Slow cooker beef stew
Beef that falls apart when you press it with a spoon, soft potatoes and carrots, and a thick, savory gravy that tastes like a whole Sunday.
- 520 min total
- 35 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 6
- About $4.25 a serving
- 440 calories
- Good the next day
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 6 servings.
- 1½ lb Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 4 carrots, cut into thick coins
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 lb stew beef
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 3 cups beef broth, divided
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped (optional)
From your pantry
- 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1½ tsp salt, divided
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves
Each serving has about 440 calories, 37 g protein, 35 g carbs and 18 g fat, and costs about $4.25 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No Yukon Gold potatoes? Russet potatoes or red potatoes work.
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No stew beef? Chuck roast works.
- No beef broth? Bone broth works.
- No frozen peas? Frozen mixed vegetables work.
- No fresh parsley? Cilantro works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Cut the potatoes into 1-inch chunks and the carrots into thick coins. the onion and the garlic.
Chop. Chopping means cutting food into bite-size pieces that don’t need to be neat. Keep them roughly the same size so everything cooks evenly.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are about half an inch and roughly alike, even if none of them are pretty.
Mince. Mincing means chopping something into the tiniest pieces you can, smaller than a grain of rice. Tiny pieces melt into the dish, so you get the flavor without biting into a chunk of garlic.
How you’ll know: Every piece is tiny and about the same size, and the pile starts to look almost like a paste.
the beef dry with paper towels, then toss it in a bowl with the flour, 1 teaspoon of the salt and the pepper until coated.
Pat dry. Patting dry means pressing paper towels onto food to soak up the moisture on its surface. Wet food steams instead of browning, so this is how you get a good sear and crisp skin.
How you’ll know: The surface feels tacky, not wet, and the last paper towel comes away barely damp.
Dolly’s tip: Dry beef browns. Wet beef just steams and turns gray.Heat the oil in a large over medium-high heat until it . the beef in two batches, about 3 minutes per side, then move it to the slow cooker.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Shimmering oil. Oil shimmers when it’s hot enough to cook: its surface looks rippled and wavy, like heat over a road. That’s your cue to add the food, just before the oil would start to smoke.
How you’ll know: The oil looks wavy and runs thin like water when you tilt the pan, with no smoke yet.
Brown. Browning means cooking until the outside turns brown, which is where a lot of savory flavor comes from. Give food room and time without stirring, or it steams and stays gray.
How you’ll know: The food looks brown rather than gray, and the kitchen smells toasty and savory.
Medium-high heatTimer: 6 min
Dolly’s tip: Leave space between the pieces. They don’t need to cook through, just get a brown crust for flavor.Turn the heat to medium, add the onion to the skillet and cook for 3 minutes, then stir in the garlic and tomato paste for 1 minute.
Medium heatTimer: 4 min
Pour in 1 cup of the broth and from the bottom of the skillet, then pour everything into the slow cooker.
Scrape up the browned bits. It means loosening the brown bits stuck to the pan with a wooden spoon, usually right after adding liquid. Those bits are concentrated flavor, and they melt into the sauce.
How you’ll know: The bottom of the pan looks clean again, and the liquid turns darker and richer.
Medium heat
Dolly’s tip: Those brown bits stuck to the pan are pure flavor. Don’t leave them behind.Add the potatoes, carrots, the rest of the broth, the Worcestershire, thyme, bay leaves and the remaining ½ teaspoon salt, and stir.
Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours or HIGH for 4 to 5 hours, until the beef falls apart when you press it with a spoon.
Timer: 480 min
Dolly’s tip: If the beef is still chewy, it isn’t done yet. It needs more time, not less.Food safety: Steak, pork chops and other whole cuts are safe at 145°F in the middle, then let them rest for 3 minutes before cutting.
Stir in the peas, cover and cook for 10 more minutes, until they’re hot.
High heatTimer: 10 min
Pull out the bay leaves, taste for salt, and ladle into bowls with parsley.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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