Slow cooker beef and ale stew is the perfect delicious easy to make comfort food. Served with your choice of side dishes this hearty dish is a family pleaser!
Folks I know we're all hoping for some warmer weather here to cheer us up. In the meantime my slow cooker beef and ale stew is perfect for this weather.
Cooked in a slow cooker this recipe is a amazing combination of all that's good and comforting.
Delicious slow cooked tenderised beef with onions, carrots and turnip all in a beer flavoured gravy sauce.
What's not to love?
The aromas of this beef in beer stew will permeate every corner of your house making it feel all warm and cosy!
Stew recipes are great for any time of year but particularly the colder months.
A hearty stew is often seen in our house especially at the weekends or when we're seeking something to cheer us up. It's the best way to do that.
I serve my beef and ale stew with potatoes. Which we're both a big fan of. You could of course serve it with rice or anything else you fancy.
If you want your beef and ale stew to be gluten free then why not serve it up with cauliflower mash?
And if you enjoyed this steak and ale stew why not check out my other popular slow cooker recipes below?
Jump to:
- Ingredients
- Substitutions
- What's The Best Kind Of Beef For a Stew?
- What's The Best Kind Of Beer For This Beef And Ale Stew?
- How Long To Cook Slow Cooker Beef Stew For?
- What Sides To Serve Slow Cooker Beef And Ale Stew With?
- Can I freeze This Beef Stew Recipe?
- How To Make Slow Cooker Beef Stew Into A Pie
- Equipment
- Other Popular Slow Cooker Recipes You Might Also Like
- Slow Cooker Beef and Ale Stew Recipe
- Nutrition Label
- Rate The Recipe
Ingredients
- Casserole / Stewing Steak / Chuck Steak
- Plain Flour
- Olive Oil
- Onion
- Carrots
- Turnip / Swede
- Beef Stock
- Beer / Ale
- Worcestershire Sauce
- Salt & Freshly Ground Black Pepper
See recipe card for quantities.
Substitutions
- Casserole / Stewing Steak / Chuck Steak - use any kind of stew meat. Stews are great for using up cheaper cuts of meat as they tenderise over time in the slow cooker.
- Plain Flour
- Olive Oil
- Onion
- Carrots
- Turnip / Swede
- Beef Stock - use a good quality beef stock / beef broth. A stock cube is also fine.
- Beer / Ale
- Worcestershire Sauce - you could use a tablespoon of tomato paste / tomato puree instead.
- Salt & Freshly Ground Black Pepper
What's The Best Kind Of Beef For a Stew?
When you're looking at what kind of beef to use for this slow cooker beef and ale stew make sure you don't buy any expensive cuts.
What you're looking to use is a cheaper cut of beef like casserole, stewing steak or chuck steak.
You see these cuts of meat will slowly tenderise and release all their flavours the longer you cook them for.
So in fact they are perfect for use in a beef slow cooker recipe like this.
What's The Best Kind Of Beer For This Beef And Ale Stew?
Are you wondering what kind of beer to use to flavour the gravy of this slow cooker beef stew?
Well, I find an ale with a full flavour works best.
I use Guinness because I like the distinctive flavour that as a stout it gives to the recipe.
This recipe makes an amazing slow cooker guinness beef stew.
However you could easily use any other kind of stout, a porter, a dark ale or brown ale. Those are perfect beers too for cooking with.
Any of them would work really well in a beef stew, it's really up to your personal preference.
Also don't worry about the beef stew being alcoholic as the alcohol is all burnt off during the slow cooking!
I'm not a fan of using pale ale though as I don't feel it has enough of a body to it.
How Long To Cook Slow Cooker Beef Stew For?
To get the most tender beef cook on low for 4-6 hrs, or on high for 4 hrs.
What Sides To Serve Slow Cooker Beef And Ale Stew With?
I'm a bit of a traditionalist so I just like to serve it with mashed potato and some green beans or broccoli.
If you're feeling adventurous you could go an extra step and add some dumplings in towards the end of the cooking!
Can I freeze This Beef Stew Recipe?
Yes. Any slow cooker beef and ale stew leftovers can easily be frozen.
Make sure you've thoroughly defrosted the stew before heating up in a saucepan and serving!
How To Make Slow Cooker Beef Stew Into A Pie
This is a really good stew to make into a beef and ale pie.
Use a pie dish and follow my turkey and leek pie recipe from step 7.
Equipment
For this Slow Cooker Beef And Ale Stew You May Need……
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This means that if you click on it and then buy that product I’ll get a small commission (at no extra cost to you of course).
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This is the slow cooker I use. As you can see it's relatively inexpensive and its perfect for meals of up to 4 people!
