Beef Stew in Crockpot on High

Here’s an easy slow cooker beef stew in Crockpot on high recipe you can make for dinner or on the stovetop if you’d rather too. Tender cubed beef loaded with carrots, peas, potatoes and a gravy similar to our slow cooker beef stew with onion soup mix but more homemade.

There were two things my mom made from scratch growing up, beef stew and banana bread…don’t ask me why. I guess in the 80’s and being midwestern it was just “one of those meals” everyone made.

Now that I have kids of my own this is one of my go to meals because we are always trying to eat more veggies and stew meat is pretty darn cheap! That is a win win in my book as a twenty dollar meal that all 4 of us loves is the goal.

How to Make Thick Beef Stew Slow Cooker with Gravy

You want to cook your stew meat in a thick flavorful sauce the whole time for sure. That will give you the texture and seasonings in your beef you want. You can use a bottle of store bought gravy, homemade ingredients with flour or use a dry powder packet mixed with broth.

Let’s talk a little bit about slow cooking shall we?? First off I have a few different varieties and I love them all. Each one has an occasion to be used like….

1. This is my favorite 6 quart programmable one with a locking lid so it’s great for bringing to a potluck too.
2. I prefer not to use liners, but rather just spray olive oil inside before adding my food for easier cleanups.

Let me give you a peek of my pretty thang I bought recently. It goes with my kitchen so I can just leave it out on the countertop all the time. 😉

What Makes a Traditional Beef Stew Recipe?

Now there are tons of variations out there, this is the basic one if you ask me. From there you can tweak it with different cuts of meats, adding beans, etc. Take a peek at our Crockpot Brunswick stew recipe for a good example of one that is a bit more outside of the box. The classics remain though with; beef, carrots, potatoes and a thick sauce.

• I have made stew many different ways other than the Crockpot too. First one I shared on The Typical Mom was my dutch oven stew and even my kids said it came out fabulous!

Super rich sauce and was as easy as this one just done in the oven in my cast iron dutch oven. If you don’t have one of those I highly recommend it, things come out great that way!

What is the Best Slow Cooker Beef Stew Recipe Ever?

I swear by this one that cooks right in my crock pot (this is the one I have). There are directions below to make stovetop beef stew and in the Instant Pot as well if you want to compare. It is fun to mess around with different methods but with this dish I will always say that the longer it gets to simmer the better!

How to Make Slow Cooker Beef Stew with Wine

Red wine is a great add in as far as the necessary liquid goes. I don’t just use just that as it is too bold of a flavor and takes away from the meaty ingredient tastes for me but I will use 1/4 wine and the rest broth or water. Just brings a bolder punch to the dish.

Of course with any type of stew you should add the vegetables you want. If you really don’t like peas then omit those at the end, if you love carrots then double the amount here. It’s totally up to you but here is a generally easy recipe to follow and customize to your personal tastes.

I personally don’t add much salt while cooking, I’d rather salt to taste when it is done, but that is up to you too. There is nothing worse than a great meal but it turns out to be too salty and nobody can eat it. Be gentle at the beginning and adjust when it is done and it’s served up to everyone.

How Long to Cook Slow Cooker Beef Stew on High

You want to have 4-5 hours on hand, I aim for the longer end of things. If you forget about it a bit longer it will just mean your meat will be broken down more and the veggies will get softer and softer. If cut into larger pieces that will allow it to cook longer, or smaller will take less time of course.

Beef Stew Ingredients

Like I said, there are many ways to substitute this or that if you don’t want to use red wine let’s say and just add broth. I will say that both of these add a ton of flavor and the alcohol will cook off almost entirely so I wouldn’t worry about that aspect. Vegetables should be cut into large chunks so they don’t fall apart.

• Cut of beef of your choice in large bite size pieces like stew meat, diced chuck roast or beef tips
• Onions can be diced or sliced, the larger they are the more they will stay in tact.
• Tomato paste will add thickness to the sauce and a bolder flavor
• Red wine is optional but provides a punch of flavor to your gravy
• Beef broth or water but this will lend more flavor
• Vegetables I choose are peas, celery if you like, red potatoes and carrots (whole fresh green beans would work too)
• Flour to thicken the stew, or cornstarch works
• Spices and seasonings you love
• Worcestershire sauce can give it a bit more of a kick
• Bay leaves are optional

Bay leaf is optional of course and make sure you remove it before serving and eating so keep it whole so you can find it easily at the end. You could also use shredded beef in this if you had leftovers of that from the night before.

If you want to use a large pot or dutch oven on your stove you can. For me it just takes more of my attention this way so I’d rather just throw everything into a pressure cooker or Crock and forget it.

How to Make Beef Stew on the Stove

1. In a bowl add 1/4 c. of flour and 1 tsp of salt, pepper, mix those together.
2. In small batches add your meat and toss so each piece is coated with flour.
3. Heat a pan on your stovetop with 3 tbsp. of olive oil and add your meat.
4. Brown the beef on all sides. Then remove and put more in so each piece is browned.
   1. Add more oil if needed to finish.
5. Remove meat and add onions to your same pan. 
6. Add 1 tsp of salt and saute on medium high heat for about 2 minutes.
   1. Add in your garlic.
7. Cook for about one minute and add in 2 tbsp. of flour into your mix and cook for about a minute.
8. Add in your tomato paste and mix together.
9. Pour in your red wine. Scrape the bottom so you get all browned bits mixed in.
10. Cook until flour is smooth and red wine has reduced.
11. Add in broth, herbs, and beef. Cook uncovered for one hour on low.
12. Then add your vegetables other than your peas.
13. Cover and cook for 55 minutes cooking time, occasionally stirring.

In the last 5 minutes add your defrosted, formerly frozen, peas. Stir.

Obviously slow cooking is a lot less work than if you use a pot but that is up to you. Using your pressure cooker is even easier though!! You just throw it all in, cook on high pressure and in about 30 minutes flat you’ll be ready to eat. But then again everything is faster using this method. Even an entire pot roast takes NO time at all!

Other Beef Stew Recipes You’ll Love

• We called it pressure cooker beef pot pie soup but it’s really the same thing.
  • There are lots of other Instant Pot beef recipes here as well
• This beef stew casserole is a great twist on the traditional too.
• Ninja Foodi stew in your pressure cooker

Instant Pot Stew Meat recipes are the bomb too. You can even use frozen stew meat for this one with a gravy and pour that over rice or noodles for a complete meal. A great one to keep in your back pocket for when you have had a forgetful morning.

I do offer a printable recipe card at the bottom of this post to keep handy or you can just come back time and time again. We don’t want you to disappear completely as we love “seeing you” on our site. 😉 Nutritional information is included with saturated fat etc. Keep in mind all meat varies slightly.

How to Cook Slow Cooker Stew on High

• Spray inside of your slow cooker with non stick spray or use a liner.
  In a bowl whisk together your flour and beef stock.
• Put meat into crockpot and pour beef stock mixture on top. Stir to coat meat.
• Add carrots, potatoes, and celery on top of that. Whisk together your wine, spices and tomato paste in another bowl. Pour this liquid mixture on top.
• Close lid and set to high for 4-6 hours.
• About 15-20 minutes before serving add your defrosted, formerly frozen, peas.
• Stir into mix and put top back on for remaining time. Serve.

How to Save Leftover Stew

I mean you can’t throw this goodness away if you have some that hasn’t been eaten. Instead, wait until it has cooled completely. Then spoon it into a container with a lid and into the fridge it goes for up to 3 days. When you reheat it do so in the microwave for about 1.5 minutes stirring every 30 sec. or on the stovetop.