Slow Cooker Beef Stew

About This Recipe

A slow cooker beef stew is the pinnacle of effortless comfort cooking. Tougher, more flavourful cuts like chuck become meltingly tender after 8 hours on low heat, absorbing the rich beef and vegetable broth. Unlike stovetop stews, the slow cooker version requires minimal attention — brown the beef, load the cooker, go about your day and return to a complete, deeply satisfying meal.

Ingredients

Serves 6

• 1 kgbeef chuck(cut into 4cm cubes)
• 3 tbspplain flour
• 2 tbspolive oil
• 1large onion(roughly chopped)
• 4garlic cloves(minced)
• 3medium carrots(cut into chunks)
• 4medium potatoes(peeled and quartered)
• 2celery stalks(sliced)
• 500 mlbeef stock
• 2 tbsptomato paste
• 1 tbspWorcestershire sauce
• 1 tspdried thyme
• 2bay leaves
• salt and pepper(to taste)
• 2 tbspfresh parsley(chopped, to serve)

Instructions

1. 1

   Season and sear the beef

   Toss the beef cubes in flour, salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat. Brown the beef in batches — 2 minutes per side until deeply seared. Transfer to slow cooker.

   Searing creates the Maillard reaction — the key to deep, complex beef flavour. Don't skip this step.

2. 2

   Sauté aromatics

   In the same skillet, cook the onion over medium heat for 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more. Deglaze with a splash of beef stock, scraping up all the browned bits. Pour into the slow cooker.

3. 3

   Load and cook

   Add carrots, potatoes, celery, remaining beef stock, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, thyme and bay leaves. Stir to combine. Cook on LOW for 7–8 hours or HIGH for 4–5 hours until the beef is completely tender.

4. 4

   Thicken if needed

   If the stew is thinner than you like, mix 2 tablespoons cornflour with 2 tablespoons cold water. Stir into the stew and cook on HIGH for 20 minutes to thicken.

5. 5

   Season and serve

   Remove bay leaves. Taste and adjust salt and pepper. Serve in deep bowls scattered with fresh parsley, alongside crusty bread.

Variations

• •

  Red Wine Stew: replace 200ml of stock with dry red wine such as Cabernet or Merlot.

• •

  Sweet Potato Version: substitute sweet potatoes for regular for a slightly sweeter, vitamin-rich stew.

Storage

Refrigerate for up to 4 days. Freezes excellently for up to 3 months — the flavour actually improves after freezing and reheating.

Frequently Asked Questions