Description
Hearty Slow Cooker Beef and Potato Stew brings comfort straight from grandma’s kitchen to your dinner table. Rich beef chunks mingle with tender potatoes, creating a soul-warming meal that wraps you in delicious warmth when hunger calls.
Ingredients
Scale
Main Ingredients:
- 1.25 pounds stew meat, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 3 cups Yukon gold potatoes, cubed and peeled
- 4 cups beef broth
Seasonings and Spices:
- 0.25 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 0.5 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Additional Ingredients:
- 0.25 cup chopped onion
- 1 cup brown steak sauce
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
Instructions
- Carefully layer beef chunks and cubed potatoes inside the slow cooker, ensuring uniform distribution of ingredients to promote even cooking and flavor infusion.
- Sprinkle dried herbs and seasonings across the meat and potato surfaces, creating a comprehensive seasoning blend that will penetrate every component during the cooking process.
- Pour beef broth and diced tomatoes over the layered ingredients, allowing the liquid to cascade through the meat and potato pieces and provide necessary moisture for the stew.
- Gently stir the contents to integrate the seasonings and liquids, guaranteeing that each potato and beef chunk is coated with the aromatic cooking liquid.
- Secure the slow cooker lid tightly, preventing any moisture from escaping during the extended cooking period.
- Configure the slow cooker to LOW temperature setting, which will facilitate a gradual, gentle cooking process that transforms tough meat fibers into succulent, fork-tender morsels.
- Allow the stew to simmer undisturbed for 8 to 10 hours (480 to 600 minutes), enabling complex flavors to develop and ingredients to meld into a rich, comforting dish.
- Once cooking is complete, perform a final taste check and adjust seasonings with salt and ground black pepper as needed before serving hot.
Notes
- Cuts of beef like chuck roast or stew meat work best for slow cooking, ensuring maximum tenderness and rich flavor absorption.
- Opt for waxy potatoes such as Yukon Gold or red potatoes, which hold their shape well during the extended cooking process.
- Cooking on LOW heat for 8-10 hours transforms tough meat fibers into melt-in-your-mouth texture, creating a deeply satisfying meal.
- Resist the temptation to lift the lid during cooking, as this releases heat and can significantly increase overall cooking time.
- Thicken the stew by mixing a tablespoon of cornstarch with cold water and stirring into the liquid during the last hour of cooking for a luxurious, velvety consistency.
- Fresh herbs like thyme or parsley make an excellent garnish, adding a bright, fresh finish to this hearty, comforting dish.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 hours
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Slow Cooking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6
- Calories: 358 kcal
- Sugar: 8 g
- Sodium: 780 mg
- Fat: 15 g
- Saturated Fat: 6 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7 g
- Trans Fat: 0.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 25 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 30 g
- Cholesterol: 95 mg