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Crock Pot Poor Man's Stew

Crock pot poor man's stew with browned ground beef and hearty potato-carrot-celery vegetables simmered until tender in a thick, rust-colored broth. Finished with a cornstarch slurry for a glossy, spoon-coating consistency.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 7 hours
Total Time 7 hours 15 minutes
Servings: 6 servings
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: American
Calories: 420
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

ground beef
  • 1.5 lb ground beef browned and drained
Yukon gold potatoes
  • 4 Yukon gold potatoes cut into 1-inch cubes
carrots
  • 3 carrots sliced into rounds
onion
  • 1 onion diced
celery
  • 3 celery chopped
green beans
  • 1 can (15 oz) green beans drained
diced tomatoes
  • 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
beef broth
  • 2 cup beef broth
onion soup mix
  • 1 packet (1 oz) onion soup mix
Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
garlic powder
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
salt
  • 0.5 tsp salt
black pepper
  • 0.25 tsp black pepper
cornstarch
  • 2 tbsp cornstarch
cold water
  • 2 tbsp cold water

Equipment

  • 1 cast iron skillet
  • 1 Dutch oven

Method
 

Brown the beef
  1. Brown the ground beef in a skillet over medium-high heat until no longer pink, then drain excess fat. Keep cooking until the surface looks browned and the juices look mostly evaporated.
Build the stew in the slow cooker
  1. Add the browned ground beef to the slow cooker along with the potatoes, carrots, onion, celery, green beans, and diced tomatoes. Spread the vegetables into an even layer so they cook uniformly.
  2. Pour the beef broth over everything in the slow cooker. Pour around the edges so the vegetables are covered with broth.
  3. Add the onion soup mix, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper and stir to combine. Stir until the seasoning is evenly distributed and the top looks speckled.
Slow cook
  1. Cook on low for 7–8 hours until the vegetables are tender, or cook on high for 3.5–4 hours until the same tenderness is reached. The stew should be bubbling gently and the potato cubes should yield when pressed.
Thicken and finish
  1. Whisk the cornstarch and cold water together until smooth, then stir the slurry into the stew during the last 30 minutes. The mixture should disappear into the broth without lumps.
  2. Cook on high until the broth thickens, then serve. The surface should look more cohesive and the liquid should cling to a spoon.
Serve
  1. Serve the poor man's stew with crusty bread or dinner rolls. Dish up while hot so the thickened broth stays velvety.

Notes

For the best texture, cut the potatoes into consistent 1-inch cubes so they reach tenderness at the same time as the carrots. Store leftovers in the refrigerator up to 4 days in a sealed container; reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave, adding a splash of broth or water if it thickens too much. Freezing is yes—freeze up to 3 months, thaw overnight in the fridge, and reheat gently. Dietary swap: use low-sodium onion soup mix and low-sodium beef broth for a lower-sodium version.