Slow cooker old fashioned beef stew (Slimming World friendly)

Winter is here and I love making soups and stews and this one is so easy to make in the slow cooker. It's old fashioned in that it's just the meat and vegetables with some thyme and salt and pepper nothing fancy needed here.

I think it is important to brown the meat and soften the vegetables slightly before they go in the slow cooker as I think it improves the flavour but if you are in a hurry you can just throw it all in and it will still be good.


Slow cooker old fashioned beef stew


800g lean diced beef
4 large carrots (peeled and cut into chunks or slices)
1 large onion (peeled and diced)
2 sticks celery (chopped)
2 large potatoes (peeled if you want to and diced)
2 beef stockpots or stock cubes
2 tsp dried thyme
1 tbsp cornflour
salt and pepper
low calorie spray oil


Spray a large frying pan with the low calorie spray oil and over a medium heat gently fry the onions, carrots and celery for a few minutes until they begin to soften slightly but not brown (I usually sprinkle with a little salt to help them soften) if they begin to stick just add a little water. Place them into your slow cooker.

Pat the beef dry with kitchen roll then spray the frying pan again and add the beef in batches and fry till slightly brown then add to the slow cooker or casserole dish.

Add the potatoes, thyme, stockpots and a tsp each of salt and pepper. Add water to just cover the meat and vegetables stir well and then cook on low in the slow cooker for 6-8 hours.

At the end of the cooking remove the lid , stir well and turn the heat up to high in the slow cooker, In a small cup add a little cold water to the cornflour mix until smooth then stir this into the stew and stir well. Cook on high for another 15-20 minutes till it bubbles and gets a little thicker. Taste now as it will probably need some more salt and pepper.


Serves 4-6  and is less than 1 syn per portion.