Healthier Slow Cooker Beef Stew Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Is homemade beef stew healthy to eat? ›

It's full of veggies and protein after all. Although traditional beef stew recipes provide more nutrition than many meals, most still plague you with far too much sodium and calories. Make some easy switches to truly have a healthy beef stew recipe you can be proud to share. Most stews use a beef broth for the base.

Coating the meat in flour and searing adds incredible color and flavor to the beef, which is then infused throughout the stew. It also creates browned bits on the bottom of the pan, and when we deglaze those with red wine, it takes the flavor to new heights.

All soups and stews must have three major components in order to be tasty: an undercurrent liquid, aromatics, and volumizing ingredients. In every case, they're layered together until all of the flavors meld together in a harmonious, silky balance.

Don't Stew the Stew Too Long Either

It might seem that cooking your beef stew on low for 8 hours will make it even better, but that is not true at all. Your beef will be tough if you don't cook it enough and it will be tough if you cook it too much.

Chuck. Chuck is one of the leaner types of beef, making it perfect for stews because it melts into delicious pieces as it cooks. A chuck roast has a large amount of connective tissue, which allows it to retain its moisture during the cooking process.

There are flavors in tomatoes that are alcohol-soluble, so adding red wine along with tomato paste also helps to enhance beef stew." Laurence has a few other tricks I've borrowed to create the best beef stew, including adding Worcestershire, which gets a serious umami punch from anchovies.

A bit of tomato paste amps up the flavor of beef stew, giving it a richness and a punch of umami that makes the stew truly memorable.

The three main thickening agents for gravies are flour, cornflour and arrowroot. The first two are normally used in savoury dishes while arrowroot tends to be used in sweet dishes – that said, arrowroot will work in a savoury dish as it has no flavour.

The addition of the vinegar adds subtle acidity that balances well with the soy sauce and the honey giving this otherwise super hearty beef stew a nice lightness to it. Feel free to add sweet potato noodles(glass noodles) or egg noodles to this dish, serve it alongside rice, or as-is.

What if I forgot tomato paste in beef stew? ›

For every 1 tablespoon of tomato paste needed, use 3 tablespoons of tomato puree or sauce. Add the puree or sauce in place of the tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, until the puree or sauce has reduced and thickened. You'll have a similar deep, savory flavor.

Browning Is Better

And if you dredge the meat in flour before you brown it, your sauce will thicken up to make a gravy. You should always brown ground beef or any ground meat in a skillet before adding it to your slow cooker to prevent the meat from clumping up or from adding excess grease to your cooked dish.

So skip the roux, and don't bother dusting the meat with flour or cornstarch before browning, either, as some recipes will suggest. That will just interfere with getting a good sear on the meat, and gum up the stew with unneeded starch.

If were talking while it's being made; garlic, onion, various herbs, “horse chester sauce” tomato paste, stone ground mustard, or even a small splash of A1 sauce will all “rich up” the broth. So will sauteing the veggies in butter before adding to the stew.

Beef stew, homemade, gravy base with potatoes, with carrots or dark green vegetables (1 cup) contains 16.7g total carbs, 13.9g net carbs, 16.3g fat, 12.9g protein, and 265 calories.

Beef gets an underserved bad rap when it comes to health, especially heart health. However, research shows that a heart-healthy diet and lifestyle that includes lean beef (like in this hearty beef and vegetable stew!) can reduce risk factors for heart disease, including elevated cholesterol and blood pressure.

Supports Digestive Health: Stew contains a blend of spices, including garlic, which is known for its digestive benefits. Garlic can help improve digestion and reduce inflammation in the gut, helping to prevent digestive issues. Helps with Weight Loss: The stew is a low-calorie dish that can help with weight loss.

The Bottom Line. By opting for lean meats, giving preference to vegetables, and selecting healthy carbohydrates, you can create a hearty stew that not only tantalizes your taste buds but also moves you closer to your weight loss objectives this season.