This slow cooker beef stew is what I make when it’s chilly in Denver and I don’t want to think about dinner. Chuck roast, baby potatoes, and big chunks of carrot cook all day in red wine, beef broth, rosemary, and thyme until the beef falls apart on your spoon. My trick? Stir in a pat of butter at the end. It makes the gravy silky. Brown the beef first if you have time, or just dump and go.
My Busy-Day Beef Stew (the Dutch Oven Can Wait)
If you’ve been around here a while, you know I already have a Dutch Oven Beef Stew that braises in the oven with dark beer. I love that one. But on busy days? The crockpot wins.
You prep in the morning. Set it on LOW. Go live your life.
This slow cooker beef stew with potatoes and carrots is a different animal. Red wine instead of beer. Smoked paprika. Fresh rosemary and thyme. And a teaspoon of caraway seeds (trust me on this one).
Then there’s the butter. Two tablespoons stirred in right before serving turns the gravy glossy. Everyone will think you worked a lot harder than you did.
Why You Will Love This Slow Cooker Beef Stew
Here in Colorado, we get plenty of snow days. Those are my crockpot days.
There’s nothing like walking in the door on a cold, dark evening to the smell of beef stew that’s been going all day. Rosemary. Red wine. Onions cooked down soft and sweet. It smells like someone’s been taking care of you, even if that someone was you at 7 a.m.
My husband walked in from a meeting not long ago, and the first thing out of his mouth was, “What’s for dinner? It smells amazing. Can we eat right now?”
Yes, honey. That’s kind of the point. (He went back for a second helping, too.)
- Hands-off comfort food. About 30 minutes of prep in the morning, less if you skip browning. Your crockpot does the rest.
- Brown it or dump it. Got a few extra minutes? Brown the beef. Running late? Toss it all in and go.
- Tender beef that falls apart. Chuck roast cooked low and slow breaks down into juicy bites.
- Gravy that’s never watery. A little flour and a pat of butter at the end make it thick and glossy.
- A swap for everyone. Gluten-free, low-carb, no wine, extra veggies. It’s all in the Variations section.
- Even better tomorrow. The flavors keep building overnight, so leftovers are a gift, if there are any left after second helpings.
- Kid-friendly. It’s savory and mild, with nothing spicy, so it’s an easy sell for kids and picky eaters.
Slow Cooker Beef Stew Ingredients
- Beef: A 2½-pound chuck roast, cut into 1½-inch cubes, is my first choice. Or use 2 pounds of good stew meat (more on that below). Trim the thick fat so your gravy doesn’t turn greasy.
- Olive oil and butter: Only if you’re browning. Use olive oil to sear the beef, plus a tablespoon of butter to soften the onions and pick up the browned bits.
- Kosher salt and black pepper: Season the beef up front, then taste again at the end.
- Onions and garlic: One or two onions, quartered and sliced, and 5 cloves garlic, minced.
- Dry red wine: 1 cup of Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot. Nothing sweet, nothing fancy. The alcohol cooks off, leaving a deep, rich flavor. No wine? Use more beef broth.
- Beef broth: One 32-ounce carton. Use the best one you can find, or make your own beef bone broth. Oh my!
- Tomato paste: A little tang, deeper color, and it helps thicken the gravy.
- Worcestershire sauce: A couple of tablespoons. It packs a big savory punch.
- Smoked paprika: Warm and a little smoky.
- Caraway seeds (optional): My not-so-secret ingredient! One teaspoon adds an earthy note, almost like rye bread. Try it once. You’ll be hooked.
- Potatoes: Baby reds or Yukon Golds hold their shape all day. Skip Russets. They fall apart and turn grainy.
- Carrots: Five or six, cut into big chunks, or 1½ to 2 cups of baby carrots. Big pieces won’t go mushy.
- Fresh herbs: 2 bay leaves, 1 sprig of rosemary, and 1 sprig of thyme. No fresh? Use ½ teaspoon each of dried rosemary and thyme.
