Slow Cooker Beef Stew Recipe

Future me so often gets the muddy end of the stick. Future me files paperwork, does the laundry, answers email and goes to the gym. When I stay up too late, future me scrambles to get out the door in the morning with barely a cup of coffee. Putting things off is easy to do and future me would complain about it, but he’ll be busy dealing with present me’s procrastination and putting things off for future future me to deal with. Today, I’m giving that guy a leg up.

Slow cooker recipes are a great way to prepare meals without spending much time in the kitchen and there is something deeply satisfying in returning home on a cold winter day to have dinner waiting for you. Not only does the house smell great, but inexpensive cuts of meat are made more tender through low-temperature cooking, the flavors of winter root vegetables absorb the flavors of the herbs and spices in which they are cooked and, not-for-nothing, sometimes the last thing I want to do at the end of a long day is spend time standing in the kitchen.

This most time consuming part of preparing this hearty beef stew is the time spent cutting vegetables and even that should take just a few minutes. Stew beef, potatoes, carrots and peas get a boost from the low-and-slow treatment. Mellow spices give this stew depth and those tomatoes we canned over the summer have found their winter home, adding beautiful color and a gentle acidity.

Cooked on the slow cooker’s low setting, dinner is 8-9 hours away. If you’re planning to be home early, it’ll cook at medium heat in 7-8 hours, but the beef won’t be quite as tender.

You’re welcome, future me. Sorry about the laundry.

Slow Cooker Beef Stew

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 pounds stew beef, cubed
• 3 yukon gold potatoes, cubed
• 3 large carrots, chopped
• 4 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups green peas
• 1 1/2 cups diced tomatoes
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 cups beef broth
• 1 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 bay leaf

In a saucepan over high heat, brown beef in vegetable oil.

Drain meat and transfer to slow cooker.

Add all other ingredients to slow cooker and cook at on low heat for 8-9 hours (or medium heat for 7-8).