This Honey Balsamic Slow Cooker Beef Stew is full of flavor and couldn’t be easier — just throw everything in and let it cook! Loaded with veggies and thick honey balsamic sauce. Step by step recipe video.
Looking for more easy crockpot recipes? Check out these Dump ‘n’ Go Slow Cooker Recipes!
Often I think about how I wouldn’t be nearly as excited to see the seasons changing if I lived somewhere further South. Occasionally in the dead of winter it seems tempting, but the anticipation of Spring, then Summer, then Fall and then the first snowflakes of Winter just wouldn’t be there.
So now that we are officially onto Fall food (along with back to school and holiday chaos), I’m here with a a slow cooker recipe that can be an easy weeknight meal or an elegant holiday dinner with a loaf of crusty bread.
The honey balsamic combo is one we are familiar with around here — from this Slow Cooker Honey Balsamic Pulled Pork (our favorite!) to this Honey Balsamic Grilled Chicken (save that one for summer), we can’t get enough. It’s the perfect mix of sweet and tangy and savory and it goes with everything.
Next month is baby month here friends, and so I chose to keep things super simple. I love that these Little Potatoes are just dump and go — no peeling, not chopping!
If you do want to take this from “easy everyday” to “elegant dinner”, feel free to brown the beef cubes before adding them to the slow cooker. This adds an extra layer of flavor and the juices remain in the beef and don’t dilute the sauce quite as much.
But the flavor of this stew is incredible — the sweet and tangy sauce, the creamy potatoes, the earthy carrots — even without the extra work, so I opted to skip the step and just get a real, hearty dinner on the table even on the days I only have one free hand 😉
Tips and Tricks for Making this Honey Balsamic Slow Cooker Beef Stew:
- With most slow cooker recipes, I find that the flavors become muted after cooking for such a long time. With this stew though, I didn’t find that at all! It was still so good and didn’t need any adjustments after cooking, other than a bit of extra corn starch if you want a thicker sauce.
- If you wanted to make this a vegetarian meal, you could simply swap the beef for mushrooms and add in extra veggies.
*This post is generously sponsored by The Little Potato Company and I was compensated for my time in creating the recipe — thank you for supporting the brands that keep us fed!
Honey Balsamic Slow Cooker Beef Stew Recipe + VIDEO
written by Ashley Fehr
Ingredients
- 1 lb baby potatoes (halved or quartered)
- 1 lb round steak (cut into 1" pieces)
- 3 large carrots (cut into ¾-1" pieces)
- 1 rib celery (chopped)
- ½ medium onion (cut into ½" pieces)
- 1 cup low sodium beef broth
- â…“ cup balsamic vinegar
- â…“ cup liquid honey
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon seasoning salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons corn starch
Instructions
- Add potatoes, beef, carrots, celery, and onion to a 3-4 quart slow cooker.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together broth, vinegar, honey, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, seasoning salt, pepper and corn starch with a whisk until combined. Add to slow cooker.
- Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours until potatoes and carrots are tender. If desired, strain out sauce and thicken further on the stove top with a corn starch/water slurry.
- Taste and adjust seasonings as desired before serving.
Notes
Ingredients and Substitutions:
Potatoes: any variety of potatoes cut into 1/2-1″ cubes will work just fine! Beef: you can buy stewing beef, but I find it more economical to buy an inexpensive round steak and cut it myself. The steaks are often fresher as well! Since we are cooking it low and slow, we do not need a tender cut of beef. Vegetables: feel free to improvise and use what you have on hand. Some frozen peas added at the end of the cook time add a great pop of color! Honey and balsamic vinegar: I know these seem like strange additions, but trust me on this one! If you love a slightly sweet and tangy sauce, you’ll love this version. It’s a little unexpected but packed with flavor!Browning beef before adding:
You can absolutely brown the beef in a skillet before adding to the slow cooker. This will build flavor and prevent some of the juices of the beef from escaping into the gravy. For my purposes, I wanted to keep this recipe super simple so we skipped it! Â ÂNutrition Information
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Michele P says
This was absolutely delicious just as it’s written. Made this with no modifications and came out perfectly. Everyone went back for seconds. A sweeter take on beef stew that I will definitely be making again! Thanks!