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Easy slow cooker beef stew with onion soup mix, carrots and potatoes simmers in the crock pot in a flavorful sauce until fork tender and delicious. This easy slow cooker recipe makes the perfect comfort food on a chilly day.
This slow cooker beef stew recipe is basically my grandma’s easy recipe for beef stew. The only difference is that mine uses onion soup for extra flavor and it’s made in the crock pot instead of on the stove.
Serve this comforting meal with a thick slice of homemade bread so you can sop up all of that amazingly delicious sauce! For more easy slow cooker recipes, try my beef bites or teriyaki beef or pot roast next!
Why you’ll love this easy crock pot beef stew recipe!
This easy dinner is the perfect one-pot weeknight meal for fall and winter or anytime, since you’re not heating up the house. It’s made with very simple ingredients — nothing fancy and no red wine, so it’s family friendly. Plus, your slow cooker does the work — just throw everything in the crock pot, and dinner is ready when you are!
Ingredient Notes
Here’s a quick look at what you’ll need. Full amounts are in the printable recipe card bellow.
- Stew meat — This is easiest to work with. Ask the butcher to cut some for you, or you can cut a up chuck roast into smaller pieces.
- Flour — to coat the meat for a thicker sauce
- Seasonings — sea salt, pepper and garlic powder, plus minced garlic
- Vegetables — carrots, baby potatoes, celery. I like cutting up whole carrots, but you can use baby carrots. If you can’t find baby potatoes, use Yukon Gold. I also like to add peas at the end.
- Dry Lipton onion soup mix — helps thicken the sauce and adds flavor
- Beef broth — either low sodium or regular
- Tomato paste — thickens the stew and adds flavor
- Worcestershire sauce — adds umami flavor
- Oil — for browning the meat.
How to Make Beef Stew in the Slow Cooker with Onion Soup Mix
First, you season the meat, then coat it with flour. Sear the meat in a skillet just long enough to form a nice crust. You don’t need cook it all the way through. Then, add all the ingredients to a slow cooker, and give it a good stir. You can add peas about 30 minutes before you’re ready to eat.
Recipe Tips
To thicken the stew, you can add a cornstarch slurry before serving. It just depends on how thick you like it.
If you don’t want to use the soup mix, you can add a chopped onion.
You don’t have to sear the meat, but doing so adds a ton of extra flavor. I also recommend deglazing the pan with some of the broth and adding the liquid into the crock pot — yum!
Storage
Store leftovers in an airtight container in your refrigerator for 3-4 days. The stew freezes well for up to 3 months.
Variations
If you want a more gourmet traditional beef stew, try my Dutch oven stew.
For an even faster way to make stew, try this Instant Pot version.
Slow Cooker Beef Stew with Onion Soup Mix
Ingredients
- 2 pounds beef stew meat
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 ½ pounds baby potatoes sliced in half
- 5 medium carrots peeled and cut into large pieces
- 2 medium celery ribs cut into thirds
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 envelope Lipton Onion Soup Mix
- 3 cups beef broth
- 1 cup frozen peas optional
Instructions
- Pat the meat dry with a paper towel, and place in a large bowl
- Season with salt and pepper, and toss with flour until coated
- Heat oil in a large skillet on medium high heat, and sear meat. You may have to do this in batches. Transfer the meat to a clean plate
- Use a little bit of the beef broth to deglaze the skillet, and pour liquid and browned bits into the slow cooker
- Add the veggies, beef, garlic powder, minced garlic, soup mix, Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste and beef broth to the crockpot, and stir
- Cover with lid, and cook on high for 4-5 hours or on low for 6-8 hours or until meat and vegetables are fork tender. Add peas (if using) during the last 30 minutes
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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