Slow Cooker Creole Beef Stew is a hearty, affordable, and delicious crockpot recipe that is perfect for busy weeknights and a great comfort food!
Beef stew has always been one of my most favorite comfort foods. There’s just something about that rich, savory gravy that tastes like home.
I remember mom making beef stew often. Stew meat was relatively cheap and that, combined with the other inexpensive ingredients, made it an affordable way to feed the family. But, it never tasted like the frugal meal it was. It always seemed like so much more.
Mom always pulled out the slow cooker for this dish. Slow cooking is the perfect method to get that fall-apart tender beef and decadent gravy. So grab the slow cooker and get ready to whip up some of my Hot Water Cornbread to go on the side! Y’all enjoy!
What is Slow Cooker Creole Beef Stew?
Slow Cooker Creole Beef Stew is a hearty and flavorful dish that makes for the perfect warm, comfort food. This stew combines tender beef, lots of vegetables, and several spices. Most beef stew, including this recipe, can be prepared in a slow cooker, or as some call a crockpot. Cooking stew this easy, hands-off way allows all the flavors to marry resulting in a rich and savory dish.
The main ingredient in Creole beef stew is beef, usually a tougher cut such as chuck roast or stewing beef, which becomes tender and flavorful as it cooks slowly. The beef is typically browned before being added to the slow cooker to enhance its flavor. Growing up my mom used pre-cut stew meat from the grocery store and whatever veggies were on sale and in season. However, if you aren’t one for stew meat, then you can buy a chuck roast and cut it into chunks.
Slow Cooker Creole Beef Stew is also filled with yummy vegetables, spices, and seasonings. The most common in this stew include but are not limited to potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, and celery. The creole seasoning adds a hearty boost of flavor without adding a ton of heat. It’s also great because it takes the place of the salt, pepper, and other seasonings you’d have to use in this recipe.
This stew is commonly served alone, over rice, or with a bread side, like cornbread. This is a tried-and-true comfort food no one will turn down.
What thickens stew in the slow cooker?
The one disadvantage to using a slow cooker, or a crock pot, is that often the gravy doesn’t turn out as thick as you’d like. It’s because the slow cooker traps all the moisture inside. That’s great for the meat and veggies, but not great for the gravy. Fortunately, there’s a relatively easy fix for that.
If at the end of the cooking time, you find the gravy to be too thin, simply mix together 2 tablespoons of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of cool water in a small bowl. Whisk the mixture (it’s called a slurry) into the stew. Cover and turn the heat on high until the gravy has thickened.
It works great in this case and in most cases where your gravy is a bit on the thin side when slow cooking. You can find this suggestion in the “Notes” section of the recipe below.
Ingredient FAQs
- Beef Stew Meat – You could use stew meat here or a chuck roast. I just prefer beef stew meat because it’s already cut up.
- Creole Seasoning – I use Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning, but really any Creole seasoning will do.
- All-Purpose Flour – Nothing much to add here except, you want to be sure you are using all-purpose flour and not self-rising flour.
- Vegetable Oil – Any brand of vegetable oil will work for this recipe. If you only have another type of oil on hand, that should be fine but keep in mind it may affect the overall flavor a tiny bit.
- Potatoes – You want 4 medium-sized potatoes for this recipe. And, you definitely want to peel and cut them. I’m sure leaving the peel on is perfectly fine, but I don’t really want a random peel floating in my stew. And, if you have picky eaters, you most definitely want to peel them.
- Carrots – Same sentiment as I mentioned above about the potatoes… Peel and cut those bad boys. It helps the carrots get tender and absorb the flavors.
- Celery – Some people skip this ingredient, but I urge you not to. Celery, although bland on its own, truly adds a hint of earthy flavor that nudges the deliciousness of this beef stew up a notch.
- Onion – You will want one medium onion. I prefer a yellow or a sweet onion for this recipe.
