Slow Cooker 5-Ingredient Poor Man’s Stew Recipe
This Slow Cooker 5-Ingredient Poor Man’s Stew is a hearty and comforting dish that combines browned ground beef, potatoes, carrots, onions, and tomato sauce into a thick, flavorful stew. Perfect for an easy, set-it-and-forget-it meal, it uses minimal ingredients yet delivers maximum taste and satisfying warmth.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 7 to 8 hours on LOW or 4 to 5 hours on HIGH
- Total Time: 7 hours 15 minutes to 8 hours 15 minutes (LOW) or 4 hours 15 minutes to 5 hours 15 minutes (HIGH)
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Stew
- Method: Slow Cooking
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Scale
Meat
- 1 pound ground beef (80–85% lean)
Vegetables
- 4 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
- 4 medium carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/2-inch rounds
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
Other
- 2 cans (15 ounces each) tomato sauce
Instructions
- Brown the beef: In a large skillet over medium-high heat, crumble the ground beef and cook, stirring occasionally, until it is well browned and no longer pink, about 6–8 minutes. Drain off most of the excess grease, leaving a small amount for flavor.
- Prepare the vegetables: While the beef cooks, peel and cube the potatoes into roughly 1-inch pieces, peel and slice the carrots into 1/2-inch rounds, and dice the onion.
- Layer vegetables in slow cooker: Add the potatoes, carrots, and diced onion to the bottom of a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker, spreading them out evenly so they cook uniformly.
- Add browned beef: Spoon the cooked ground beef evenly over the layered vegetables in the slow cooker to ensure each serving contains meat and vegetables.
- Pour in tomato sauce: Pour the two cans of tomato sauce evenly over the beef and vegetable layers. Do not add water as the vegetables will release moisture and the sauce will thicken during cooking.
- Gently stir: Stir once or twice gently to mix some tomato sauce down around the beef and vegetables while keeping layers mostly intact. This helps ingredients meld without the potatoes and carrots breaking down too much.
- Cook the stew: Cover the slow cooker with its lid and cook on LOW for 7–8 hours or on HIGH for 4–5 hours, until potatoes and carrots are very tender and the tomato sauce has thickened into a rich stew gravy.
- Finish and season: Once cooked, stir the stew thoroughly to combine beef, vegetables, and sauce. Taste and add salt and black pepper as desired to suit your preference.
- Let it rest: With the lid off, let the stew sit for 5–10 minutes to allow some steam to escape and the sauce to thicken further.
- Serve: Ladle the hot stew into bowls and serve immediately straight from the slow cooker for a warm and satisfying meal.
Notes
- Use lean ground beef (80–85%) to keep some fat for flavor but avoid excess grease.
- Do not add water; the natural moisture from vegetables and tomato sauce creates a rich gravy.
- Cooking time can be adjusted; low and slow cooking yields more tender vegetables.
- Season with salt and pepper at the end to control sodium and taste.
- Leftovers store well and taste even better the next day.
Keywords: slow cooker stew, poor man's stew, easy slow cooker recipe, ground beef stew, simple 5 ingredient stew, comfort food, slow cooker dinner
