Slow Cooker Beef Stew with Mushrooms
This simple and cozy Slow Cooker Beef Stew with Mushrooms is a hearty and comforting meal you and the whole family will love. Melt in your mouth, tender beef, big chunks of vegetables, sautéed mushrooms and a flavorful beef broth that will make any chilly night a little bit warmer! Enjoy with a loaf of your favorite bread!
Prep Time: 30 mins
Cook Time: 8 hours
Total Time: 8 hours 30 mins
Serves: 6
ingredients
- 3 lb boneless beef chuck trimmed and cut into 1 ½ - 2-inch pieces, about 2 ½ lbs. cubed beef
- ¼ cup flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 2 T olive oil
- 1 large onion chopped
- 6-7 carrots, cut in large chunks
- 1 lb white mushrooms sliced
- 1.5 lb baby Yukon gold potatoes
- ¾ c red wine
- 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 ½ T Worcestershire sauce
- 4-5 garlic cloves minced
- 1 teaspoon oregano (dried)
- 1 teaspoon thyme (dried)
- 3 T tomato paste
- 3 c beef broth
- 3 T cold water
- 3 T corn starch
- 1 T butter
cooking
- If your beef is not already cut, trim the excess fat and cut into 1 ½ to 2-inch pieces. Place in a ziplock bag. Top the meat with flour, salt and pepper and shake to evenly coat the pieces of beef.
- Chop the carrots and add them, along with the potatoes to the bottom of the crockpot. Chop the onion and mushrooms and set aside. Heat a pan over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and heat until glistening. Working in batches, sear the beef chunks for about 2 minutes per side to get a nice brown crisp outside. Remove from the skillet and add the browned meat to the crockpot over top of the vegetables.
- After beef is seared, lower the heat to about medium and add the onion and mushrooms. Sauté for about 3-5 minutes to lightly brown the mushrooms. Add the onions and mushrooms along with the tomato paste, broth, red wine, oregano, thyme, salt and pepper (as desired), balsamic vinegar and Worcestershire. Gently stir to combine.
- Cook on low for about 7-8 hours or until the beef is fork tender and easily comes apart and vegetables are soft. About 30 minutes before serving, whisk together the cornstarch and water until smooth and all the cornstarch is dissolved. Slowly add to the crock pot and stir in to combine. The broth will thicken more as it sits in the mixture. Enjoy!
Notes
- Will the alcohol cook off in this mushroom beef stew? I have read conflicting articles on whether the alcohol will cook off and evaporate in the crockpot. If you don't feel comfortable using wine in your cooking, you can simply add more beef broth in its place.
- If the meat is still tough, cook it longer. It is pretty hard to overcook stew meat as it actually tends to get more tender the longer it cooks. This is the opposite of cooking many other meats. If after 8 hours the meat is still tough, try giving it more time.
- It is strongly recommended that this beef stew with mushrooms is cooked on low. For the most tender meat, cook this recipe on the low setting of your crockpot. If you are on a time crunch, you can cook on high for about 4-6 hours but the results will not be the same in terms of texture.
- To keep the carrots and potatoes from falling apart and becoming mushy, do not overcook. The potatoes and carrots were selected for this stew recipe so they would cook alongside the beef and still be nice and tender without falling apart. If you cook too long on low and do not shift the setting to "keep warm" after the meat is ready, your vegetables will likely fall apart.
