Beef stew recipe, this wonderful comfort meal is made even easier in your slow cooker. Tender beef and vegetable stew cooked in a heavenly delicious tomato sauce is going to be a year round staple in your kitchen.
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❤️ Why You'll Love It
- Crock pot meals are always a win-win
- Easy to find ingredients that are probably there in your kitchen
- A hearty, healthy gluten-free beef stew recipe
Slow cooker meals do not require much work and save the day. I do not know why I almost always make a slow cooker dinner on Wednesdays. I feel that Wednesdays are always crazy and when mid-week crisis hits, I turn to my slow cooker or instant pot dinner to save dinner that night.
📝 Ingredients
Note: This is an overview of the ingredients. You'll find the full measurements and instructions in the recipe card (printable) at the bottom of the page.
📋 Ingredient Notes
- Onions and Garlic: these two are the main flavor base. Giving them a quick round with the beef caramelize the onions and gets the best out of them both.
- Oil: Use olive oil or any oil you like, this is used for searing the beef all over in the first step. No more is needed afterwards.
- Vegetables: I've used carrots and a can of chickpeas. You can use dry chickpeas. Wash them and put them in the slow cooker right from the beginning.
- Beef Stock/Broth: for extra meat flavor, for a richer flavor use this instant pot beef bone broth.
- Spices : aside from ground black pepper and salt we are going to use bay leaves, paprika and cumin. This combination gives a really nice delicious flavor to the stew.
- Beef stew meat: I've used chuck roast cut into 1-inch pieces.
🥣 Equipment
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- 6-Qt Slow Cooker
- Large Skillet
🥄 Instructions
Note: This is an overview of the instructions. The detailed instructions are in the recipe card below.
- Brown the beef: Brown beef cubes well on medium-high heat in all directions. The more brown your beef is, the more flavors you'll get in your stew.
- Add the onions and garlic, and saute well, making sure to get the brown stuff off the pan as well.
- Add all the remaining ingredients except the chickpeas, cover and cook.
- When it is almost done, like 30 minutes before cooking ends, add the chickpeas. Cover and let it finish cooking. Garnish with fresh herbs and serve.
💡 Tips
- Searing the beef is important as it gives the stew a more rich flavor.
- For me, this is how I have been eating gluten free beef stew since I was a little kid. You might want to thicken the sauce a bit for a more gravy like consistency. If this is your thing you can make a cornstarch slurry. Mix 1 part of cornstarch with 2 parts of cold water well then add to the slow cooker in the last 30 minutes.
- I used olive oil for this recipe, some people use butter or ghee.
- Vegetables cook quicker than meat, but I usually add carrots and baby red potatoes from the beginning. If I plan to add peas for example I add it in the last 30 minutes of cooking right from frozen.
🧺 Storage
Refrigerate- Refrigerate leftover beef stew in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days.
Freeze - This hearty stew can be frozen for up to 3 months. Place in a freezer-safe container leaving a couple inches of headspace to allow for expansion in the freezer. If the stew has potatoes they might change texture after freezing.
Reheat - If frozen, Allow to thaw in the fridge overnight, then reheat on the stove top on low heat until thoroughly heated.
👩🍳 Variations
- For a spicier gluten free beef stew add some cayenne peppers, jalapeno or increase the black pepper.
- Add some root vegetables like russet potatoes, sweet potatoes, or some diced Yukon gold potatoes for a heartier gluten free beef stew.
- Or Add in your favorite vegetables like green beans, peas, zucchini, eggplants..etc pretty much all vegetables are naturally safe to use in this gluten free beef stew.
🍽️ Serve With
There's nothing more Middle Eastern than delicious Lebanese rice, for other ideas check out what to serve with beef stew.
💬 FAQs
I usually use beef chuck roast, it is affordable and I can find it on sale pretty much every other week. It is a balanced cut for many recipes and has good beef flavor. Just trim excess fat and cut it into chunks and you are good to go.
This is a slow cooker recipe, so we basically do everything in the slow cooker. Chuck meat is pretty tough cut and needs time to break down and be fork tender, we give it that time in the slow cooker. If you rush the time it will be chewy and tough.
Beef Stew vs Pot Roast
Pot roast is a one piece of chuck roast, usually, cooked and served with gravy. Beef stew on the other hand is what you see here, small chunks of beef cooked with a variety of vegetable low and slow and this is what stew means. Obviously, pot roasts take longer to cook as it is cooked in one big piece.
📣 Related Recipes
- Bamya is delicious okra stew in tomato and pepper sauce. Bamya is a middle eastern dish, popular year round.
- Baked ziti with meat is a delicious and satisfying comfort food that is easy to make at home. This dish can be made ahead of time and reheated for an easy weeknight dinner option.
- Mulukhia is a traditional soup in Egypt. It's very healthy and easy to cook.
- This Shrimp Stew is a quick 20-minute healthy weeknight dinner for busy days. Succulent shrimp in rich bold tomato sauce to scoop over white rice or mop with a crusty piece of bread.
More Slow Cooker Recipes
- Here's the best Slow Cooker Cornish hen recipe, the whole family will love. This is a special occasion dish, but makes for a good hearty meal that can be served on a weeknight as well.
