My wife loves beef stew but she hates the kind with a tomato base. Not sure why, she loves tomatoes on everything else. I kinda agree with her because the non-tomato beef stew has such a richer flavor of the beef and veggies.
This Hearty Beef Stew in the Crock Pot does take a little prep work to get the rich flavor. If you just throw all the ingredients into the crock pot, without browning the meat you will have blah instead of YUM. 
To make morning time easier brown the meat the night before. When browning meat, make sure not to overcrowd the beef in the pan. Take the time to brown the meat in batches otherwise the meat doesn’t brown it just steams. To brown is to get a crisp crust on the outside of the meat and to render some of the fat. The tiny bits of meat and fat that is left in the pan is what gives your stew the rich, hearty flavor.
Add your veggies to the crock pot. Brown your meat place on top of veggies. Deglaze pan and pour sauce over the meat. Stir it all together. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours. You can also cook this on low for 8 hours. If you want dumplings add them to the last half hour of cooking.
So are you a tomato or non- tomato beef stew type?
- 3 cups potato cubed
- 1 cup carrots diced diagonally
- 1 cup celery chopped
- 1 onion chopped. I used a purple onion because that is what I had on hand
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme leaves
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary leaves
- 2 leaves bay
- 11/2 - 2 lbs beef roast cubed
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp Kosher salt
- 1 tbsp oil
- 2 cups low sodium beef broth
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 clove garlic minced
- Place vegetables and herbs in slow cooker.
- Place cubed beef, flour and pepper into a sealable plastic bag and toss to coat beef. Shake off excess.
- Heat oil on medium high in a large sauce pan.
- Brown beef well on all sides in heated oil. Brown beef in batches. Do not overcrowd beef.
- Remove beef with slotted spoon to plate. Lightly salt.
- Place beef on top of vegetables in slow cooker and throw in bay Leaves.
- Deglaze the pan by adding broth, Worcestershire sauce and garlic to pan, bring to a boil, scraping up browned bits.
- Pour mixture over beef and vegetables. Stir slightly to combine.
- Cover and cook on HIGH setting for 4 hours* or low for 7-8 hours until the beef reaches internal temperature of 165°F.
- Discard bay leaves before serving.
(optional) I added Bisquick dumplings to the pot during the last 20 minutes of cooking.
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Julie is Hostess At Heart says
This is comfort food at it’s finest, and one of the dishes that I crave when the weather gets cold. Delicious!
Anita says
This recipe looks so delicious! Hi, I’m Anita visiting from Freedom Fridays.
Kaila (GF Life 24/7) says
I 100% agree with your wife when it comes to beef stew! And, your beef stew looks delicious and rich. I bet it’s the perfect meal as the weather continues to cool off. Happy FF, and have a marvelous weekend. 🙂
Quinn Caudill says
Thanks Kaila. Have you tried to make Gluten Free dumplings? Have a great weekend. Happy FF!
cookingwithauntjuju.com says
I was just thinking about making stew and you have got me motivated to do so – it’s one old recipe I have not posted yet. I like using a slow cooker for this kind of meal. Thanks for bringing some good comfort food to the party 🙂
The Kiwi Fruit says
This looks delicious and so fitting for this time of year!!! I love it! I can totally agree with your wife too, I love tomatoes with everything but a good beef stew without them is so rich and tasty.
Thanks for sharing with FF. Have an amazing weekend 🙂
MyHusbandHasTooManyHobbies says
Can I come over for dinner? Pinning and hoping my husband will make this for us soon. He is the cook in our family too 🙂 Thank you for sharing your recipes with us at Snickerdoodle Sunday!
Quinn Caudill says
Sure come on over. I knew I wasn’t the only Dad cook out there. :))
Arl's World says
I think I have to agree about the tomato base stew. Your stew looks delicious!
Quinn Caudill says
Thanks for stopping by. It was pretty good. Have a great week
FrugalHausfrau says
I’m hungry for stew after seeing your photos and I’ve just gotten done with three days of it here! It does just get better the next day, after all! Yours looks delish and that’s a great tip about the browning. Thanks for sharing it on Throwback Thursday!