Slow Cooker Beef Stew | Easy Hearty Family Dinner - Eat My Food


Rich slow cooker beef stew with tender beef, potatoes and carrots in a dark slow cooker

Slow Cooker Beef Stew

Tender beef, potatoes, carrots and onion cooked slowly in a rich gravy. An easy slow cooker beef stew for cold evenings, batch cooking or a warming dinner after a day outdoors.

Updated: 14th Aug 2026

Ingredient tags
Batch cooking, Beef, Beef stew, Carrot, Chalet food, Comfort food, Family dinners, One-pot meals, Potato, Ski food, Slow cooker, Winter recipes,
Difficulty rating

Last updated: 14th Aug 2026

Prep
20 min
Cook
8 hr
Total
8 hr 20 min
Yield
6 servings
Category
Dinner
Cuisine
British

This slow cooker beef stew is a practical, hearty dinner that needs very little attention once the ingredients are in the pot. Slow cooking turns inexpensive stewing beef tender and gives the gravy plenty of flavour.

Potatoes and carrots cook alongside the beef, so there is no need to make a separate side unless you want one. It also reheats well, making it useful for batch cooking and next-day lunches.

For a ski holiday or winter self-catering trip, prepare the stew in the morning and leave it cooking on low while you are out. Come back to a hot, filling dinner that only needs a quick stir before serving.


Ingredients

  • 800g stewing beef cut into 4cm chunks
  • 1 large onion chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves crushed
  • 3 medium carrots peeled and cut into thick slices
  • 500g potatoes peeled and cut into 3cm chunks
  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 2 tbsp plain flour
  • 2 tbsp tomato purée
  • 500ml beef stock
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 1 bay leaf
  • Fine salt, to taste
  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • Chopped parsley, to serve (optional)

Method

  1. Heat the vegetable oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Season the beef lightly, then brown it in batches so the pan is not crowded. Transfer each batch to the slow cooker.
  2. Add the onion to the frying pan and cook for 4 to 5 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
  3. Stir in the flour and tomato purée and cook for 1 minute.
  4. Gradually pour in the beef stock, stirring to lift any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the Worcestershire sauce and thyme.
  5. Pour the contents of the pan into the slow cooker. Add the carrots, potatoes and bay leaf, then stir everything together.
  6. Cover and cook on low for 7 to 8 hours, or on high for 4 to 5 hours, until the beef is very tender and the vegetables are cooked through.
  7. Remove the bay leaf. Taste the gravy and adjust the seasoning with salt and black pepper.
  8. Scatter with chopped parsley, if using, and serve hot with crusty bread or steamed green vegetables.

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