- Warm spices, butternut squash, and tender meat are the main ingredients in Moroccan Beef Tajine. This is a filling and cozy dish that is perfect for chilly evenings.
- This Slow Cooker Corned Beef without Cabbage is a delicious recipe that is perfect for any time of the year. The crockpot makes corned beef melt in your mouth tender.
- This easy Crock Pot Lasagna Soup recipe is sure to please those who adore lasagna but hate the work involved. You just have to brown the ground beef and let your crock pot take care of the rest! How easy!
- Stuffed Onions recipe is a hearty and comforting dish with tender onion layers rolled with delicious rice and meat mixture. All cooked in a simple tomato and broth mixture.
Beef Recipes
- This juicy Shish Kabob recipe is easy to prepare and tastes better than high-end restaurants. Beef steak marinated in a mixture of herbs and warm spices before being grilled on skewers. I've included oven instructions too.
- Kofta kebabs are a delicious and popular Middle Eastern dish that are perfect for grilling or cooking in the oven.
- Fattah is a traditional dish throughout the Middle East and this Egyptian fattah is one I grew up with to celebrate almost all occasions.
- Set it and forget it! Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Steak Bites are the perfect hands-off dinner. The perfect blend of sweet and savory.
- Set it and forget it with this Slow Cooker Mongolian Beef! Tender flank steak in a sweet and savory sauce, perfect with chow mein noodles and a side of broccoli for a complete and effortless meal.
- For a delicious and hearty meal, try this easy Slow Cooker Pot Roast with Gravy recipe that’s perfect for busy weeknights!
If you love this recipe, please leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating! Thank you.
Beef stew recipe
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil.
- 2 pounds chuck roast beef. Trimmed and cut into 1 inch cubes.
- 1 medium onion diced.
- 3 garlic cloves minced.
- 2 carrots diced or sliced (optional)
- 2 cups beef broth or water.
- ¼ cup tomato paste.
- 2-3 bay leaves.
- 1 teaspoon paprika.
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper.
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste.
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin.
- 1 can garbanzo beans washed and drained. (Note1)
Instructions
- In a large non stick skillet over medium heat, add olive oil.
- Add beef and brown.
- Add onion and garlic to the skillet and keep cooking for another 1-2 minutes.
- Place skillet content in the slow cooker.
- Add the rest of the ingredients except for the garbanzo beans.
- Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 7 hours.
- When it is almost done, uncover stir in the chickpeas.
- Cover and let it continue cooking.
Notes
- You can use dry chickpeas put place them from the start. You can also use any sort of vegetables you like.
- Fore more tips and variations please check the post above.
- Please check the nutrition disclaimer policy.
Nutrition
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First published Oct 4, 2019. Last updated January 23, 2024, with important tips, clear step-by-step instructions, and readability.
👩🏫 My Experience
I grew up with beef stew with all kinds of vegetables in it, like this okra beef stew. Beef stew was a staple in our home all year round. My mom made beef stew with potatoes, okra, beans, peas, zucchini, carrots or a combination of them. When I was young I especially loved the okra one yet hated the stew made with taro!!
This beef stew here is made with chickpeas. This is called "tagine hummus bel lahma" which translate to chickpeas and beef tagine.
My mom used to cook the meat first then throw them with vegetables, beef broth and tomato sauce in a pot to cook vegetables. Today we are going to brown the beef with onions and garlic then put all the ingredients in the slow cooker and let it do the work. This step of browning the meat is a necessary, I honestly find the more you sear the meat the better. It only takes about 10 minutes but it makes a whole lot of difference in the flavor.
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Michael Keeley
Great stew. I am a chickpea neophyte, usually only in hummus and once with other beans in chili. Really liked them in the stew. I doubled the amount of cumin because I love it. I served with a crusty bread for sopping up the juices.
Sonia
This stew was so delicious, thank you Amira! I'm not very confident about using a slow cooker and I was worried about adding so much water and it not evaporating, but I'm really glad I trusted the recipe and put those worries to the side, because the sauce was really good. I was able to use beef bone broth which probably really added to the flavour. And I used some water to deglaze the pan and added all that to the slow cooker too!
Nancy
Great dish to try. My favorite.
Liezel
Thanks for your recipe Amita, I made this last night and it came out very well. Delicious combination of spices! I didn't use my slow cooker, but baked it in my casserole for quite a long time. I added thinly cut celery and sweet potato cubes, simply because I had it available. They combined well with the carrots.
Amira
Liezel, thank you so much for your feedback. I am happy you liked it.
Nadia
Delicious and tasty recipe, I opted to make it in a instant pot, adding the veggies after the beef was half cooked. My family enjoyed it a lot. With rice and salad, it makes a delicious, filling meal.
Amira
Thank you Nadia for your comments, instant pots are amazing and quick I couldn't agree more. Glad your family liked it.
John @ Kitchen Riffs
Who doesn't like beef stew! And the weather is cooling down -- the ideal time for hearty dishes such as this. I almost never make stews in the slow cooker, but do like the idea. Have to give yours a try -- thanks!