Slow Cooker Beef and Vegetable Stew

Name: Slow Cooker Beef and Vegetable Stew
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 480 min
Total time: 510 min
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 3 lb beef chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes; 12 oz cremini mushrooms, halved; 6 medium carrots, cut into thick coins; 2 medium turnips, peeled and cubed; 3 parsnips, peeled and cut into thick coins; 1 large yellow onion, cut into wedges; 3 celery stalks, cut into thick slices; 5 garlic cloves, minced; 2 cups trimmed green beans, cut in half; 3 cups low-sodium beef broth; 3 tbsp tomato paste; 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar; 1 tbsp olive oil; 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves; 1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary; 2 bay leaves; 2/3 tsp salt; 3/4 tsp black pepper; 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, for serving

Chuck roast slow cooked with carrots, parsnips, turnips and mushrooms into a deep, thick stew.

By Camille McLaughlin, RDN, LD, registered dietitian nutritionist

Built forControlled-CarbDinner

Also fits Low-Carb Paleo Whole30

Chuck roast falls into shreds after a long, quiet afternoon in the pot, and the broth goes dark and thick around it from tomato paste and balsamic. Parsnips and turnips turn sweet and almost creamy, carrots hold their shape, and mushrooms go deep and meaty. Thyme, rosemary, and bay run through the whole house.

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Why You'll Love This Recipe

This is beef stew built on root vegetables instead of potatoes, and I did not do that as a substitution. Turnips and parsnips bring things a potato cannot. Parsnip goes sweet and almost nutty over eight hours, turnip stays a little peppery and keeps the pot from going one-note, and between them you get more to taste than a bowl of soft starch. Cut both of them in large chunks, since eight hours is a long time and anything smaller will have dissolved into the broth by dinner.

The mushrooms and the tomato paste are what make the broth taste like it took days. Mushrooms release their liquid into the pot and leave behind that dark savory backbone, and the paste adds body and a low sweetness that plain broth never has. A tablespoon of balsamic at the end pulls the whole thing into focus, and it has to go in at the end rather than the start, since a whole day at low heat flattens vinegar into nothing at all.

Chuck is the right cut and eight hours is the right time. It has enough connective tissue that a long slow cook turns it into something that falls apart under a spoon, and it is forgiving in a way that a sirloin or a round is not. This makes eight generous bowls because it is better reheated and it should be made once and eaten twice.

A deep bowl of dark beef stew thick with chunks of carrot, parsnip and turnip, mushrooms and green beans, parsley scattered over the top.

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Prep: 30 minsCook: 8 hrTotal: 8 hr 30 minMakes: 8 servingsServing: about 1 1/2 cups stew

Ingredients

Serves8Amounts change with the number. The nutrition panel is per serving, so it stays the same.

3 lb beef chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes
12 oz cremini mushrooms, halved
6 medium carrots, cut into thick coins
2 medium turnips, peeled and cubed
3 parsnips, peeled and cut into thick coins
1 large yellow onion, cut into wedges
3 celery stalks, cut into thick slices
5 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups trimmed green beans, cut in half
3 cups low-sodium beef broth
3 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
2 bay leaves
2/3 tsp salt
3/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, for serving

Instructions

Brown the beef: Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high and brown the beef cubes in batches, about 3 minutes a side. Do not crowd the pan. This step is not optional here, because it is where the dark color and most of the depth come from.
Build the vegetable layer: Put the carrots, turnips, parsnips, onion, celery and garlic in the bottom of a 6-quart slow cooker. Keeping the hard vegetables underneath means they sit in the liquid and cook through in the same time the beef does.
Add the beef and mushrooms: Set the browned beef and the halved mushrooms on top of the vegetables. Pour a little broth into the hot skillet and scrape the bottom, then add all of it to the pot.
Season and add liquid: Whisk the tomato paste into the remaining beef broth until smooth and pour it in. Add the thyme, rosemary, bay leaves, salt, and black pepper, and stir once from the bottom.
Cook it low: Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. The stew is ready when the beef pulls apart under a spoon and the turnips give with no resistance. This is a cut that gets better with time, so an extra half hour is fine.
Finish and serve: Add the green beans for the last 30 minutes so they stay bright. Fish out the bay leaves, stir in the balsamic vinegar off the heat, and serve with parsley over the top.

