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Recipes » Slow Cooker Beef Stew with Crispy Breadcrumbs

Slow Cooker Beef Stew with Crispy Breadcrumbs

By Kate Morgan Jackson

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This recipe for warm and wonderful beef stew features sweet carrots and crispy breadcrumbs and cooks up into tender perfection in the slow cooker!

slow cooker pot roast with crispy bread crumbs

I have never, and I mean never, met a beef stew that I couldn’t make friends with.  When it comes to beef stew I am basically just a girl who can’t say no…but I do have certain requirements.  And my biggest one?  NO POTATOES.

Nope.  I love potatoes in many scenarios, but not in my beef stew…they get too soggy, and even if you put them in towards the end of the cooking process, they just take up too much room.

Nope, I like my beef stew carbs in other ways…in this case, via some crispy breadcrumbs on the top and some creamy polenta or pasta or rice on the bottom.  Mmmmmm.  Or (as my ever-wise and cooking whiz brother has reminded me) if you want potatoes, this stew would be all kinds of awesome on a bed of creamy mashed potatoes!

The overall recipe is classic beef stew – beef chuck cubes seared and then cooked low and slow with a conglomeration of carrots and leeks and other goodies until it is tender and perfect.

When it is done, scoop out a little broth,  whisk a some flour to make a slurry and pour it in to thicken up the sauce – you’ll turn up your slow cooker to high for this part.  In the meantime, you want to be making a potful of creamy polenta (and as always, I think Anson Mills makes the best polenta in the universe) or rice or pasta or mashed potatoes, and toasting up a handful of fresh breadcrumbs.

Whatever you do, I am begging you not to skip the breadcrumb part.  It seems like such a little thing, but they add the perfect, perfect finishing touch of crunchy deliciousness.

Now all that is left to do is ladle a nice puddle of whatever base you are using on to each plate, scoop out some beef stew on top, scatter on some breadcrumbs and parsley and serve it up.  Warm and wonderful and just right for the a shivery night’s supper.

Happy beef stew!

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Slow Cooker Beef Stew with Crispy Breadcrumbs


  • Author: Kate Jackson
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 8 hours, 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 8 hours 50 minutes
  • Yield: 6 servings 1x
  • Category: Dinner
  • Method: Slow Cooker and Stovetop
  • Cuisine: American
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Description

This recipe for slow cooker beef stew features sweet carrots and crispy breadcrumbs and cooks up into tender perfection in the slow cooker!


Ingredients

For the Stew

  • 2 pound beef chuck roast, cut into cubes
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 3 cups chicken broth (yes, chicken broth, not beef)
  • 4 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 teaspoon allspice
  • 6 carrots, peeled and cut into one inch pieces (about 3 cups)
  • 1 sweet onion, peeled and chopped
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • Chopped fresh parsley
  • Salt and pepper to taste

For the Breadcrumbs

  • 1 cup fresh breadcrumbs (whirl 1–2 slices of bread in your food processor)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

Instructions

  1. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy skillet and sear the beef cubes on all sides.
  2. Put 1/4 cup flour, 2 cups of chicken broth, 4 tablespoons tomato paste, a teaspoon each of thyme and allspice and whisk it up until well combined,
  3. Add the seared beef, 6 peeled and chopped carrots and one peeled and chopped sweet  and cook for another 8 hours on low or until beef is tender.
  4. Scoop out about a cup of the stew liquid, whisk in another half cup of flour (I like to shake it in through a small fine mesh strainer to avoid any lumps), pour this mixture back into the slow cooker, turn it up to high and cook for another 30 minutes or so to thicken the sauce.
  5. While the sauce is thickening, make the breadcrumbs by heating a tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add breadcrumbs and stir until brown and crispy.
  6. Taste and season stew with salt and pepper.
  7. Ladle into warmed bowls (over polenta, pasta, rice or all by itself!) and garnish with breadcrumbs and parsley. Serve at once.

Notes

Need to add something to your kitchen equipment to make this recipe? Below are some of the items we used in the Framed Cooks kitchen to help cook this up. These are affiliate links to things we use and love, which helps to pay for all that bacon I keep buying (without any extra cost to you)!  Thanks for using them to keep our kitchen cooking…xoxo!

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3706.3 g504.4 mg16.9 g5 g0.4 g20.9 g2.4 g35.2 g101.4 mg

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Kate Morgan Jackson

Hi there!  I’m Kate, and I’m a recipe writer, food photographer and devoted bacon lover.  I started Framed Cooks in 2009, and my mission is to create and share family-friendly recipes that make cooking both easy and fun…yes, I said FUN!  My kitchen is my happy place, and I want yours to be that place too.  And if you make this recipe, I would love you to tag @FramedCooks on Instagram so I can see the deliciousness!as seen in logos

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Published on January 29, 2015

Good for: Comfort Foods, Slow Cooker Favorites

Last Post:
Cream Cheese and Chive Potato Soup
Next Post:
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  1. Karen Clark says

    February 1, 2015 at 11:22 pm

    This stew recipe sounds delicious! I am a big fan of stew over polenta and is the way I usually serve my stew. I don’t think my husband would be happy with his stew without potatoes but I may just make this one. If he misses his potatoes, I’ll just add them next time!

    Reply
    • Kate says

      February 3, 2015 at 7:52 am

      I know there will be folks who need their potatoes, and I totally get it! :)

      Reply
  2. sylvie says

    February 2, 2015 at 10:44 am

    Hey polenta is a great idea!
    It turns a usual dish into an amazing dish : )

    Reply
    • Kate says

      February 3, 2015 at 7:49 am

      I agree! I love pretty much anything that is on a bed of polenta. :)

      Reply

Hi, I’m Kate! I’m a recipe writer, food photographer and devoted bacon lover. I’m so glad you’re here!

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