Slow-Cooker Beef Stew

Name: Slow-Cooker Beef Stew
Total time: 8 h
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2 lb Beef stew meat; 1 lb Potatoes; 3 each Carrots; 1 each Yellow onion; 4 cups Beef broth; 2 tbsp Tomato paste; 1 tbsp Worcestershire; 3 cloves Garlic clove; ¼ cup All-purpose flour; 1 each Bay leaf; to taste Salt & pepper

Set it in the morning, and the house smells like dinner by three. The beef is tossed in flour, which is what thickens the gravy over the hours. Then it goes into the slow cooker with potatoes, carrots, onion, garlic, and beef broth whisked with tomato paste and Worcestershire. Eight hours on low, no peeking, and it feeds six.

8 hrServes 6 as writtenSlow CookerAmericanContains Wheat, Fish

Slow-Cooker Beef Stew, as the finished dish — The photo is an illustration of the finished dish, not a photograph of this recipe as written.

Ingredients — serves 6

Beef stew meat2 lb
Potatoes1 lb
Carrots3 each
Yellow onion1 each
Beef broth4 cups
Tomato paste2 tbsp
Worcestershire1 tbsp
Garlic clove3 cloves
All-purpose flour¼ cup
Bay leaf (optional)1 each
Salt & pepperto taste

How much to make for 2, 4, 6 or 8

Ingredient	For 2	For 4	For 6	For 8
Beef stew meat	¾ lb	1¼ lb	2 lb	2¾ lb
Potatoes	¼ lb	¾ lb	1 lb	1¼ lb
Carrots	1 each	2 each	3 each	4 each
Yellow onion	¼ each	¾ each	1 each	1¼ each
Beef broth	1¼ cups	2¾ cups	4 cups	5¼ cups
Tomato paste	2 tsp	1 tbsp + 1 tsp	2 tbsp	2½ tbsp
Worcestershire	1 tsp	2 tsp	1 tbsp	1 tbsp + 1 tsp
Garlic clove	1 clove	2 cloves	3 cloves	4 cloves
All-purpose flour	1 tbsp + 1 tsp	2½ tbsp	¼ cup	¼ cup
Bay leaf (optional)	1 each	1 each	1 each	2 each
Salt & pepper	to taste	to taste	to taste	to taste
The pan	Written for 6 adult-size portions; you are cooking for about 2 — roughly 0.3× the recipe. Less than the recipe assumes — use a 3-quart slow cooker and start checking an hour or two early; a small load in a big cooker cooks faster and dries out.	—	—	—

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Steps

Thaw the beef completely before it goes in — in the refrigerator, starting the day before, or sealed in a bag in cold water changed every 30 minutes; never on the counter. A slow cooker cannot safely cook meat from frozen.
Toss the beef in a bowl with the flour, salt and pepper until every piece is dusted — the flour is what thickens the stew over the hours.
Cut the potatoes and carrots into big chunks and chop the onion and the garlic. Layer the beef, potatoes, carrots, onion and garlic in the slow cooker.
Whisk the broth with the tomato paste and the Worcestershire, pour it over, and tuck in the bay leaf if you have one.
Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours without lifting the lid — every peek costs real cooking time. Check that the beef falls apart with a fork (well past its 145°F safe point) and the carrots are soft. Fish out the bay leaf if you used one, and serve in bowls.

Good to know

Contains Wheat, Fish — from the ingredient names, so not a complete list. It cannot see inside a jar, a mix or a sauce, and formulas change. For an allergy or intolerance, read the package every time — never decide from this line.
🌡 Stew meat — cook to 145°F at the thickest part , the USDA minimum for whole cuts of beef, pork or lamb. A thermometer is the test; color is not. Let it rest 3 minutes before serving.