Description

Make the ultimate Crock Pot Beef Stew with tender chuck roast, vegetables, and wine. This easy slow cooker recipe feeds 10 and tastes even better the next day!

Ingredients

For the Beef:

3 pounds chuck roast, cut into cubes
Salt, pepper, garlic powder (to taste)
½ cup all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons butter

For the Stew Base:

1 cup Cabernet Sauvignon red wine (or substitute with beef broth)
6 ounces tomato paste
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
3 cups beef broth
2 bay leaves

For the Vegetables:

1½ cups celery, chopped
2 cups carrots, chopped into large pieces
1 onion, chopped
2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into large pieces
1½ cups frozen peas

For the Seasonings:

½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon each: black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika
1 tablespoon minced garlic

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Instructions

Prep Your Ingredients

Cut your chuck roast into chunks about the size of large marshmallows. Season everything really well – I’m talking generous amounts of salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Toss it all in flour until every piece looks dusty. Emma always helps with this part because she loves getting her hands messy.

Brown the Meat

Melt half your butter in the biggest skillet you own over medium-high heat. Brown half the meat until it looks like beautiful golden nuggets on all sides. This takes patience – don’t rush it. Remove everything and do the second batch. My kitchen always smells like a steakhouse during this step.

Deglaze with Wine

Pour that wine straight into your hot skillet and start scraping up all the brown crusty bits stuck to the bottom. This is my favorite part because it sizzles and steams and you can actually see the flavor being created. Use a wooden spoon and get aggressive with it. Turn off heat when everything’s loose.

Layer Everything in Your Crock Pot

Spray your crock pot with cooking spray because nobody wants stuck-on stew bits later. Dump in your meat, that gorgeous wine mixture, celery, carrots, onion, potatoes, the entire can of tomato paste, Worcestershire, garlic, all your spices, broth, and bay leaves. Stir it around gently until everything looks happy together.

Cook Low and Slow

Cover it up and cook on LOW for 8-10 hours. I start mine around 8 AM before work and it’s perfect by dinner time. The house smells so good by 3 PM that I start getting text messages from my kids asking what’s for dinner.

Add the Final Touch

Stir in those frozen peas during the last 15-20 minutes. They turn bright green and add this fresh pop that makes the whole dish look professional. Emma calls this the “fancy restaurant step” because suddenly everything looks colorful and intentional.

Notes

If your stew looks watery at the end, don’t panic. Mix two tablespoons cornstarch with cold water until smooth and stir it in during the last thirty minutes. I keep cornstarch specifically for this after my great stew soup disaster of 2019.

Never add delicate vegetables at the beginning. I threw mushrooms in once at the start and they turned into gross gray rubber. Add them during the last four hours if you want mushrooms. Same goes for zucchini or bell peppers.

Salt everything properly at the end. That long cooking time mellows seasonings and sometimes you need another pinch of salt to wake everything up.

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 8-10 hours
Category: Main Dish
Method: Slow Cooker
Cuisine: American