ml of stock but check it as it cooks and adjust accordingly.
I love this one (available to buy on Amazon) as it has a pan that you can use on the hob to brown your meat first and then transfer straight into the cooker. It’s very lightweight too.
For induction hobs, I recommend the Lakeland Digital 6.5l Slow Cooker instead.
Let me know how you got on and what you thought of these recipes. Please rate the recipe using the ⭐️ below.
Also I’d LOVE to see your cooking creations. If you’d like to share yours with me, you can tag me on Instagram (@tamingtwins).
Slow Cooker Beef Stew {with Rich Gravy}
Ingredients
- 1 kg (4.5 cups) Beef cubes, See notes
- 3 tbsp Plain flour
- 2 tbsp Sunflower oil
- 1 Onion, See notes
- 3 Cloves Garlic, See notes
- 600 ml (2.50 cups) Beer, See notes
- 3 Carrots, Peeled and chopped
- 1/2 Swede, Peeled and chopped. (Rutabaga if you're in the USA)
- 2 Beef stock cubes, No need to dissolve in liquid, just as they are.
- 3 tbsp Tomato puree
- 3 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Coat the beef in the plain flour until it's well covered.
- Heat the oil in a pan (or in your slow cooker pan if it's the type you can use on the hob) and brown the beef, in batches, don't overcrowd the pan, until it's browned and golden.
- Add all of your other ingredients, with all of the browned beef, into the pan. Remove from the heat (or transfer to your slow cooker pan if you have used a different pan for the browning).
- Pop the lid on and cook in the slow cooker for 5-6 hours on HIGH or 8-9 hours on LOW (this will vary slightly depending on the size of the cubes of meat and vegetables but don't worry, it's difficult to overcook this!)
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This post was originally published on November 18, 2021 and updated later to make improvements.
Lovely
Loved this recipe! Can anyone please tell me what the green herb on top of the stew in the photo is?
Hi,
I was just wondering if you could let me know what herb you added to the dish at the end please. Was it Parsley?
Weekly staple in our house now!!! I use 2 beef cubes and one vegetable cube instead of beer I add a can of potatoes an hour before the end and serve it in a giant Yorkshire pudding ,edible bowls for the win!!! Easiest best tasting dish for the whole family.
My go to slow cooker meal these days!
Delicious and so easy.
Hi!
I am looking forward to doing this tomorrow.
Could you tell me if the alcohol cooks off in this or should I cook it off before adding?
Many thanks.
Lovely and tasty used an extra beef stock cube instead of beer and worked a treat! BTW think there’s an error with the nutritional info as 40,000mg of sodium seems pretty excessive!
Not necessary to use alcohol free. After 15 minutes of cooking any trace of alcohol will have evaporated from real beer let alone 5 hours.
The BEST beef stew recipe for the slow cooker. Easy, lots of flavour and a nice consistency gravy (I use one stock pot, one stock cube, no beer). I’ve had a slow cooker for 10+ years and beef stews are often watery and flavourless but not when following this recipe. Our go to stew!
I always dislike it when commenters make big changes then say what they think about the recipe, however that was me this time!
It seemed odd to not have any herbs in this, so I threw in some dried sage and dried rosemary at the start, and a cornflour slurry at the end to thicken it a little.
Served it with air fried potato chunks and it was amazing. Thank you!