How to Make Beef Stew in the Slow Cooker
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Learn how to make beef stew in the slow cooker with this easy beef stew recipe. Loaded with vegetables and flavorful seasonings, this ground beef stew is the perfect hearty and filling comfort food dish.
I’m a big fan of slow cooker stews when the weather gets cooler and this easy beef stew is one of my favorites. It’s so easy to make, as it uses frozen vegetables, packets of seasoning, and tender beef. All you need to do is add all of the ingredients to the crockpot and go about your day. You will come home to an easy but delicious gourmet meal. How good does that sound?
Each spoonful of this flavorful goodness warms my belly and my soul. The combination of crushed tomatoes, beef broth, ranch dressing mix, and Italian dressing mix takes the stew’s flavor over the top – trust me. I just know your family will love this slow cooker beef stew as much as mine. It’s hearty, filling, scrumptious, and such an easy comfort food main dish to serve for supper when you’re busy during the week.
Alright, let’s learn how to make beef stew in the slow cooker.
Recipe Ingredients
- Lean ground beef
- Frozen stew mix (veggie mix) or gumbo mix
- Frozen butter beans or baby lima beans
- Small onion
- Chopped crushed tomatoes
- Beef broth
- Ranch dressing mix
- Italian dressing mix
How to Make Beef Stew in the Slow Cooker
Dump everything except the meat into the slow cooker/crock pot.
Take your meat and pinch off bits at a time to add to the crock pot, until it is all added. As discussed below, if I am using ground beef I add it raw. But if I am using larger chunks of meat I will sear it first in garlic and then add the to the .
Give this a little stir and turn it on. You’ll want to cook your beef stew on low for 7 to 8 hours or high for 3 to 4 hours.
Go about your day and get ready for a delicious supper!
Oh my. This crockpot beef stew is such a soothing bowl of deliciousness with flavors that hit all the right notes!
Enjoy! And hey, if there are any leftovers, it’s even better the next day.
Storage
- Store stew leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop.
- Beef stew also freezes beautifully, so I usually make extra and freeze it in single servings for my family to heat up or to take to friends who just need a little act of kindness for the day. Thaw in the fridge before reheating as above.
Recipe Notes
- You can use any type of beef you like to make this flavorful dish. If you use ground beef, you are going to add this ground beef uncooked. This adds more flavor to your stew. If you use larger chunks of cubed stew meat (opt for beef chuck roast), I like to sear the beef cubes in a little garlic butter before adding them to the stew. Searing the adds a whole bunch to the flavor.
- I buy the boxes of ranch and Italian dressing mix that has three or four envelopes in them and use one envelope per recipe. It’s cheaper to buy it this way.
- For the beef stock, you can also use two cups of water and two beef bullion cubes.
- Substitute the frozen butter beans for baby lima beans or the vegetable of your choice. Carrot, potato, celery, and frozen peas are stew favorites.
- Many recipes use to add , but I like the combination of the crushed tomatoes with the packets of beef stew seasoning mix in this instance.
Recipe FAQs
What is frozen stew mix?
A couple of people asked what this is so I came back to clarify. Frozen stew mix is just a mix of frozen veggies in a bag that you buy in the freezer section. Usually, it’s green beans or okra, corn, chopped onions, and sometimes tomatoes and such. It can be any blend of frozen veggies you like, though. I love the type that has okra in it for this stew.
What do you serve with this ?
Serve your stew with crusty slices of bread, cornbread, crackers, or homemade buttermilk biscuits to soak up the juicy broth. You may also want to serve it with cauliflower rice, quinoa, brown rice, mashed potato, or mashed sweet potato.
Can you put raw beef in the slow cooker?
Yes, you absolutely can! I break up my uncooked ground beef and add it to the slow cooker as is. You can do the same if using beef chuck pieces. However, searing it just adds to the depth and flavor of the stew, so I highly recommend it if you have time.
How to make ?
If you want to cook this in the , first place it on saute to sear the with the onion and . Then add the remaining ingredients, seal the , and high- the for 35 minutes. After, allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes and then your will be done.