- To finish: All-purpose flour (or gluten-free flour) to thicken, and 2 tablespoons of softened salted butter for a silky gravy.
Get the full recipe in the recipe card below.
Best Beef for Slow Cooker Beef Stew
Chuck roast (sometimes labeled beef chuck or chuck shoulder) is the cut I reach for every time. It comes from the shoulder, a hard-working muscle, so it’s tough and full of connective tissue and marbling.
Sounds bad, right? It’s exactly what you want. Over a long, slow cook, all that connective tissue melts into the gravy, and the beef turns juicy and fork-tender.
What about stew meat? I use it plenty. It’s convenient! The catch is that it’s usually a mix of trimmings from different cuts. Some pieces come out tender, and others stay chewy. It’s often cut small and uneven, too. If you go that route, grab 2 pounds of the best you can find and look for good marbling.
My advice? Buy a 2½-pound chuck roast and cut it yourself. You’ll lose a little to trimming, and that’s okay. Aim for 1½-inch cubes, since bigger pieces hold up better all day.
Skip lean cuts like sirloin or round. They don’t have enough fat or collagen, and they dry out.
Pro Tip: If you’re browning, pat the beef dry with paper towels before you season it. Dry beef browns. Wet beef steams.
How to Make Slow Cooker Beef Stew
Step 1 | Prep the Beef and Vegetables
Trim any thick fat off the chuck roast and cut it into 1½-inch cubes. Pat the beef dry, then toss it with the salt and pepper.
Quarter and slice the onions. Mince the garlic. Halve or quarter the potatoes (leave the tiny ones whole) and cut the carrots into big chunks.
Step 2 | Dump and Go (Layer the Crock Pot)
The dump-and-go way: Put the seasoned raw beef, onions, garlic, and all 1 cup of the wine in the slow cooker. Add the beef broth, tomato paste, Worcestershire, smoked paprika, and caraway seeds, and stir until the tomato paste dissolves.
Add the potatoes and carrots, pushing them down into the liquid as best you can. Tuck the bay leaves, rosemary, and thyme on top. That’s it. You just made dump-and-go beef stew.
You’ll give up a little deep color and flavor from browning, but it’s still a hearty stew everyone will love
Want deeper flavor? Brown it first (my favorite way). Heat the olive oil in a large cast iron skillet, Dutch oven, or other large, heavy pot. Turn your vent fan on now! Brown the beef in batches without crowding, 1 to 2 minutes per side, and move it to a plate.
Turn the heat down to medium. Add the butter, then cook the onions 5 to 7 minutes, until soft and translucent. Stir in the garlic for 1 minute.
Pour in ½ cup of the wine and scrape up every brown bit on the bottom of the pot. That’s pure flavor. Let it bubble for a minute, then pour everything from the pan into the crockpot. Add the browned beef and any juices from the plate, then the remaining ½ cup of wine and everything else, exactly like the dump-and-go method above.
Step 3 | Cook Low and Slow
Cover and cook on LOW for 7½ to 10 hours, or on HIGH for 5 to 6 hours, until the beef falls apart with a fork. Don’t lift the lid! Low and slow is the way to go with chuck roast, so give it time.
Thicken it: Fish out the bay leaves and herb stems. Can’t find a bay leaf? Make it a game. Whoever finds it in their bowl gets out of dish duty. (Just don’t eat it!)
Ladle out ¾ cup of the hot liquid and let it cool for a minute. Whisk in the flour until completely smooth, stir it back into the crockpot, cover, and cook 30 more minutes.
Finish with butter: Right before serving, stir in 2 tablespoons of softened salted butter. Taste, add salt and pepper as needed, and ladle into big bowls.
Slow Cooker Beef Stew Variations
- Can I make it without wine? Absolutely. Use an equal amount of beef broth instead. Want a little of the brightness wine gives you? Stir in a teaspoon or two of balsamic vinegar at the end.
- Can I use frozen vegetables? Yes. Hearty ones like pearl onions or carrots can go in at the start. Delicate ones like peas and corn go in at the end, with the thickener, so they stay bright. About ½ to 1 cup is plenty.
