This cozy recipe for Slow Cooker Beef Stew and Dumplings is serious comfort food! Tender beef, hearty vegetables, and fluffy dumplings are enveloped in a flavorful broth that will have you coming back for seconds.
Let your Crock Pot do the work, and enjoy this classic beef stew any day of the week!
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This hearty beef stew recipe is one of my favorites, because slow cooking turns inexpensive cuts of meat into tender, flavorful bites of deliciousness.
It's the perfect comfort food for a chilly Fall or Winter evening, and is topped with my family-approved homemade dumplings recipe!
Reasons to Love This Recipe
- Easy to make. Other than chopping some vegetables, all you need to do is combine the ingredients and let the slow cooker do the work. Even the homemade dumplings are easy to make!
- Uses real ingredients. Although everyone loves a good shortcut, this hearty stew uses simple, whole food ingredients rather than relying on cream soups or refrigerated biscuits.
- Easy to customize. Whether you need this recipe to be gluten-free or dairy-free, you'll find helpful substitutions for making it work for your family.
- Cozy. If you're looking to warm up on a chilly night, this is the perfect meal for you! Just set the slow cooker in the morning, and you'll come home to a comfort food classic.
Also, be sure to check out my super easy recipe for Instant Pot Beef Stew - it's easy enough for busy weeknights!
Ingredients
Key Ingredients
- Beef stew meat: I recommend purchasing pre-cut stew meat, mainly for convenience. You could use brisket, chuck roast, or even short rib to make the stew - just slice them into 1 ½" cubes.
- Vegetables: You'll need fresh celery, carrots, and onion.
- Beef broth: This compliments the stewing beef perfectly, but can be substituted for chicken or vegetable broth, or beef bouillon.
Check the recipe card for a full list of ingredients and the quantities needed.
For the Dumplings
This easy beef stew recipe features homemade dumpling dough, which is a simple mixture of flour, milk, and butter. If you prefer, you can use canned biscuits for a shortcut option.
- All purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Butter
- Milk
- Italian seasoning
- Salt
How to Make Beef Stew with Dumplings
This Crock Pot Beef Stew and Dumplings is super flavorful, and also so easy to make!
Step one: Add the beef cubes and ¼ cup of flour to a large bowl. Stir well to coat the beef in the flour.
Optional: For extra flavor, brown the beef cubes in a skillet with 1 tablespoon of oil or butter first.
Step two: Add the beef cubes, celery, carrot, and onion to the slow cooker.
Step three: Add the beef broth, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, dried thyme, salt, and pepper to a medium bowl and whisk well to combine.
Step four: Pour the broth mixture over the beef and vegetables.
Cook on Low for 8 Hours
Step five: Give it a good stir and cook on "low" heat for a total of 8 hours (adding the dumplings after 7 hours).
Step six (optional): If desired, thicken the stew with a cornstarch slurry just before adding the dumplings.
To Make a Cornstarch Slurry
Whisk together 2 tablespoons of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of cold water. Add the slurry to the beef stew, and whisk to incorporate.
Making the Dumplings
Step seven: Whisk together flour, baking powder, and Italian seasoning. Then add in melted butter and milk to the flour mixture, stirring until a soft dough forms.
Adding the Dumplings to the Stew
Step eight: Drop heaping spoonfuls of the dumpling dough on top of the stew.
Step nine: Repeat until all of the dumpling dough is used, then cover the slow cooker and cook for another 50-60 minutes.
Shortcut: Use Refrigerated Biscuits
If you don't want to make homemade dumplings, you can use a package of refrigerated biscuits instead.
- Slice each of the biscuits into quarters.
- With 50-60 minutes left on the cooking time, drop the pieces of dough into the stew (thicken first, if desired).
- Place the lid back on the slow cooker and cook until the dumplings are cooked through.
- Garnish with parsley and serve.
Step ten: Once the dumplings are cooked through garnish with fresh parsley, ladle into bowls, serve, and enjoy!
Dutch Oven Method
If you don't have a slow cooker you can make this recipe in a Dutch Oven. You can cook it on low heat in the oven (250ºF or 121ºC) for 4-6 hours. Add the dumplings during the last 45 minutes of cooking.