Nutrition Facts

8 servings per recipe

Serving sizeabout 1 1/2 cups stew

Calories379

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 16g21%

Saturated Fat 6g30%

Trans Fat 0g

Cholesterol 108mg36%

Sodium 367mg16%

Total Carbohydrate 18g7%

Dietary Fiber 5g18%

Total Sugars 8g

Includes 0g Added Sugars 0%

Protein 40g

Vitamin D 0.2mcg1%

Calcium 90mg7%

Iron 5.1mg28%

Potassium 950mg20%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Values are computed from USDA FoodData Central and are estimates. Per serving (about 1 1/2 cups stew).

Variations

Instant Pot: Brown the beef using the saute function, then cook on high pressure for 35 minutes with a natural release of 15. Add the green beans after the pressure drops.
With red wine: Replace a cup of the broth with dry red wine. Add it to the hot skillet after browning to lift the browned bits, then pour all of it into the pot.
With sweet potato: Swap the turnips for 2 cups of cubed sweet potato for a sweeter, softer stew. It cooks in the same eight hours and turns the broth slightly thicker.
Herbier: Add a whole sprig of rosemary and a small bunch of thyme tied with kitchen string, and pull them out at the end. Whole herbs give a cleaner flavor than chopped ones over a long cook.
With cabbage: Add 3 cups of chopped green cabbage for the last hour. It softens without disappearing and stretches the pot by another bowl or two.

Storage & Leftovers

Cooled stew keeps in the refrigerator for 4 days in a covered container. It thickens overnight as the vegetables continue to soften, and most people at my table think day two is better than day one.

Reheat gently on the stovetop over medium-low with a splash of broth if it has gone very thick. A microwave works for a single bowl, but heat it in shorter bursts so the beef does not seize up.

It freezes for up to 3 months. The beef and root vegetables come back very well, though the green beans soften noticeably, so if you are freezing the batch you may want to add those to individual bowls instead.

Notes & Tips

A few notes from my kitchen. Brown the beef properly, cut the vegetables bigger than feels right, and hold the green beans and vinegar until the end. That is where a good stew and a great one part ways.

Brown in batches: A crowded pan steams instead of searing. Give the cubes room, work in two or three rounds, and let each side sit undisturbed until it releases on its own.
Cut the vegetables large: Thin coins disintegrate over eight hours. Thick chunks hold their shape and give you something to actually chew in a stew this soft.
Hard vegetables on the bottom: They need to sit in liquid to cook evenly. Beef on top, roots underneath, and everything finishes at the same time.
Whisk the tomato paste in: Paste dropped in as a lump never spreads through three cups of broth. Whisk it smooth in the measuring cup first.
Green beans go in late: Thirty minutes is enough. Added at the start they turn olive-drab and lose everything that makes them worth including.
Vinegar at the end: A tablespoon of balsamic stirred in off the heat wakes up a stew that has been cooking all day. Added early, it disappears completely.

Nutrition & Mindful Eating

This is a dark, thick, deeply savory stew where the beef falls apart and the root vegetables have gone sweet and soft.

Beef, mushrooms and root vegetables give this bowl three completely different kinds of savor. The chuck brings deep meatiness, the mushrooms bring the earthy backbone, and the roots bring a slow sweetness that keeps eight hours of cooking from tasting heavy.
Carrots and parsnips are where most of the color and the sweetness come from, and cooking them this long turns their starch soft enough that the stew thickens itself without any flour.
Chuck roast is one of the better sources of iron and zinc on a dinner table, and the long slow cook is what turns its connective tissue into the silky body you can feel in the broth.
Turnips and green beans keep the bowl from being all soft sweetness, one with a slight pepperiness and the other with a bit of snap, and together they add a real amount of fiber.
Thyme, rosemary and bay carry the seasoning in a pot with only two thirds of a teaspoon of salt in it, and a tablespoon of balsamic at the end does what more salt would otherwise be asked to do.
As you eat, notice how many different vegetables you can pick out by taste alone, and let the bowl warm you before you rush to the bottom of it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I add potatoes?

You can, and about a pound of cubed potato works, but it changes the carbohydrate count on this page substantially. The turnips and parsnips are there to give you the same comfort without that.

Do I have to brown the beef?

For this recipe I would say yes. Unbrowned beef in a slow cooker comes out gray and the broth stays thin and pale. It is fifteen minutes that decides how the other eight hours taste.

Why is my stew watery?

Vegetables release more liquid than people expect. Leave the lid ajar for the last 30 minutes, or mash a few pieces of parsnip against the side of the crock to thicken it naturally.

Can I use stew meat from the store?

Pre-cut stew meat is usually a mix of cuts that break down at different rates, so the texture ends up uneven. Buying a whole chuck roast and cutting it yourself gives a much better result.