Slow Cooker Beef and Potato Stew

This slow cooker beef and potato stew is about as easy and tasty as it gets. 

You don't have to brown the meat. You don't have to chop or peel the potatoes, and you don't have to chop any onions. The secret ingredient is condensed French onion soup, which melds with the juices of the meat as it slow cooks to produce an amazing gravy. 

Without any extra effort, you can produce a totally flavorful slow cooked meal. It's flexible enough that you can make it either on the high or low setting, and it is even better if you refrigerate it overnight and serve it the next day. 

It also makes fantastic leftovers.

I have made this for our kids and grandkids, including growing boys, and everyone loved it. Leftovers didn't last very long either. 

Ingredients in this Beef and Potato Stew: 

Condensed French Onion Soup: You will need two cans, to which you will add a cup of water. This will save you a lot of time and labor. While I totally love cooking "from scratch," sometimes a throwback shortcut ingredient totally makes sense, especially on weekdays. Feel free to use the low- or no-sodium version of this canned soup and adjust the salt to your taste. 

Beef: The easiest ingredient for creating a beefy flavor is a sirloin tip roast, also known as sirloin beef tips or sirloin flap roast. It's super easy to trim, streamlining the prep for this stew. If you can't find this beef cut (it might not be "known" in your region), you can also use chuck roast. I actually used a combination of beef tips along with some boneless short ribs and chuck roast to make up the four pounds of beef needed. 

Tomato Paste: For umami flavor. 

Instant Tapioca: This ingredient helps thicken the gravy. 

Pantry Ingredients: Fresh or dried thyme plus salt and pepper to taste. 

Small Yellow Potatoes: These are similar to Yukon Gold, but tiny. They're usually sold in small bags. The potatoes should be 1 to 2 inches in diameter. If you can only find Yukon Gold, simply cut them into 1 inch chunks before adding them to slow cooker. No need to peel. 

The bags of tiny potatoes are usually 1 1/2 pounds, so I often supplement them with a few cut Yukon Golds. 

Frozen Peas: Add these at the end, right before serving just to warm them up so that they remain bright green. You can also garnish with some flat-leaf parsley if you like. 

To Make this Slow Cooker Beef and Potato Stew:

First, in a 6 to 8-quart slow cooker, stir together the condensed soup, the water, tomato paste, instant tapioca, and thyme. 

Next, add the potatoes and salt and peppered steak tips. 

After that, slow cook the ingedients for 6 to 7 hours on high, or 9 to 10 hours on low. When the stew is ready, skim off any excess fat and add salt and pepper to taste.

Finally, add the frozen peas and let sit, covered, until the peas are cooked through, about five minutes. 

You'll need a 6 to 8-quart slow cooker for this recipe. My slow cooker is a 6-quart Kitchenaid version that has been discontinued. Sadly (or happily) it's very reliable and indestructible. I'm tempted to give it away and get an 8-quart slow cooker,.....  I can't actually justify getting the large size. I so wish we had basements out here so I could have both... or maybe not. It's a slippery slope to hoarderville! 

Make-Ahead:

You can make this stew, with the exception of the peas, and tranfer it to a Dutch oven or large bowl to refrigerate. The next day, you can skim off any hardened fat, and then reheat the stew. 

Once the stew is reheated, add the frozen peas and let simmer for about five minutes. 

More Slow Cooker Stews You May Also Enjoy:

Argentina-Style Beef Stew

Red Beans and Rice

Chicken and Black Bean Chili

Chile Verde with Pork

Sunday Funday! We are posting Slow Cooker recipes! 

• Beef Tips with Gravy in the Slow Cooker from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Crockpot Mexican-Style Shredded Beef from Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Jersey Slow Cooker Beans from Food Lust People Love
• Slow Cooker Beef and Potato Stew from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings from Our Good Life
• Slow Cooker Salted Caramel Apple Cider from Palatable Pastime

Slow Cooker Beef and Potato Stew

Yield: 8 Servings

Author: Karen's Kitchen Stories

Prep time: 30 MinCook time: 9 HourTotal time: 9 H & 30 M

This slow cooker beef and potato stew is about as easy and tasty as it gets.

Ingredients

• 2 cans of condensed French onion soup
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 2 1/2 tablespoons instant tapioca
• 1 teaspoon of dried thyme, or 1 tablespoon of fresh thyme, minced
• 2 pounds of mini yellow (similar to Yukon Gold) potatoes (they should be no larger than 2 inches in diameter)
• 4 pounds of sirloin tip roast, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 cups frozen peas

Instructions

1. Mix the soup, water, tomato paste, tapioca, and thyme together in a 5 1/2 to 7 quart slow cooker.
2. Add the potatoes.
3. Salt and pepper the beef and add it to the mixture.
4. Cover and cook on low for 9 to 10 hours, or on high for 6 to 7 hours, until beef is tender.
5. Skim any fat from the gravy, season with salt and pepper to taste, and add the peas. Cover and let sit for about 5 minutes to heat the peas.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

413

Fat (grams)

8 g

Sat. Fat (grams)

3 g

Carbs (grams)

30 g

Fiber (grams)

5 g

Net carbs

25 g

Sugar (grams)

4 g

Protein (grams)

53 g

Cholesterol (grams)

125 mg

https://www.karenskitchenstories.com/2014/05/slow-cooker-beef-and-potato-stew.html

Karen's Kitchen Stories

stew, slow cooker, beef

dinner, main dish

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This recipe was adapted from Slow Cooker Revolution Volume 2: The Easy-Prep Edition: 200 All-New Ground Breaking Recipes from America's Test Kitchen (2013). 

Updated September, 2024 from May, 2014.