Slow Cooker Classic Beef Stew (using Onion Mix) is an easy beef stew recipe made using a secret ingredient: onion soup mix! This is the best beef stew because it is a complete meal made in a crockpot. Perfect for any night of the week!
Cool weather means that the cozy meals and slow cooking are the only way to cook. This delicious Beef Stew recipe is simple to make, full of flavor and will feed the whole family!
Looking for other great meal ideas to keep you full and warm? Try this 5 Ingredient Meatless Baked Ziti for a cozy, comfort food with minimal prep time and loads of flavor! Looking for more slow cooker recipes? Try this Sweet and Spicy Venison Chili! This chili can be made using ground beef, ground turkey or ground venison and is cooked in the crockpot for the ultimate comfort food!
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Classic Beef Stew Details
Flavor: Savory! This hearty beef stew recipe has flavors of caramelized onions over top of tender beef stew meat.
Time: 20 minutes to prep this meal and 2-6 hours in the slow cooker depending on the temperature.
Level of Difficulty: This stew is very simple to make! While it is not a classic ‘dump’ crock pot recipe, it does not take much to get this aromatic and flavorful meal on the table!
Ingredients
Although the ingredients list is long, most ingredients are pantry staples!
- Stew Meat: You can buy beef stew meat already chopped into 1-inch cubes. Or, purchase a chuck roast, bone-in short rib or even a round steak and dice into 1-inch cubes for the stew.
- Salt and Pepper
- Vegetable Oil
- Flour
- Yellow Onion
- Garlic Cloves
- Onion Soup Mix: I like to use Lipton Onion Soup Mix. Here is the one I use!
- Water
- Frozen Soup Vegetables: I like to use a bag of frozen vegetables that includes peas, green beans, carrots and lima beans. You could also use fresh vegetables such as baby carrots,
- Yukon Gold Baby Potatoes: Diced into halves or quarters.
- Corn Starch
- Unsalted Butter
- Red Wine: Substitute beef broth or sweet vermouth.
Instructions
- Begin by bringing the stew meat to room temperature. Using a paper towel, blot off any extra moisture. Season meat with salt and pepper. Toss meat with flour
- Heat vegetable oil in a thick bottom pan over medium-high heat. Once oil is hot, add stew meat to pan. Sear sides of the beef for 45 seconds. Do this in batches as to not overcrowd the pan.
- Add beef to crock pot once seared.
- Cook onions in the same pot stirring occasionally until soft about 5 minutes. Add in garlic cloves and stir. Add red wine to loosen any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add onions and garlic to the crockpot.
- To the crockpot, add frozen soup vegetables, baby potatoes, water and onion soup mix. Stir together.
- Cook on high for 2-4 hours or on low for 6-8 hours.
- Mix together remaining 1/4 cup of water and cornstarch in a small bowl. Add to the slow cooker and stir to thicken.
- Stir in butter until it melts.
- Serve over egg noodles, with crusty bread or over mashed potatoes.
Begin by tossing stew meat with salt, pepper and flour.
Using a thick bottom pan or Dutch oven, sear meat for 45 seconds on each side. Transfer to slow cooker.
Cook onions and garlic in the same pan as the beef. Deglaze pan using red wine.
Add onions and garlic, potatoes and frozen soup vegetables to crockpot. Sprinkle with Onion Soup mix and Water. Mix together. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on low for 3-4 hours.
Whisk together cornstarch and 1/4 cup water. Keeping the heat on, stir into the slow cooker.
Add butter and stir until butter melts. Enjoy!
Variations
- Add fresh herbs such as thyme and rosemary for more flavor!
- Add in zesty diced tomatoes and tomato paste for a different flavor.
- Add extra garlic, potatoes or carrots to adapt to your families favorites.
Equipment
- Large Dutch Oven or Thick Bottom Pan
- Paper towel
- Slow Cooker
- Measuring Cups and Liquid Measuring Cup
- Small Bowl
Storage
Store any leftover Slow Cooker Beef Stew refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Many people agree that stew tastes better the day after it is cooked because the flavors have time to meld together. This stew also freezes great! Freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Dethaw stew in the refrigerator and reheat in a pot over low heat.
Top tip
After you add the onion soup mix to the slow cooker, be sure to really stir together all ingredients to make sure that the soup mix mixes with the water and is distributed to all ingredients.
FAQ
Stew meat can become tough when cooked in a slow cooker if there is not enough water in the pot. Make sure that water is covering all of the meat before turning on the slow cooker. If you need to add a little water, add it and stir to mix the dip mix, vegetables and beef. Stew meat should become tender as it cooks.
Onion soup mix contains onions, onion powder, salt, soy sauce, high oleic sunflower oil and other preservatives.
Add more flavor to your beef stew by adding savory herbs such as rosemary or thyme when cooking. You can also add diced tomatoes or stewed tomatoes to the crockpot.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with beef stew:
Slow Cooker Classic Beef Stew (using Onion Mix)
Equipment
- Large Dutch Oven or Thick Bottom Pan
- Paper Towel
- Slow Cooker
- Small Bowls
- Measuring Cups
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs Beef Stew Meat
- Salt and Pepper
- 2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
- 2 tbsp Flour
- 1 Yellow Onion Diced
- 3 Garlic Cloves Minced
- 1 Envelope Onion Soup Mix
- 2 1/4 cups Water Divided
- 2 cups Frozen Soup Vegetables
- 1 lb Baby Yukon Gold Potatoes Halved or Diced
- 3 tbsp Corn Starch
- 2 tbsp Unsalted Butter
- 1/2 cup Red Wine Optional (used to deglaze pan)
Instructions
- Bring stew meat to room temperature. Using a paper towel, remove any extra moisture. Season with salt and pepper. Toss in flour.
- Heat pan over medium high heat. Once oil is hot, add stew meat and sear for 45 seconds. Sear meat in batches as to not overcrowd the pan. Add seared meat to crockpot.
- Turn heat down to medium. Add onion and cook for 5 minutes until soft. Add garlic, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Add a splash of red wine if needed to loosen bits from bottom of pan.
- Add onion and garlic to crockpot. Add frozen soup vegetables and potatoes. Pour 2 cups water into crockpot. Sprinkle with onion soup mix. Stir to combine.
- Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3- 4 hours.
- Add remaining 1/4 cup water and cornstarch to a small bowl. Stir to combine.
- Turn heat to high on crockpot. Add cornstarch mixture and stir to thicken.
- Add butter and stir to combine.
- Serve hot with bread, over egg noodles or over mashed potatoes.