- Bell Pepper – I recommend using a green bell pepper in your beef stew over the other color varieties.
- Garlic Cloves – There’s just something about fresh minced garlic that can’t be replicated from one of those squeeze tubes or with the powder. If you are in a bind, you can absolutely use those. But, if you can help it… fresh minced is truly supreme.
- Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilis – If you want the full experience of Creole flavors, make sure you get the diced tomatoes with green chilis. However, if you want to make this stew a bit milder, you can easily swap this out with regular, canned diced tomatoes sans chilis.
- Beef Broth – I recommend unsalted beef broth because you get enough of that salty flavor from other ingredients in this beef stew recipe.
- Brown Gravy Mix – I love to use Tony Chachere’s Brown Gravy Mix, but any old brown gravy mix will work just fine.
Recipe Card
Slow Cooker Creole Beef Stew
Ingredients
- 2 pounds beef stew meat
- 1 tablespoon Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
- 4 carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 3 ribs celery, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
- 1 bell pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 (10-ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chilis, undrained
- 4 cups unsalted beef broth
- 4 tablespoons Tony Chachere's Brown Gravy Mix ((or 2 0.87-ounce packets))
Instructions
- Place the beef in a medium bowl and sprinkle with the creole seasoning. Toss to coat. Sprinkle the flour over the meat and toss to coat.
- Heat the oil over medium high heat in a large skillet or dutch oven. Once hot, add about half the beef and brown. Once brown, remove to a plate and brown the other half of the beef. Set aside.
- Lightly spray the crock of a slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. Add the potatoes to the bottom of the slow cooker. Top with the beef. Then add the carrots, celery, onion, garlic, and bell pepper. Pour the tomatoes over the top. In a medium bowl, whisk together the beef broth and gravy mix. Pour over the vegetables. Place the lid on and cook on low for 7 to 8 hours.
Notes
Nutrition
* If nutritional values are provided, they are an estimate and will vary depending on the brands used. The values do not include optional ingredients or when ingredients are added to taste. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, I recommend grabbing your favorite brands and plugging those ingredients into an online nutritional calculator.
Melissa Worthy
As a Texan with Cajun family, I love flavor and this stew fit the bill. This stew is full flavored with sweetness and a touch of heat.
I did do a few things differently, and this is what I did: I sprayed my crockpot with Pam, then peeled and cut my potatoes up and placed them on the bottom as instructed. I then diced the bell pepper and onion. Then I peeled and cut the carrots into thin slices. I also cut my celery into really small pieces because my family doesn’t care for celery, but I know it’s necessary in Creole cooking. It is part of The Holy Trinity after all! I also finely diced my garlic as well. I then sprinkled the Tony’s on both sides of the meat covering it fully. I didn’t measure out the Tony’s, just coated the meat well. I then tossed the meat into a baggy and put the flour in with it and shook it around covering all of it. Afterward, I grabbed my large and medium cast iron skillets and put canola oil in both and let them warm up on medium heat. I put half the meat in the large skillet and let it brown, stirring it around on occasion to brown most sides. While the meat was browing I added the garlic to the medium skillet and stirred it around until you could smell it (probably about 2 minutes), then I stirred in The Holy Trinity and let it sweat, stirring frequently. While this was going, I took the first batch of meat out of the skillet with a slotted spoon making sure the oil dripped off a bit, and put it straight on top of the potatoes. I did the same with the second half of the meat, then put The Holy Trinity and The Pope (the garlic) on top of the meat. Added the Rotel. Mixed the unsalted beef stock and Tony’s brown Gravy mix together as instructed (except I made each tablespoon heaping, and then added extra) and poured that on top. Cooked on low for 8 hours. It was great and I served it with a fresh French loaf of garlic bread!
