Crock Pot Beef Stew (no-browning needed)

Warm up on a cold day with a bowlful of our Crock Pot Beef Stew - a budget slow cooker recipe that the whole family will love for an easy midweek meal.

This week's blast of cold weather, had me reaching for the slow cooker so I could simmer up a lovely one of my favourite family meals.

Days filled with wind and rain call for a simple beef and vegetable crock pot style, with fresh crusty bread and a glass of red wine on the side (for the adults anyway)

Why You'll LOVE This Crock Pot Beef Stew Recipe!

Super Easy Dinner Prep - this is one of those really easy recipes where you just dump the ingredients in, stir, pop the lid on and cook. No browning needed, no faff. Just simple and quick.

Homestyle Comfort Food - a cosy, filling beef stew you can snuggle up with on a cold day. And perfect for dunking crusty bread into and eating the whole lot with a spoon.

Crock Pot Beef Stew Recipe

Serves 4

Prep Time – 15 minutes

Cooking Time - 8 hours

Total Time - Around 8 hours (less than 3 if you cook it in the oven instead)

Our Most Popular Alternative - Slow Cooker Beef And Ale Stew

Crock Pot Beef Stew Ingredients

To make our easy beef stew recipe you'll just need a handful of tasty ingredients

• 2 brown onions - sliced into thin half moons

• 1lb (500kg) braising steak - chopped into small bitesize pieces

• 6 carrots - scrubbed and cut into large chunky pieces

• 2 parsnips - peeled and cut into large chunky pieces - you can swap this for rutabaga

• 1 cup (250ml) - red wine, we make our beef and vegetable stew with red wine but if you don't like to add wine to your food just swap this for beef stock or beef broth.

• 14oz (400g) can crushed tomatoes (or use passata)

• 1 Bay leaf - I grow these in the garden - check out our best herbs to grown in your garden feature here.

• 2 teaspoon chopped rosemary - again I grow this at home by the door.

• Salt & pepper

• 16oz (400g) can of butter beans - feel free to swap this for any other bean you prefer or even lentils.

Get loads more easy casserole recipes here!

How To Make Crock Pot Beef Stew In The Slow Cooker

This beautifully easy beef stew crock pot recipe is super simple to make. It's just a matter of throwing some onions, carrots, parsnips, braising steak into the crock pot and topping them with red wine and crushed tomatoes - add a handful of herbs and leave the slow cooker to work its magic.

Step One - preheat the slow cooker on low

• Heat the slow cooker to low - this takes around 8 hours to cook

Step Two - add the beef stew ingredients

• Add the onions, braising steak, carrots, parsnips, red wine, passata and stir everything together, add in the bay leaf and rosemary. Season with salt and pepper, give everything a quick mix.

Cooks Note - If you're wondering should you brown beef before stewing, you really don't need to when using the slow cooker, some people think it gives a better flavour, I personally don't think its worth the extra hassle for this beef stew.

Step Three - cook the beef and vegetable stew in the slow cooker

• Cook the stew for around 8 hours in the slow cooker on low.

• Around 30 minutes before the stew is cooked, tip in the can of butter beans so that it warms through properly.

Step Four - serve the beef stew

Once the stew is cooked, just serve with your favourite comfort food side dishes. In the winter you just can't go wrong with crusty bread, or mashed potatoes.

Try serving with our delicious mustard mash

Can I make crock pot beef stew in the oven?

Sure you can! You can cook our hearty beef and vegetable stew in the oven instead of the slow cooker - just cook on 350F/ 180C for around 21/2 - 3 hours or until the meat is beautifully tender and falling apart. 

Loads more delicious, easy beef recipes right here.

What vegetables can I put in beef casserole?

It's your beef casserole so you throw in whatever vegetables you fancy - for a rich beef and vegetable stew try....

• adding mushrooms, celery, turnips or rutabaga (swede)

• throw in some chunkily chopped Jerusalem artichokes 

• add in some canned lentils 

Get easy favourite family meals right here!

How do I make my beef casserole more tasty?

You can add some extra flavour to your stew really easily. Try...

• Stirring in more herbs, try thyme, oregano or sage.

• Add in some flavourful mushrooms like porcini to add a rich, earthy flavour.

• Try using jarred caramelised onions in place of regular onions, they add a sweeter more intense flavour.

• Spice things up - try adding spices, like cumin, fenugreek or even smoked paprika.

How do you make beef stew meat tender?

Cooking beef stew in the slow cooker is a super easy way to make sure the beef stew meat is tender.

Cooking it at a low temperature for a long time really tenderises the meat so it literally falls apart.

Love a great meat recipe? Try these tasty dinner ideas.

Love Our Crock Pot Beef Stew? Here's More Easy Stew Recipes For You To Try 

• Slow cooker pork and cider casserole - a delicious warming stew that's just perfect spooned over creamy mashed potatoes.

• Slow cooker beef and ale stew - rich and warming stew, ooooh you'll want to dunk crusty bread into this or add a dumpling or two.

• Greek lamb stew  - this is a FABULOUS stew, so flavoursome, you can really make a feast of this meal, serve with herby roast potatoes or couscous and steamed broccoli or even a Greek salad.

Get loads more easy dinner recipes here

What can I do with leftover stew? 

Turn that leftover stew into a whole new dinner with our 10 delicious easy recipes and meal ideas. From pasta bake to quick hand pies and pasties - grab the leftover stew recipes here now. 

Love stews and casseroles? Check out our tasty recipe collection here.

Need Some Family Meal Ideas?

Check out our meal planning here – it’s filled with recipes, meal planning tips and pre-filled printable meal plans weekly or seasonally. We’ve got hundreds of the BEST family recipes and what to cook for dinner that your whole family will LOVE!

Get our BEST slow cooker recipes here

Save our super tasty beef and vegetable stew to Pinterest for later!

Get loads more beef recipe ideas here!

Hey - we hope you enjoy the recipe and when you cook it don't forget to tag us your creations on Twitter @daisiesandpieUK or Instagram @daisiesandpie

Get more delicious meal ideas and easy recipes here