Check out these other sensational stews:
Ground Beef Stew (With a Secret Ingredient)
Beef and Smoked Sausage Stew in the Crockpot
Our Family’s Southern Chicken Stew Recipe
Lentil Stew (Budget Friendly & Delicious)
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef uncooked (or seared beef chunks)
- 1 bag frozen stew mix or gumbo mix 12-ounce
- 1 bag frozen butter beans 12-ounce, can substitute for baby lima beans or veggie of your choice
- 1 chopped small onion
- 1 can crushed tomatoes 29-ounce
- 2 cups beef broth
- 2 cups water
- 1 package ranch dressing mix 1-ounce
- 1 package Italian dressing mix .7-ounce
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a 6-quart slow cooker except the beef. Using your hands, pinch off bite-size pieces of beef and drop them into the slow cooker. Beef doesn’t have to be uniform or done a certain way, it just needs to be in smaller pieces.1 pound lean ground beef, 1 bag frozen stew mix or gumbo mix, 1 bag frozen butter beans, 1 chopped small onion, 1 can crushed tomatoes, 2 cups beef broth, 2 cups water, 1 package ranch dressing mix, 1 package Italian dressing mix
- Stir ingredients together. Cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours.
Notes
Nutrition
Love is when the other person’s happiness is more important than your own.
~H. Jackson Brown
Hubby and I were blessed with one daughter, beautiful inside and out, and more proud we couldn’t be. She is married now (1-1/2 yrs) and lives about an hour away. We’re in touch all the time, it works both ways. We have mom/daughter dates, dad/daughter dates still, and we cherish those times. We love our son-in-law, but oh, those times with just her, and still seeing, every now and then, the little girl who stole our hearts from the first sound of her heartbeat. You’ve got this, Christy! You’re approaching it with the right attitude, and you’ve poured yourself into this amazing young man of yours. You will shed many tears as he moves on, but hopefully they’ll be accompanied by many smiles to come.
The fact that you have such a great relationship with your children, and that they know the Lord, is huge! I breaks my heart when I hear of parents forcing their children out of the house the day they turn eighteen, even when they’re still in school! I guess that tells you what the relationship was like all along. Very sad.
There seems to be a lot of wonderful suggestions and support, so it looks like you are already ahead of the game, so to speak, with this terrific community!
May the Lord bless and keep you and your family during this time of transition.
“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.” Ecclesiates 3:1
I completely relate! Our oldest is in her 4th year of college, and her brother went off this year. I can’t figure out how my kids both turned into adults! There is no way I’m old enough for that…
And I think it is hard on dad, too! I know our daughter going to college was hard on my husband – he had a really hard time seeing her as an adult. I kind of think he still does. I’m having a hard time with the younger one, mostly because he’s not just the baby, he’s MY baby (sister is daddy’s baby).
Thank you for your posts, advice, recipes, spiritual messages and your cookbooks! I have every one but still love to see things on the system. I can’t believe Brady is grown!! I’m sure everyone else feels that we are all family because we have watched and loved to see the kids grow up. Thank you for sharing!!
Christy – Been thcre, done that, twice now! It is hard, very hard, but both my kids are strong, kind, wonderful adults and I helped do that! It will get better. I know how you feel. The day my son (first to leave home) left to live at college, he said good bye to me on the back porch. I held back tears, but he is now a kind, responsible, wonderful doctor! And is a father of twins himself. He recently told me he really appreciated all me and his Dad did to make him what he is today.
I can’t believe your son is college age. I have followed your posts for several years and have enjoyed your sharing your family. It is for certain that changes come to all of us. I believe you and your husband have raised two good children who will not stray far from their roots. We were blessed with 4 children who all grew into responsible caring adults. Sadly we lost one son about 10 years ago so that brought a new season to our life but we found God was right there with us. My other 3 children live near by and we have a wonderful relationship. I’ve always told people that we hear that we can take nothing to Heaven with us but that is not true. We can take our children. I am an old woman now in my 80’s and facing a new season of life. I just lost my husband of 63 years but I know that God will see me through this season just as He has all the others. My only advice to any parent is to pray for your children daily whether they are in the crib or in college. Will they disappoint you? Most likely at some time but just keep praying. Motherhood doesn’t end when they turn 18 or 25 or 40 or even when they are like mine and old enough to draw Social Security. Enjoy every season that God gives you.
I have to agree with another poster…I too have no idea what frozen stew mix or gumbo mix is. Is it a veggie mix, a sauce, or something else? Maybe if I ask my grocer for the brand you use it will help.