Next time I think I will either get salted beef broth, or just add salt, and black pepper to my list of ingredients. I’ll marinate the beef overnight and instead of putting the Tony’s directly on the meat, I’ll season the flour really well to give the beef more flavor. I will also add in either fresh greenbeans or okra to the crockpot. I felt like it needed a green, but ultimately I’m really glad I ran across this recipe! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Hey there! I’m so glad to hear that you loved the stew and made it your own. Your adjustments sound fantastic, especially the addition of green beans or okra for that extra pop of color and flavor. Thanks for sharing your detailed process; it’s always great to see how everyone personalizes recipes!
Cynthia L.
This sounds really good with the addition of tomatoes. Have not had like this and I think I will try this soon.
They really add a nice flavor! Let me know how it turns out for you!
Juanita Albright
Had a party of 6 every one just love it had garlic bread with it. Yummy thank you Juanita
So happy to hear y’all enjoyed it!
Patricia Griffin
Is Tony C seasoning hot to the taste? Plan to make this one soon.. I love your recipes
It does have a little heat, but you can certainly use less.
Claudia C Silver
Finally a beef stew recipe that isn’t bland and boring. Easy and delicious creole spice that’s perfectly matched with sweet cornbread. It’s true comfort food for cold days, leaving everyone wanting more.
So happy to hear you enjoyed it, Claudia!
Megan
I only had regular brown gravy mix…should I add any extra seasoning??
I think you’ll be fine using the regular gravy mix. You can always taste it before serving and adding a little extra Creole seasoning if you like. Enjoy!
Mary Catherine
Oh, my!!! Stacey, this recipe is incredibly delicious!!! I made it tonight and served it with cheddar biscuits and a platter of fresh fruit slices. My 98- and 96-year old parents, along with my hubby and I, devoured it! I made it exactly as written and saw no need to thicken it at the end of the cooking time. Dessert was ice cream pie to cool our spicy palates. Thanks again for yet another keeper of a recipe!
This sounds like quite a delicious spread! So glad to hear y’all enjoyed it!
Laurie
We LOVED this !! It freezes back great too !! Thanks again for another fantastic recipe !!
You’re so welcome! Glad to hear you enjoyed it!
Winnie Mom
Your recipe is just like mine except for the Cajun seasoning which I need to try. Usually cook in a dutch oven on top of stove. I add homemade drop dumplings (made with Bisquick) before serving. Also as an alternative to thickening I will use instant potatoes mixed in.
The dumplings sound amazing in this!
Julie Miller
I’ve loved all your recipes, but when I’ve made them in the past I was cooking for 4; Now it’s primarily for my husband and myself. Can I just 1/2 everything on the recipe??? Thanks in advance!
Thanks, Julie! Yes, this recipe halves perfectly.
Allan LaBarre
Stacey, Can the Slow Cooker Creole Beef Stew be finished in a Dutch oven in my oven…say at 225 degrees?
I’ve not done it that way, but it should work just fine.
Rodney Krause
Do have a recipe to make it on the stove
Hi, Rodney! I don’t have a version like that yet.
Blair Durham
Hey there! I’m in the process of starting a cajun based food blog and I’ve been researching bloggers for guidance and inspiration. I just wanted to let you know that your about me is one of my favorites! It’s so personable and relatable. You blog is beautiful! I’m currently starting on squarespace. Tell me the web design gets easier?! hahahah
Blair Durham from Port Barre, LA
Mollie Frook
Love your recipes and helpful tips. Certainly has added a lot of interest at our dinner table. Sometimes you just get into a rut and need someone to point you in a different direction. Thanks for making a difference at our house.
Comments like this just make my day! Thanks so much, Mollie! You’ve put a huge smile on my face today!
JimBo
I really like beef stew, but never thought of the creole seasoning. It sounds like I am going to try this very soon! I will try and find the seasoning from your recipe/sponsor if I can, otherwise I will use a substitute creole seasoning..
Kay
Walmart has several varieties of this seasoning! They cost approximately $2.50, so try them all.
It adds some great flavor! Hope you’ll enjoy it!