- Gluten-free thickener options: Use gluten-free all-purpose flour in place of regular flour. Or whisk 3 tablespoons of cornstarch (or arrowroot) into ¼ cup of cold water and stir it in for the last 30 minutes. Double-check that your Worcestershire and broth are labeled gluten-free.
- Low-carb beef stew: Swap the potatoes for peeled, cubed rutabaga, and use 2 to 3 stalks celery, cut into big chunks, in place of some or all of the carrots. Skip the flour. For a thicker gravy, whisk ¼ teaspoon of xanthan gum into the hot liquid at the end, and add more a pinch at a time if you need it.
- Dairy-free: Brown the onions in olive oil instead of butter, and skip the butter at the end or use a plant-based butter.
- Add mushrooms: Sliced baby bellas, shiitakes, or button mushrooms are delicious. If you’re browning, sauté them with the onions. If you’re dumping and going, toss them in raw.
- Double it: That’s 5 lbs of chuck roast, so you’ll need an 8-quart or larger slow cooker, filled no more than two-thirds full. No big cooker? Split it between two.
- Prefer the oven or stovetop? My oven-braised beer beef stew braises low and slow in the oven with dark beer, and it’s made for that.
Tips for the Best Slow Cooker Beef Stew
- Don’t crowd the pan. Too many pieces at once drop the heat, and the beef steams instead of browning.
- Keep the lid on. I know it’s tempting. Every peek lets heat out and adds cooking time.
- Chewy beef needs more time, not less. If it’s still tough, the connective tissue hasn’t finished melting. Cover it and keep going.
- Know your slow cooker. Older and newer models can run hotter or cooler. Check your stew the first time you make it and adjust from there. This is my favorite crockpot, because I know it doesn’t boil on LOW.
- Cooking at high altitude? I’ve been making slow cooker meals at 5,280 feet for over 30 years, and things just take a little longer up here. Plan on the longer end of the cook time, and give the beef the fork test before you thicken it. Not at altitude? No worries. My volunteer recipe testers have made this stew at all altitudes, so it works wherever you live.
What to Serve with Crockpot Beef Stew
A big bowl of crockpot beef stew is a meal on its own, but a warm slice of bread for dunking is non-negotiable in our house!
Feeding a crowd on game day? Set the crockpot to WARM, put out a basket of rolls, and let everyone serve themselves.
- Biscuits: These buttery Cheddar Bay Biscuits are always a hit or these 2-ingredient biscuits.
- Quick Breads: My No Yeast Bread, 4-Ingredient Irish Soda Bread, or Easy 4 Ingredient Beer Bread are perfect for sopping up the gravy.
- Rolls: Soft Easy Yeast Rolls or my Sweet Molasses Brown Bread Rolls.
- Crusty Bread: Try it with a loaf of French Bread or Sourdough Bread!
- Mashed Potatoes: Spoon stew over creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes, buttered egg noodles, or rice.
- Something Green: Serve a crisp green salad on the side, like my Steakhouse Wedge Salad!
Leftover idea: Turn leftover stew into a quick pot pie by spooning it into a baking dish and topping it with puff pastry. Or pile mashed potatoes on top, like my Skillet Shepherd’s Pie, and bake until golden.
How to Store and Freeze Slow Cooker Beef Stew
Refrigerate: Put leftovers in shallow, airtight containers and refrigerate within 2 hours. They’ll keep for 3 to 4 days, and they taste even better on day two.
Freeze: Freeze in airtight containers or freezer bags for up to 3 months. Leave a little room at the top, since the stew expands as it freezes. I love using my 2-cup Souper Cubes for this!
Heads up: potatoes can turn soft and a little grainy in the freezer. Making a batch just to freeze? Leave the potatoes out and add freshly cooked ones when you reheat.
Reheat: Thaw overnight in the fridge. Warm it on the stovetop over medium-low heat, or in the microwave, until it’s steaming hot all the way through (165°F). Add a splash of broth if it’s too thick.
