Slow Cooker Pot Roast Stew

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This is the recipe I reach for when December gets cold enough that you can see your breath in the barn and Jake comes in asking for something that’ll stick to his ribs for hours. A slow cooker pot roast stew is the answer to a hard day. You put everything in the crock pot in the morning and forget about it until dinner, and somehow by evening you have something that tastes like it’s been simmering for days.

Nana Ruth made her pot roast in the oven — four hours in that ancient Dutch oven with the chipped enamel lid. I make mine in the slow cooker because I don’t have four uninterrupted hours, and the result is just as good. She’d raise an eyebrow at the slow cooker, but she’d eat two bowls and ask for the recipe. Root vegetables are the hero of this dish. Carrots, parsnips, potatoes, and onions all become sweet and caramelized as they sit in that rich broth with the beef. It’s not fancy, but it’s the kind of meal that makes everyone quiet at the dinner table because they’re too busy eating to talk. Clara always picks out the parsnips and lines them up on the edge of her bowl. Wyatt loads his bread with butter and dunks it straight in the broth like he was raised in a barn — which, technically, he partially was. Mason eats the potatoes first and saves the beef for last because he’s an unusual child and I love him for it.

How to Make Slow Cooker Pot Roast Stew

Start by browning your chuck roast. Cut it into two-inch chunks, pat them dry, and sear them in a hot skillet with a little oil until you get a deep brown crust on all sides. This takes about fifteen minutes but it develops incredible depth of flavor — that Maillard reaction is where the magic lives. Transfer the browned beef to your slow cooker.

Layer in your root vegetables. Carrots, parsnips, and onions go in first since they can handle the long cook time. Add your beef broth, a splash of Worcestershire sauce, garlic, thyme, and a bay leaf. Set it on low and walk away for about six hours.

Add potatoes in the last hour. If they go in from the start, they’ll fall apart into the broth by the time the beef is tender. Adding them later keeps them in solid, satisfying chunks. Give it that final hour and your stew is ready — thick, rich, and exactly what a cold day demands. Serve with crusty bread to soak up every last bit of broth.

On the nights Jake comes home from a pipeline stretch to a pot of this waiting, he doesn’t even take off his boots before ladling himself a bowl. It’s one of those meals that says “welcome home” without any words.

If you love a slow cooker meal, my Chicken Wild Rice Soup is another set-it-and-forget-it dinner. For more comforting bowls, try my Chicken Dumpling Soup or my Lasagna Soup — all three are the kind of thing that makes a cold house feel warm.

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Slow Cooker Pot Roast Stew

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword casseroles, make-ahead meals, slow cooker meals, slow cooker pot roast stew, soups & stews

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 8 hours

Total Time 8 hours 20 minutes

Servings 8 servings

Author Maggie

Ingredients

• 3 pounds beef chuck roast cut into 2-inch chunks
• 1 pound baby potatoes halved
• 4 medium carrots cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 large onion quartered
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 2 cups beef broth
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 whole bay leaves
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons cold water

Instructions

1. Season the beef chunks generously with salt and pepper. If you have time, brown them in a hot skillet with a tablespoon of oil for a better flavor. This is optional but worth it.
2. Place the potatoes, carrots, and onion in the bottom of a 6-quart slow cooker.
3. Place the beef on top of the vegetables. Add the garlic, tomato paste, Worcestershire, thyme, and bay leaves.
4. Pour the beef broth over everything. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours or HIGH for 4-5 hours, until the beef is falling-apart tender.
5. Remove the bay leaves. If you want a thicker stew, stir in the cornstarch slurry and let it cook on HIGH for another 10 minutes.
6. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve in big bowls with crusty bread. This is the kind of meal that's waiting for you when you walk in the door on a cold day.

More Recipes You’ll Love

• Slow Cooker Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
• Nana Ruth’s Brothy White Beans
• Maggie’s Birria Ramen
• Maggie’s Sweet & Spicy Honey Butter Chicken (The Viral Flavor Done the Old-Fashioned Way)

What I Use for This Recipe

A couple things from my kitchen that make this one easier.

Cook N Home 8-Quart Stainless Steel Stockpot(~$25)

Big enough for Sunday soup, light enough to lift. Every kitchen needs a pot this honest.

Hamilton Beach 6-Quart Slow Cooker(~$35)

Set it before school drop-off, come home to dinner. The most-used appliance in my kitchen after the stove.

Lodge 6-Quart Enameled Dutch Oven(~$60)

For every stew, pot roast, and soup that needs low-and-slow love. The pot I reach for on Sundays.

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