Slow Cooker Beef Stew is rich, hearty, and wonderfully easy to prepare, making it a comforting meal for busy days. Made with tender beef, potatoes, carrots, onion, garlic, and a flavourful beef broth, this slow cooker recipe creates a thick, savoury stew with melt-in-your-mouth meat and beautifully cooked vegetables.
Perfect for cosy winter dinners, simple family meals, or easy meal prep, this classic slow cooker beef stew is a reliable recipe that fills the kitchen with delicious aromas while it cooks. Serve with crusty bread or over mashed potatoes for a satisfying, wholesome meal the whole family will enjoy.
Originally published July 28, 2020. Updated March 9, 2026.
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What Makes This Stew Special
Busy households love this sort of meal. Simply prepare the ingredients, add them to the slow cooker, and let it slowly infuse all the flavour.
A Quick Note About This Recipe
Cooking inexpensive cuts of meat is one of the great advantages of using a slow cooker. The long and slow method of cooking allows for the tougher cuts of meat to become tender.
The moist heat of the slow cooker allows the connective tissue that binds the muscle fibers to soften, helping the meat become tender and fall apart. With the temperature set to low this also means the meat is unlikely to become dry with the longer cooking time.
Why This Recipe Works
We love these all-in-one recipes, the hardest part is prepping your ingredients, but that’s no problem at all, especially when you know 15 minutes of prep now means dinner ready later.
My Best Tip For Cooking This Stew
There is some conjecture as to whether you need to brown meat before using it in the slow cooker. You definitely do not have to, in some cases I like to as browning meat gives a lovely flavour to the final product.
It takes very little time to sear the meat, so if you have time then definitely do as caramelising the meat gives a great flavour to the gravy!
Substitution & Serving Ideas
I’ve added vegetables to ensure this stew is a complete meal, using carrot, potato and mushroom also adds to the flavour. Feel free to use what vegetables you like. If you choose to leave out the potato you can serve this on a lovely bed of mashed potato instead.
What You Need To Know About The Ingredients
The ingredients for this one are pantry basics, I like to have these things on hand as they form the basics of so many slow cooker meals:
- Stock/Broth – Chicken, beef or vegetable
- Onion & Garlic
- Worcestershire Sauce
- Herbs, Salt, Pepper
- Tomato Paste
You will be surprised at just how many recipes you can create from those basics. They add such a lovely depth of flavour, you can amend the quantities depending on your tastes.
Ingredient Substitutions
Can I leave out or add different ingredients? Yes! Absolutely. The basic ingredients add depth of flavour but if you have herbs you prefer then use those, if you want to add more or less vegetables then do!
Best Cuts Of Beef For This Slow Cooker Stew
The smell of this one as it cooks through the day is just lovely. The cuts of meat you can use are chuck or blade steak, stewing steak, rump. Any of the really muscly cuts of meat make for a delicious stew, and of course are the more inexpensive so a win!
How To Get The Best Results From Your Slow Cooked Beef Stew
This recipe can be made in the slow cooker or a multi cooker, depending on how much time you have. I prefer cooking it low and slow in the slow cooker for 7–8 hours, which gives the beef plenty of time to become beautifully tender and allows the flavours to develop.
To finish, stir through a simple cornflour and water slurry to thicken the sauce into a rich, gravy-like consistency. This is also a great time to add peas or green beans for extra colour and flavour. Let the stew sit for about 10 minutes before serving so the sauce thickens nicely.
Slow cookers can sometimes produce extra liquid, so if your dish needs thickening you can follow my tips on How to Thicken Slow Cooker Sauce.
Instructions For Cooking Stew In The Pressure Cooker
If you’re short on time, this recipe can also be made in an Instant Pot/Pressure Cooker or multi cooker and ready in around 35 minutes.
You can sear the beef first using the sauté function directly in the pot, then cook on high pressure for 30 minutes to achieve beautifully tender, fall-apart meat and vegetables. Once the cooking time is complete, allow the steam to release naturally. Then follow the other steps in the recipe card.
Slow cooker timings can vary slightly depending on the cut of meat or vegetables you are using, so my Slow Cooker Cooking Times Chart is a great guide to check.
Serving Suggestions For Slow Cooker Beef Stew
Serve this dish with crusty bread, over cauliflower mash, or simply on its own. This hearty Slow Cooker Beef Stew should become a family favourite.
Can This Recipe Be Frozen?
This recipe freezes well. It makes several portions, so in order to freeze simply allow this to cool and store in portion sizes in the freezer. If you plan to freeze the entire stew do not thicken it with cornflour until you thaw and reheat it or it may separate.
More Slow Cooker Meals To Try
If you love the sound of the flavours in this Slow Cooker Beef Stew, you may wish to check out some of my other slow cooker meals which use simple ingredients and are family favourites everyone will love:
- Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff
- Slow Cooker Beef Bourguignon
- Slow Cooker Devilled Sausages
- Slow Cooker Curried Sausages
Slow Cooker Beef Stew Recipe
The full ingredient list and step-by-step instructions are in the recipe card below.
Slow Cooker Beef Stew
A hearty and comforting slow cooker beef stew made with tender beef, potatoes, carrots, onions, and rich beef broth. This easy, all-in-one recipe is perfect for cosy family dinners or meal prep, filling your kitchen with delicious aromas and creating a satisfying, flavour-packed meal with minimal effort.
Ingredients
- 900 grams Stewing Steak, chuck, rump, blade etc, diced into 2cm chunks, fat removed
- 2 Tablespoons Oil
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Pepper
- 1/2 to 1 Onion, finely diced
- 3 teaspoons Garlic, crushed
- 4 Carrots, peeled and diced into 2cm chunks
- 4 Medium Potatoes, peeled and diced into 2cm chunks
- 250 grams Button Mushrooms, cleaned, diced into halves
- 1/2 teaspoon Thyme, dried
- 1 teaspoon Rosemary, dried
- 1 teaspoon Paprika Powder
- 2 Tablespoons Worcester Sauce
- 4 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
- 2 1/2 Cups Beef Stock or Broth, 625mls
To Serve
- 2 Tablespoons Cornflour
- 1 Cup Frozen Peas, 150 grams
- Parsley
Instructions
- Prepare all of the vegetables and beef and set aside
- Coat the beef in the salt & pepper
- In a frying pan add the olive oil and over a high heat brown the meat in batches until seared and caramelised. Remove from the pan and set aside
- In a 6 litre slow cooker, add the seared meat, the onions, garlic, carrots, potatoes and mushrooms
- Then to this add the rosemary, thyme, paprika, Worcester sauce, tomato paste and pour over the beef stock.
- Stir well then cover and cook on Low for 8 hours or High for 4-5 hours (or 30 minutes in an Instant Pot on the meat/stew function see notes below)
- Once the meat is fall apart tender and the vegetables are cooked through remove half a cup of the liquid and add 2 tablespoons of cornflour or flour to this and mix together well. This thickens the gravy, if you prefer you can omit this step
- Pour the cornflour mixture back into the slow cooker and stir through.
- Add the peas and stir them into the mix for 15 minutes.
- Turn off the slow cooker and allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving.
- Serve in bowls sprinkled with parsley and a side of crusty bread.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Can I make this in the Instant Pot or Multi Cooker?
Yes, This recipe is delicious and so quick in a multi cooker, you can even sear the meat in the first step directly in the instant pot. For completely fall apart meat and vegetables cook for 30 minutes on pressure cook. Allow the steam to release naturally then add the peas and cornflour as above and stir through. Allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving.
Can I freeze this recipe?
This recipe freezes well. It makes several portions, so in order to freeze simply allow this to cool and store in portion sizes in the freezer. If you plan to freeze the entire stew do not thicken it with cornflour until you thaw and reheat it or it may separate.
Can I leave out or add ingredients?
Yes! Definitely. The basic ingredients add depth of flavour but if you have herbs you prefer then use those, if you want to add more or less vegetables then do!
I’d Love To Hear Your Thoughts
I hope you love this Slow Cooker Beef Stew as much as we do. It’s such a lovely comforting meal for cooler autumn or fall days and one I come back to again and again.
If you try it, I’d love to hear how it turned out for you in the comments below.
Also, If you enjoy this recipe, please leave a ⭐ rating in the recipe card above. Your feedback helps other readers and really supports my recipes.
Thank you so much for stopping by to check out this recipe and the others here on my blog. I always love sharing these slow cooker favourites with you.
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Happy cooking!
Anna xo
I love this recipe, I add a couple of herbs and whatever veggies are lying around to fill it out as suggested and it’s very toddler friendly. There are so many slow cooked stew recipes out there but I think this is a winner! Thank you 🙂
That’s so lovely to hear thank you ☺️ Anna
i mean instant pot 🙂
Yes, 30 minutes cooking time in an instant pot vs 8 hours in the slow cooker. It takes time to get to pressure so allow an hour total, including the natural release. Full details are in the recipe and notes.