This traditional Beef Stew is the best Slow Cooker recipe for Fall and Winter. It’s loaded with tender bites of juicy beef, golden potatoes, carrots, peas, red wine, onions, garlic, and a hearty beef broth. Serve it with warm biscuits, cornbread, or even over mashed potatoes.
Be sure to try my Crock Pot Roast recipe next!
Slow Cooker Beef Stew
Who doesn’t love a hearty bowl of rich and flavorful beef stew. It’s such a traditional Fall and Winter comfort food. I’ve been working on slight variations of this recipe for years and I have to say, this version is definitely the best ever.
All of the ingredients in this recipe compliment each other so well, and the quantities of each are perfect, with no ingredient overpowering another.
Let’s get into everything you need to know. From the what cuts of beef to use, the best potatoes for stew, pro tips, storage, and more:
How to Make It
See recipe card at bottom of post for ingredient quantities and full instructions
Cut meat into 1-inch cubes, discard any large pieces of fat. Fat marbleized into the meat is fine!
Season beef with pepper, garlic salt, and celery salt. Toss to coat. Sprinkle flour over the meat and toss again. Sear the meat in batches for 45 seconds per side and transfer to the Slow Cooker.
Melt 1 Tablespoon of butter and soften the onions and garlic, scraping up any meat remnants up from the pot. Add a splash of wine to help loosen if necessary. Transfer to the Slow Cooker.
Add all remaining ingredients except for the peas, corn starch, and 2 Tablespoons of cold butter. Heat on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours, until the vegetables are softened and the potatoes are fork tender.
Add the peas during the last 15 minutes of cooking. To thicken, combine 1/4 cup cold water + 3 Tablespoons corn starch and slowly stir it into the broth. It will continue to thicken upon standing. Turn off heat and remove the bay leaves and rosemary stem. Add browning and seasoning sauce.
Best Beef for Stew
- Chuck roasts -The best option. It is preferred over other cuts because of the connective tissue, which makes it more tender. (Bonus: It’s also a less expensive cut than other types.)
- Rump roasts
- Bottom rounds
Best Potatoes to Use
Yukon Gold and Red Potatoes are best for stews as they have less starch content and hold up much better than russet potatoes, which tend to fall apart and break down into the stew.
Searing the Meat
Searing the beef adds a nice color, flavor, and texture for the stew, it also creates a nice base to soften up the onions and garlic. The remnants from the meat are loosened up with butter/wine and transferred to the Slow Cooker for the ultimate flavor base.
Sear just long enough to give the exterior a crisp texture, don’t cook it all the way through. 45 seconds per side is all it takes.
Can You Put Raw Beef in the Slow Cooker?
Yes. If you don’t have time to sear the meat, you can toss it in the flour mixture and place it right in the Slow Cooker along with the uncooked onions and garlic.
Red Wine Substitute
An equal amount of beef broth or red grape juice may be used instead of wine, along with 2 Tablespoons of Red Wine Vinegar. The acidity helps to break down and tenderize the meat.
For an Irish twist on this recipe, use 1 cup of extra stout Guinness instead of wine.
Pro Tips
- Handle the beef least amount possible for extra juicy, tender results. Otherwise you’ll cause juices to run right out of it which will make it tough.
- Swirl in 2 Tablespoons of cold butter at the very end for a smooth, velvety finish. This is a technique that chefs use called “Monter au beurre”.
- Optional ingredient additions include celery, green beans, parsnips, and sweet potatoes.
- This recipe is in The Cozy Cookbook on page 47!
Storage
- Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Tools For This Recipe
(Amazon affiliate links)- Check out all of my kitchen essentials here.
- Kitchen tongs make it really easy to delicately handle the meat to place it into the pot for searing it and to remove it afterward.
- I have this Crock Pot which allows you to sear meat right on the stove-top. It also automatically switches to warm once the cooking time is up.
- Kitchen Bouquet Browning + Seasoning Sauce (Optional)- Adds an even richer darker color.
What to Serve with Beef Stew
- Cornbread
- Easy Buttermilk Biscuits
- Paula Deen’s Corn Casserole Recipe
- Mashed Potatoes
- Copycat Texas Roadhouse Rolls
- Cheddar Bay Biscuits
Try These Next
- Chicken Stew
- Chili Con Carne
- Clam Chowder
- Beef Noodle Soup
- Chicken Enchilada Soup
- Chicken Vegetable Soup
Get My Free Meal Plan
I’ve got a Free Meal Plan with 7 of my super popular recipes (complete with grocery list)! Sign up for my email list and I’ll send it over now along with weekly dinner recipes!
And follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!
Tried This Recipe?
Leave a review, I love hearing your feedback! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Slow Cooker Beef Stew
Ingredients
- 2 ½ pounds stew meat, see notes
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic salt
- ½ teaspoon celery salt
- 1/4 cup flour
- 3-6 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 Tablespoons cold butter, separated
- 2 cups yellow onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup high-quality cabernet sauvignon, merlot works as well. See notes.
- 4 cups beef broth
- 2 tsp better than bouillon, or 2 beef bouillon cubes
- 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
- 3 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
- 5 medium carrots, cut into chunks, about 1-inch
- 1 lb. baby Yukon gold potatoes, halved or quartered
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 sprig rosemary
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1/4 cup Cold Water + 3 tablespoons Corn Starch, Optional
- 2-3 drops
Gravy Master , (Optional)- Adds an even richer darker color.
