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Crockpot Beef Stew

G By Our Grannies' Kitchen Updated Jul 2026 4.8 (84 ratings)
Crockpot Beef Stew
Crockpot Beef Stew
4.8 / 5
6 servings

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Ingredients

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  • 3 lb (1.4 kg) beef chuck (braising steak), cut into 4 cm chunks
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 2 onions, cut into thick wedges
  • 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • 2 ⅛ cups (500 ml) beef stock (about 2 cups)
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 ½ lb (700 g) potatoes, peeled and halved (quartered if very large)
  • 4 large carrots, cut into 3 cm chunks
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 ⅛ cups (150 g) frozen peas
  • 2 tbsp cornstarch, mixed with 2 tbsp cold water
  • Salt and black pepper, to taste

Method

  1. Brown. Pat the beef dry and season it well with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large skillet over a high heat and brown the beef in three batches, giving each piece a proper dark crust — 3 to 4 minutes a batch. Move it to the slow cooker as you go. You can skip the browning on a frantic morning, but the gravy will tell on you.
  2. Deglaze. Turn the heat down and soften the onions in the same pan for 3 to 4 minutes, then stir in the garlic and tomato paste for a minute more. Pour in a splash of the stock and scrape every browned bit off the bottom of the pan — that is flavor, not mess. Tip the lot over the beef.
  3. Load. Tuck the potatoes and carrots down around the beef — the bottom of the crock is the hottest spot, and root veg needs it. Keep the chunks big; small pieces turn to mush over a long cook. Pour in the rest of the stock with the Worcestershire sauce, thyme and bay leaves. It will look like too little liquid. It is not — the lid keeps every drop.
  4. Slow cook. Cover and cook on Low for 7 to 8 hours, until the beef gives way to a fork. High for 4 hours works at a pinch, but Low is kinder to chuck. Leave the lid alone: every peek lets the heat out and adds 20 to 30 minutes.
  5. Add peas. Stir in the frozen peas for the last 15 minutes — any earlier and they lose their color and their charm.
  6. Thicken. Fish out the bay leaves. Stir the cornstarch slurry into the stew, set the cooker to High and cook with the lid off for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring once or twice, until the gravy coats the back of a spoon. Taste, season and serve in deep bowls.
Granny's tip

Put the carrots and potatoes underneath and around the beef, never piled on top — the bottom of the crock is the hottest part, and root veg is slower to surrender than chuck.

Tips for a rich, thick stew

Half the liquid, on purpose

A slow cooker barely evaporates a thing, so a stovetop quantity of stock leaves you ladling beef-flavored water at supper. Five hundred millilitres is plenty for six — the beef and vegetables give up juices of their own as they cook.

Keep the chunks big

Cut the beef into 4 cm pieces and leave the potatoes in halves. Eight hours is a long time, and dainty little cubes come out as beef porridge. Big chunks hold their shape and their dignity.

Hands off the lid

Every time you lift the lid you let the heat out and add 20 to 30 minutes to the cook. Stir nothing until the peas go in. The pot does not need supervising — that is the whole point of the thing.

Questions, answered

Can I put raw beef in the crockpot without browning it?

You can — raw beef is perfectly safe in a slow cooker. But browning builds the deep, savory flavor that makes it taste like stew rather than boiled dinner, so I would only skip it when the morning truly runs away from you.

Why is my crockpot beef stew watery?

Too much liquid going in. The lid traps nearly all of it, so use about half what a stovetop recipe calls for. If it is already watery, stir in a cornstarch slurry and cook on High with the lid off for 15 to 20 minutes and it will right itself.

Should I cook beef stew on Low or High?

Low, for 7 to 8 hours, if you can manage it. Chuck turns silky on Low, where High for about 4 hours gets it tender but never quite as giving. Save High for the days you started late.

Can I use frozen beef in the slow cooker?

No — thaw it first. Frozen meat sits too long in the temperature danger zone before the slow cooker can heat it through, and that is not safe. Defrost overnight in the fridge and you are grand.

What is the best beef for slow cooker stew?

Chuck, sold as braising or stewing steak. It is threaded with connective tissue that melts into the gravy over the long cook. Lean cuts like round dry out and are not worth the saving.

From Granny's Pantry

The know-how behind this recipe:

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