Don’t reheat leftovers in the slow cooker. It warms up too slowly to be safe. Heat the stew on the stove first, then you can keep it warm in the crockpot for serving.
Make it a freezer meal kit: I haven’t tested this specific recipe as a freezer kit yet, but when my boys were little, I did this ALL the time. It’s such an easy way to get ahead! Season the raw beef and put it in a gallon freezer bag with the onions, garlic, carrots, tomato paste, Worcestershire, paprika, caraway, and herbs. Freeze for up to 3 months. The day before, move the bag to the fridge to thaw. In the morning, dump it into the crockpot with the wine, broth, and freshly cut potatoes, and cook as usual.
Slow Cooker Beef Stew FAQs
You can put raw beef right in! Seasoned raw beef can go straight into the crockpot for a dump-and-go stew. Browning gives you deeper flavor and a darker gravy, so I do it when I have the time. Either way, make sure the beef is fully thawed.
7½ to 10 hours on LOW, plus 30 minutes after you add the thickener. You can cook it on HIGH for 5 to 6 hours, but chuck is happiest low and slow. On HIGH it can turn a little stringy. The beef is done when a cube falls apart with a fork. Still chewy? Give it more time.
It almost always needs more time, not less. Chuck gets firmer before it turns tender, while the connective tissue is still melting. Cover it and cook another hour, then check again. Cooking on HIGH or using a lean cut like sirloin can also leave beef tough, so low and slow with chuck is the way to go.
Whisk the flour into ¾ cup of the hot stew liquid until smooth, stir it back in, and cook 30 more minutes. For a gluten-free version, use GF flour or a cornstarch slurry (see Variations above).
Yes! Cut the beef and veggies (wait on the potatoes) the night before and store them in separate covered containers in the fridge. In the morning, brown the beef (or don’t) and load up the crockpot. Just don’t brown the beef the night before. Partly cooked meat shouldn’t sit overnight before it finishes cooking. Cut potatoes turn gray overnight. It’s harmless, but not very pretty. Cut them in the morning, or keep them covered in cold water in the fridge.
Just enough to barely cover the beef and vegetables. For this recipe, that’s about 5 cups (1 cup of red wine plus 32 ounces of beef broth) for a 2½-pound chuck roast or 2 pounds of stew meat. Nothing boils off in a slow cooker, so too much liquid gives you thin, watery stew.
A 6- to 7-quart slow cooker is perfect for this recipe.
More Slow Cooker Recipes to Try
- Crockpot Mississippi Pot Roast
- Crockpot London Broil
- Crock Pot Steak Bites
- Beef Barbacoa Tacos
- Crock Pot Corned Beef
Something different for the next cold night
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Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil only use if browning the beef
- 2 pounds chuck roast trimmed of heavier fat and cut into 1 ½ inch chunks, or 2 pounds good stew meat
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon salted butter or additional oil, only use if browning the onions
- 1 to 2 medium yellow onions quartered, then sliced
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup dry red wine such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, or additional beef broth
- 32 ounces organic beef broth not canned concentrated. I use organic beef broth or homemade
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon caraway seeds optional, but so good
- 1 pound baby waxy potatoes washed, halved if really small, quarters if larger (such as Red or Yukon Gold)
- 5 to 6 carrots peeled and cut into larger chunks (or about 1 ½ to 2 cups of baby carrots)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary or ½ teaspoon dried
- 1 sprig fresh thyme or ½ teaspoon dried
At the end of cooking, you’ll use:
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour gluten-free AP flour may be substituted
- ¾ cup hot stew broth reserved from the pot
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
Instructions
Optional browning of the beef & onions, highly recommended
- The best slow cooker stews start with browned beef and softened onions. Short on time? Skip this and toss everything in except the flour and butter, which go in at the end.