Instructions
- Cut meat into 1-inch cubes, discard any large pieces of fat. Fat marbleized into the meat is fine!
- Sprinkle beef with black pepper, garlic salt, and celery salt. Toss to coat. Sprinkle flour over the meat and toss again.
- Heat 3 Tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the meat in batches, don’t overcrowd the pan. Brown on each side for 45 seconds. Add more oil if needed. Transfer to slow cooker.
- Reduce heat to medium and melt 1 Tablespoon butter. Add onions and cook for 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Use a silicone spatula to clean the bottom of the pan, removing any brown remnants. This will give the soup lots of good flavor. If necessary, add a splash of wine to help loosen it. Transfer the onions/garlic mixture to the slow cooker.
- Add all remaining ingredients except for the peas, corn starch mixture, and 2 tablespoons of cold butter.
- Cook on low for 7 ½ to 8 hours or high for 3½ to 4 hours, until the vegetables are softened and the potatoes are fork tender.
- Add the peas during the last 15 minutes of cooking. Remove the bay leaves and rosemary stem.
- Optional: To thicken, combine ¼ cup COLD water with 3 Tablespoons of cornstarch. Slowly add it to the stew, stirring to incorporate. It will continue to thicken upon standing.
- Turn off the heat. Swirl in 2 tablespoons of cold butter for a smooth, velvety finish. This is a technique that chefs use called “Monter au Beurre”.Optional: Add 3 drops of Gravy Master (or Kitchen Bouquet) for an even darker color.
Notes
- Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Best cuts of Beef for Stew • Chuck roasts (the best option)
• Rump roasts
• Bottom rounds You can also season and sear a whole roast for about 8 minutes total, and then cut it into cubes. This results in less moisture loss, but there is also less surface area to season and add a seared texture to.
Red Wine Substitute
- An equal amount of beef broth or red grape juice may be used instead of wine, along with 2 Tablespoons of Red Wine Vinegar. The acidity helps to break down and tenderize the meat.
- For an Irish twist on this recipe, use 1 cup of extra stout Guinness instead of wine.
Optional ingredient addition: Celery, green beans, parsnips, and sweet potatoes.
This recipe is in The Cozy Cookbook on page 47!
Nutritional information is an estimate and is per serving. This recipe makes 6 servings.
This was absolutely delightful! Perfect meal for the first day of fall! My family loved it. This is definitely a keeper.
I’m so happy to hear that Claire! I love that fall is finally here, this is a great way to kick off cozy cooking season. Thanks so much for the great review!💗
By far the best Beef Stew I’ve ever made, and I’ve been making beef stew for 50 years. So glad that I decided to venture out and try a new recipe, it’s just incredible. Thank you!
I’m so happy that you loved the beef stew Veronica, that’s amazing news that you have a new recipe for it after all these years! WONDERFUL! Thank you so much! 🙂
Great recipe!
I used Tamari in place
of worcestershire sauce and added a can of pumpkin and some nutmeg:)
Hi Jane! Sounds like you jazzed it up nicely for Fall!! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review, I appreciate it so much!! -Stephanie
Hooooo….made this on the high/4 hr route…my wife can’t keep much down her first trimester, she went for seconds…bless ya! True goodness here!
Hey Steven! I’m SOOO happy that this was something that agreed with your wife- nicely done making this for her! Whatta guy! 🙌 Thank you so much for the review!
My family loved this!! I had saved broth from a roast I made last week, and then used 1/2 beef and half venison (from a doe my husband shot) for the meat. I didn’t have wine on hand, or red wine vinegar, so I used balsamic vinegar, and sage instead of rosemary. I also added in sliced baby Bella mushrooms – big hit! Thank you so much for the recipe!!
You’re very welcome Jennifer! It’s so cool you were able to use some venison, yummm! Thanks so much for the great review!💖
loved this recipe. The only thing I did differently was mix the cornstarch with milk to make it creamer. Perfect for a fall day.
I’m so happy that you loved the recipe Tina! Combining cornstarch and milk is genius, nicely done! 🙂
i need to make this for nine people
If you hover over the number of servings, (6), a slider will appear. You can adjust it from 6 to 9 and the ingredient quantities will automatically change. Note that any written ingredient quantities in the recipe instructions will stay the same.
Hi, this looks delicious, but I don’t have a slow cooker. Do you have stove top instructions?
Hey Shevonne! If you have a Dutch oven, I would follow steps 1-3, after searing the meat, I would add the 1/2 cup wine (don’t use the full 1 cup) and let it bubble and reduce over medium heat until reduced by half (about 5-6 minutes). Resume with step 4. Then bring to a boil, and reduce to a simmer. Add the seared beef along with any juices from the plate. Cover partially and let it bubble very gently over medium-low heat for 1-2 hours, or until the potatoes are fork tender. This will cook the meat slowly, keeping it tender. It will also concentrate the broth. Stir it occasionally as it cooks and decrease heat if it starts to boil. Add the peas during the last 10 minutes of cooking. From there, you can thicken with cornstarch if desired and/or swirl in cold butter as outlined in the recipe. Enjoy 🙂
Thank you so much! Will definitely be trying this
My pleasure, I can’t wait for you to try it!💗
Soooooo good! Very flavorful. This one is a keeper for those cold winter days.
Thanks so much Nancy, I’m so happy you liked it! I agree, definitely perfect for a cold winter day!💖