Healthy Slow Cooker Beef Stew

By: Olivia Updated: 1/9/23

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Cozy, delicious and rich, this gluten-free Healthy Slow Cooker Beef Stew is loaded with potatoes, carrots, and mushrooms alongside tender, melt in your mouth beef. It’s paleo friendly as well!

The slow cooker is such a life saver. I love how you can start a recipe when you have time and then let it go throughout the day while you do other things and by dinner time, you’ve got a delicious meal waiting for you.

Also try my other stew recipes such as: Instant Pot Beef Stew Recipe (Whole30 & Paleo), Turnip and Carrot Slow Cooker Beef Stew, Easy Instant Pot Chicken Stew and Healthier Slow Cooker Beef Stew Recipe.

While you can skip browning the meat in your pan, I really recommend this step. It only takes a couple of minutes and then the slow cooker does the rest of the work for you. When you brown the beef, it caramelizes the outside of the meat and give your stew a richer flavour once it’s done. Trust me on this one!

The best part about this healthy slow cooker beef stew is that there is enough that there is always leftovers and boy does this stew taste even better when it is reheated. You can even meal prep this so you get a warm cozy stew at work for lunch throughout the week. Stew, like my Cabbage and Sausage Stew, is such a great make-ahead and freezer meal!

Want more slow cooker recipes? Try my Easy Slow Cooker Carnitas Recipe, Easy Whole30 Pumpkin Chili Recipe, or my Slow Cooker Chicken and Sweet Potato.

How to Make this Healthy Slow Cooker Beef Stew

Ingredients

Beef chuck roast — cut into 2-inch chunks.
Kosher salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Gluten-free all-purpose flour — or arrow flour for Paleo and Whole30
Extra-virgin olive oil
White onion — chopped
Garlic cloves — minced
Tomato paste — this gives really helps build the layers of flavours
Worcestershire Sauce — a small amount goes a long way in helping build flavour as well.
Carrot — cut into 2-inch chunks.
Yukon Gold potatoes — diced into 2-inch pieces.
Low-sodium beef broth
Bay leaves
Peas — fresh or frozen works.
Fresh chopped parsley — for garnish

Instructions

Prepare the Beef to Brown

In a large bowl, pat beef dry with a paper towel. Season with salt, pepper and flour.
Add olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.
When the skillet is hot enough add the meat and sear on all sides until golden brown. It will take about 5-10 minutes. Transfer the meat to the slow cooker.
In the same skillet, add onions and garlic and if necessary add a little bit more of olive oil. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Scrape the pan with a wooden spoon to get all browned meat bits. Add tomato paste and Worcestershire Sauce. Mix everything well.

Cook the Healthy Slow Cooker Beef Stew

Transfer it to the slow cooker
Add remaining ingredients (don’t add the fresh parsley) to the slow cooker. Give a good stir and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Close the slow cooker and cook on high for 5 hours or on low for 8 hours.
Remove the bay leaves, stir in the peas, and garnish with parsley before serving.

Tips and Notes for This Healthy Slow Cooker Beef Stew

Did you know you could freeze tomato paste? I find that I always open a can of tomato paste and then it ends up in my fridge for a while and somethings end up going bad because the recipe doesn’t use the whole can. Freeze it and thaw it whenever you need some!
It might be tempting to get stew beef for beef stew (I mean, it’s called stew meat), I really recommend you get chuck roast and then cutting it yourself so all your meat is similar in size and the same type of meat!
Don’t be tempted to skip the bay leaf! The bay leaves add a lighter note to the healthy slow cooker beef stew and helps the other flavours shine. It’s a small step and a single ingredient but it does a lot.
I find that the longer the stew simmers on low, the more tender the beef becomes. For melt in your mouth beef, I like to cook it on low for 8 hours.
Avoid opening the slow cooker while your beef stew is still cooking. This releases the heat that was built up and it’ll take time to re-built all that lost heat and your beef stew might not turn out as great as intended.
Everything is cut into 2 inch chunks so they can cook evenly in the slow cooker together. If you cut them into larger chunks or smaller chunks, you’ll have to adjust the cooking time.
To make Paleo or Whole30 friendly use arrow flour.

Storing, Reheating, and Freezing Tips

Store all leftovers in an airtight container inside of your fridge for up to 5 days.
Leftovers can be quickly reheated in the microwave or you can reheat it by simmering it on the stovetop. Simmering it on the stovetop to reheat might make your beef stew thicker but I think that’s a great bonus side effect.
You can freeze leftovers in freezer bags for up to 4 months. Be sure to thaw in the fridge beforehand and reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave.