Looking for a hearty, nutritious meal to feed the family? Try slow-cooker beef stew. This delicious option is an excellent choice to come home to after a busy day.
INGREDIENTS:
- Beef stew meat
- Avocado oil or olive oil
- Root vegetables – potatoes, parsnips, and carrots (but feel free to change up the root vegetables with whatever you prefer)
- Yellow onion and garlic cloves – aromatic additions for delicious flavor
- Diced tomatoes
- Beef broth
- Dried thyme – may substitute 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
- Dried rosemary – may substitute 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
- Green beans – use fresh or frozen
- Salt and black pepper
- Cornstarch – optional for thickening; see tip below on how to make this stew a thicker consistency.
STEPS:
- Sauté the beef cubes in a skillet. This helps to hold in the juicy flavors.
- Add ingredients to the slow cooker. Along with the beef, add the onion, potatoes, parsnips, carrots, garlic, diced tomatoes, broth, thyme, and rosemary to a slow cooker. Stir and cook on LOW heat for 8 hours or HIGH heat for 4 hours. We like to stir the green beans in towards the end of the cooking time so that they don’t become too soft. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Thicken the stew. Optional step for thickening: Remove 1 cup broth from the slow cooker and add to a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Whisk in the cornstarch and bring to a simmer until thickened. Remove from heat and slowly drizzle and stir the cornstarch mixture into the stew in the slow cooker. Cover and cook for an additional 15-20 minutes.
- Serve and garnish with fresh herbs, if you wish