- In a large cast iron skillet or Dutch oven (to help reduce splattering), heat oil over medium-high on the stovetop (go ahead and turn on your vent now). Heat oil until it shimmers.2 tablespoons olive oil
- Sprinkle beef cubes (cut into 1 ½ inch cubes) with kosher salt and pepper.2 pounds chuck roast, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper
- Once the oil shimmers, add a single layer of beef cubes with a little space between them. Brown for 1 to 2 minutes per side, until a deep golden crust forms. Move the browned beef to a plate and repeat with the rest, adding a little more oil if the pan looks dry. Depending on the size of your pan, this takes 3 to 5 batches. Add the browned beef and any juices from the plate to the slow cooker.
- Turn the heat down to medium and melt the butter in the same pan. Add the onions and cook, stirring now and then, for 5 to 7 minutes, until they're soft and see-through. Stir in the garlic and cook 1 minute more, just until you can smell it.Pour in ½ cup of the red wine. As it bubbles, scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. That's called deglazing, and those bits are pure flavor. Let it simmer for 1 to 2 minutes, then pour everything from the pan into the slow cooker. Add the remaining ½ cup of wine.1 tablespoon salted butter, 1 to 2 medium yellow onions, 5 cloves garlic , 1 cup dry red wine
- Add the beef broth, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, smoked paprika, and caraway seeds (optional, but try them sometime!). Stir until the tomato paste dissolves.Add the potatoes and carrots, pushing them down into the liquid as best you can. Tuck the bay leaves, rosemary, and thyme on top.Cover and cook on LOW for 7½ to 10 hours, or on HIGH for 5 to 6 hours, until the beef falls apart with a fork. Try not to lift the lid!32 ounces organic beef broth, 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, 3 tablespoons tomato paste, 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon caraway seeds, 1 pound baby waxy potatoes, 5 to 6 carrots, 2 bay leaves, 1 sprig fresh rosemary, 1 sprig fresh thyme
- When the beef is tender, fish out the bay leaves and the rosemary and thyme stems. Can't find a bay leaf? Make it a game. Whoever finds it in their bowl gets out of dish duty tonight (just don't eat it!).Ladle ¾ cup of the hot stew liquid into a small bowl and let it cool for a minute. Whisk in the flour until completely smooth, with no lumps. Stir it back into the crockpot, cover, and cook 30 minutes more, until the stew thickens. (For a cornstarch version, see the notes.)¼ cup all-purpose flour, ¾ cup hot stew broth
- Right before serving, cut the softened butter into a few pieces and stir it into the stew until it melts. It makes the gravy glossy and silky. Taste, and add more salt and pepper if it needs it.Ladle into big bowls and serve with a crisp green salad and something for dunking, like Sourdough Bread, No Yeast Bread, or Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits.2 tablespoons salted butter
Notes
- Dump-and-Go Option | Short on time? Skip the browning. Put the seasoned raw beef, onions, garlic, all 1 cup of wine, and everything else except the flour and butter straight into the slow cooker. It’s still hearty and delicious.
- Cooking on HIGH | Chuck is most tender cooked low and slow, but you can cook it on HIGH for 5 to 6 hours. Got a late start? Cook on HIGH for the first hour, then switch to LOW for 7 hours.
- Storage | Refrigerate in shallow airtight containers within 2 hours for up to 3 to 4 days. Freeze up to 3 months; the potatoes may soften a bit. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave until steaming hot (165°F). Don’t reheat in the slow cooker.
- Gluten-Free | Use gluten-free all-purpose flour, or skip the flour and stir in 3 tablespoons of cornstarch (or arrowroot) whisked into ¼ cup of cold water. Cook about 30 minutes, until thickened. Make sure your broth and Worcestershire are labeled gluten-free.
- Low-Carb | Swap the potatoes for cubed rutabaga, and use celery in place of some or all of the carrots. Skip the flour. To thicken, whisk in ¼ teaspoon xanthan gum at the end, adding a pinch more if needed.
- Dairy-Free | Cook the onions in olive oil instead of butter, and skip the finishing butter or use a plant-based butter.
- No Wine | Use more beef broth plus a teaspoon or two of balsamic vinegar at the end. Or swap in a dark beer, like in my Dutch Oven Beef Stew.
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