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Other Popular Slow Cooker Recipes You Might Also Like
- Slow cooker beef curry is absolutely packed full of flavour. It’s an easy healthy recipe that makes the meat so tender it will melt in your mouth!
- Slow cooker lamb curry. This is an easy to make and delicious lightly spiced curry. Made with store cupboard spices and minimum ingredients it will soon become a family favourite!
- Slow cooker chicken and chorizo is the perfect winter warmer. This easy to make Spanish inspired dish will leave you feeling satisfied and make your kitchen smell great too!
Slow Cooker Beef and Ale Stew Recipe
The following links and any links in the recipe card below are affiliate links.
This means that if you click on it and then buy that product I’ll get a small commission (at no extra cost to you of course).
If you do click through then thanks for being a part of Neil’s Healthy Meals!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 700 g casserole / stewing steak
- 2 tablespoon plain flour
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large onion sliced.
- 75 g carrots peeled and sliced.
- 75 g turnip/swede peeled and cubed.
- 200 ml Beef stock
- 250 ml ale*
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- Salt & freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- Trim off any excess fat from the meat and cut into cubes.
- Place the meat in a bowl, add the plain flour and combine well until the meat is coated in the flour.
- Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan and over a medium heat and sauté the onion for 2 to 3 minutes until soft. Then add the coated meat in batches and cook for about 10 minutes until browned. Stirring frequently to prevent the meat sticking to the pan.
- Transfer the meat to slow cooker add the carrots, turnip, stock, ale, and Worcestershire sauce too. Then stir well and then season to taste with the salt and pepper.**
- Cook on low for 4-6 hrs, or on high for 4 hrs.
- Serve with mashed potatoes.
Notes
** Add a little more plain flour if the sauce is not thick enough for your liking.
Nutrition
Nutrition Label
Nutritional information provided below is calculated using paid for online tools and the exact ingredients and quantities used above.
Rate The Recipe
If you’ve made this slow cooker beef and ale stew recipe, or any other recipes on Neil's Healthy Meals, then please let me know.
I’d love to hear what you think of my recipe in the comments below and please do rate my recipe 5* if you like it! 🙂
David @ Spiced
What a great cold weather recipe, Neil! Even though the calendar says April, it most definitely is not April outside. I'm currently watching a slushy snow come down...umph. A bowl of this beef and Guinness stew would be perfect on a day like this!!
Neil
Exactly David. Woke up here this morning and frost everywhere. Snow forecast for Monday. What's that all about? Still there's plenty more of this stew I've frozen in the freezer so it may be needed! 🙂
Chef Mimi
This stew looks so good. The broth really looks exceptionally tasty!
Neil
Thanks Mimi. Yeah I love how the longer you leave it slow cooking the tastier the gravy gets! 🙂
Katerina
Ahhh, a good meaty stew is one of my favourite comfort foods ever, Neil. Add a bit of ale into the sauce and it's even better - it's hard to believe one ingredient can offer that depth of flavour. Thanks for sharing your recipe!
Neil
Thanks Katerine. I thought I might have been posting this one a bit late what with it supposed to be coming into spring and warmer weather now. Nope, it's just above freezing outside so there will be plenty more comfort foods like this for the time being!
Jeff the Chef
I love this stew, Neil! Beef and beer go so well together. I like to choose something that's a little hoppy, because I like the way the bitterness provides balance to the stew. Something dark and smooth, though, adds such substance and flavor.
Neil
Exactly Jeff. Doesn't booze and food go together well generally? 🙂
Ben | Havocinthekitchen
Even though the days are getting longer and warmer, I still don't mind some hearty meals. This stew looks and sounds particularly delicious. Also, I don't use turnips as often as I should (They're awesome). So thank you for the reminder 🙂
Neil
You're welcome Ben! Yes the days are getting longer. But warmer? Not here yet unfortunately! Hope you are well and thanks for the comment!
Easyfoodsmith
Its definitely not the weather for stew here but I can imagine how good slow cooked meat is, with flavourful flesh falling off the bones.
Neil
Yep. I agree. Slow cooked meat definitely tastes much better and really flavours the gravy too! Thanks for your comment Easyfoodsmith.
Michael
Absolutely fab – made this for my other half and not too sure how happy I was to get “this is the best thing you’ve ever made…” but it kept her quiet the rest of the night! Thank you so much for this recipe, Neil!
Neil
Thats fabulous Michael! 😉 I'm glad your other half enjoyed it so much. Thanks for taking the time to make, rate and submit a review too! 😀
Allcookwarefind
Your stew looks good! Stew is my favorite dish, I'll try your recipe next time. And I also agree that the Morphy Richards is a great budget slow cooker.
Neil
Thank you. Glad you like it! 🙂