Storing and Freezing
Leftovers can be transferred to an airtight container and kept in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Reheat on the stovetop, microwave, or slow cooker until heated through.
Top tip: Allow your leftovers to cool to room temperature before storing in the refrigerator or freezer.
How to Freeze Beef and Dumpling Stew
Beef stew will freeze better without the dumplings added. For the best results, freeze the stew and prepare a fresh batch of dumplings when it's time to cook the frozen meal.
Substitutions
- Beef: You can substitute chunks of brisket, chuck roast, or even short ribs for the stew meat.
- Flour: If you're gluten-free, use a gluten-free flour blend instead of all-purpose flour.
- Beef Broth: Chicken or vegetable broth can be used as a substitute.
- Butter: For the dumplings, you can use a plant-based butter to make it dairy-free.
- Milk: You can use heavy whipping cream or even buttermilk instead of milk.
- Dumplings: If you're out of ingredients for homemade dumplings, store-bought biscuit dough can be a quick substitute.
Flavor Variations
- Bay leaves. This is a traditional addition to beef stew, so add 1-2 dried leaves if desired.
- Wine. Use a dry red wine, or a wine that you love the flavor of.
- Soy sauce. This adds a bit a umami flavor. If you want to make a gluten-free stew, use tamari or gluten free soy sauce.
- Balsamic vinegar. A splash of balsamic vinegar adds a deeply flavored acidity.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, you can prepare this stew a day in advance. The flavors often deepen when left to sit overnight. Just reheat on the stove or in the slow cooker before serving.
Absolutely. Just follow the package instructions and add them to the stew as you would with homemade dumplings. Refrigerated biscuits can be used instead if you prefer.
The dumplings are ready when they are no longer doughy in the center, have a fluffy texture, and a slightly golden color on the outside. This typically takes about 45 minutes to 1 hour in a slow cooker.
A: Yes, you can cook it on high for about 4-5 hours, but the meat may not be as tender as with the low and slow method.
More Comfort Food Recipes
If you loved this recipe for Crock Pot Beef Stew and Dumplings, let me know by leaving a 5-star review in the recipe card or comment below! You can also tag me on Instagram @dashfordinner.
Slow Cooker Beef Stew and Dumplings
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 pounds beef stew meat cut into cubes
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 onion chopped
- 2 medium carrots sliced
- 2 stalks celery sliced
- 4 cups beef broth
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- Salt and pepper to taste
- ½ teaspoon salt
For the Dumplings:
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- ¾ cup milk
For Garnish (Optional)
- Chopped fresh parsley optional
Instructions
- In a large bowl, toss the beef cubes with ¼ cup of flour until evenly coated.
- Place the floured beef, chopped onion, sliced carrots, and sliced celery in the slow cooker.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the beef broth, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, dried thyme, salt, and pepper. Pour this mixture over the beef and vegetables in the slow cooker.
- Cover and cook on low for 8 hours. If desired, add a cornstarch slurry to thicken the stew (see notes*) just before adding the dumplings.
- Around the 7-hour mark, start preparing the dumplings: In a medium bowl, mix together 1 ½ cups flour, baking powder, Italian seasoning, and ½ teaspoon salt. Stir in the melted butter and milk until a soft dough forms.
- Drop large spoon-full dollops of the dumpling dough on top of the stew.
- Cover and cook on high for an additional 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until the dumplings are cooked through.
- Ladle into bowls, garnish with chopped fresh parsley (if desired), and serve hot.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Ccat says
Love your recipes but dislike the print option with the giant blue header that wastes a ridiculous amount of ink. Have you ever printed one of your own recipes?
Dorothy Bigelow says
I have, but I haven't really considered the ink usage. I'm going to check into the back end and see if I can make it more minimalistic. Thanks for bringing it to my attention!
Mark says
what's the smallest Crock-Pot for this beef stew and biscuits??
Dorothy Bigelow says
A medium to large crock pot works best since you need the surface area to drop the biscuits on top. If you wanted to pre-cook the biscuits in the oven, you could use a smaller slow cooker as long as you can fit the stew itself inside (or cut the recipe in half).