Easy Slow Cooker Beef Stew | One Pot Chef
This easy slow cooker beef stew is the ultimate comfort food. Succulent diced beef and bacon are gently simmered alongside chunky potatoes, carrots, onion and garlic in a flavourful beef stock enriched with tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce. It's a wonderfully simple one-pot meal that practically cooks itself — just load up your slow cooker and let it do the work. Perfect for busy weeknight dinners or a lazy weekend lunch, serve it with crusty bread, fluffy rice or pasta for a filling family meal.
Watch: Easy Slow Cooker Beef Stew | One Pot Chef
Original recipe video — click to play
Original method: 5-6 hours on Low or 2-3 hours on High (already a slow cooker recipe)
Ingredients
Main
- 500 g beef steak, diced into small pieces
Use a braising or stewing cut such as chuck steak for best results
- 6 slices shortcut rindless bacon, diced(optional)
Back bacon rashers work well here
- 3 whole large potatoes, washed, peeled and diced
Maris Piper or King Edward work well as they hold their shape
- 1 whole large carrot, washed, peeled and diced
- 1 whole large brown onion, peeled and chopped
- 2 cloves garlic cloves, crushed
About 2 teaspoons of crushed garlic
Sauce
- 250 g tomato paste
Approximately 1 cup (Australian metric)
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1000 ml liquid beef stock
4 cups Australian metric
Seasoning
- to taste freshly ground black pepper
Thickener
- 1 tsp cornflour, mixed into a little hot water to form a slurry
Stir in during the last 30 minutes of cooking to thicken the stew
Method
- 1Optional step
If you'd like extra flavour, heat a large frying pan over high heat and brown the diced beef in batches until seared on all sides. Set aside. If using bacon, fry it until lightly golden. This step is optional but recommended for a richer-tasting stew.
~10 minsTip: Browning the meat adds depth of flavour through caramelisation
- 2
Place the diced potatoes, carrot, chopped onion and crushed garlic into the base of your slow cooker.
~3 mins - 3
Add the diced beef (and bacon, if using) on top of the vegetables.
~1 min - 4
In a jug or bowl, combine the beef stock, tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce. Stir well until the tomato paste is fully dissolved, then pour the mixture over the beef and vegetables in the slow cooker.
~2 mins - 5
Season with freshly ground black pepper. Give everything a gentle stir to combine.
~1 minTip: Taste and adjust seasoning at the end of cooking as the stock may already contain salt
- 6
Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on Low for 5 to 6 hours, or on High for 2 to 3 hours, until the beef is tender and the vegetables are cooked through.
~6 hrsTip: Cooking on Low gives a more tender, melt-in-the-mouth result
- 7
About 30 minutes before serving, mix the cornflour with a little hot water to form a smooth slurry. Stir it into the stew to thicken the sauce. Replace the lid and continue cooking for the remaining time.
~30 minsTip: If you prefer a thinner stew, you can skip this step
- 8
Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed. Serve the stew hot in bowls with crusty bread, fluffy rice or pasta.
~2 mins
Nutrition
Detailed nutritional information is coming soon. For now, we recommend using a tool like MyFitnessPal to calculate values for your specific brands and quantities.
Frequently Asked Questions
Chuck steak, braising steak or stewing beef are all excellent choices. These tougher, more affordable cuts have plenty of connective tissue that breaks down during the long, slow cooking, resulting in beautifully tender, melt-in-the-mouth pieces of beef. Avoid lean cuts like sirloin or fillet as they can dry out.
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