Slow Cooker Beef and White Bean Stew

The perfect slow cooker stew, featuring tender beef, root vegetables and white beans. An easy meal for any night of the week.

Slow Cooker Beef and White Bean Stew Recipe from bakedbyrachel.com

I’m really not big on New Year’s resolutions. I kind of figure, why wait until the beginning of the year to start something you could do any day. Only sometimes it’s something that really hits you and makes you go ‘I really want to be better this year’. Case in point, organizing and keeping better records. I spent the better part of the afternoon inputting hundreds of receipts into a spreadsheet. Making matters worse, my calculator was broken because my kids enjoyed playing with it as if it were a phone so that slightly complicated things. I’m basically 80% done with my records, I think, for the last year. Way to power through. I sure did shock myself there. But it would be so much nicer to not have to worry about a giant stack of receipts again. I’m hoping to make it more of a monthly process. Of course, we’ll see if that really happens or not.

Practically right after finishing up my goal for the day, I went on Amazon and searched for a new calculator. Did you know they come in pretty colors? I’m kind of excited about that. I know, that’s such a girl thing to be excited about. I get it. I’m fine with that. It’s pretty and I’ll call it my own… until the kids steal it and hide it somewhere again. It’s totally bound to happen.

Slow Cooker Beef and White Bean Stew Recipe from bakedbyrachel.com

Now let’s talk food.

I figured we’d continue with the slow cooker theme this week. After sharing this slow cooker chicken parm meatball soup and slow cooker chicken enchilada soup, it seemed fitting to end the week with another flavorful slow cooker recipe. If you haven’t figured out yet, I love using my slow cooker.

So, we’re moving right along into a must make savory beef stew. This isn’t a traditional basic veggie and beef stew, it’s better. It’s packed full of goodies and flavor from the variety of root vegetables, spinach and white beans. Let’s not forget the tender slow cooked beef, the star of the dish. Definitely give this a try. If you’re a fan of beef stew, you’ll love this easy and practically effortless recipe.

Slow Cooker Beef and White Bean Stew Recipe from bakedbyrachel.com


Slow Cooker Beef and White Bean Stew

An easy and flavorful slow cooker meal for any night of the week featuring tender beef, root vegetables and white beans.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time4 hours 30 minutes
Total Time5 hours
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Slow cooker
Servings: 6 plus

Ingredients

  • 1 1/5 lb beef stew meat trimmed and cubed to 1-inch pieces
  • 1/2 C yellow onions chopped
  • 1/2 C carrots chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 30 oz Northern white beans drained and rinsed
  • 30 oz petite diced tomatoes
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 1/2 tsp dried basil
  • 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes optional
  • 1 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 C beef broth
  • 5 oz baby spinach roughly 6-7 cups

Instructions

  • Add all ingredients, minus spinach, to the bowl of a slow cooker. Cook on high for 4 hours. When 4 hours has passed, stir in spinach. Cover and cook for an additional 15-30 minutes.
  • Divide among bowls and enjoy.

Notes

Recipe yields roughly 6-8.
An original recipe from Baked by Rachel

More recipes to try:
Mini shepherd’s pies
Deep dish Chicago style pizza
Beef and Guinness pies with puff pastry
Chicken Parm meatballs
Chicken schnitzel
Buffalo chicken stuffed shells
Italian sausage and pepper pizza
Slow cooker cheddar ale and bratwurst soup

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35 Responses to “Slow Cooker Beef and White Bean Stew”

  1. #
    1
    Taylor @ Food Faith Fitness — January 10, 2014 at 7:34 am

    I am totally with you on New Years Resolutions. I don’t really make them, and when I do…I fail at them.
    I am all over this slow cooker beef and white bean stew because
    1. Well, yum.
    2. My hubby is going to L-O-V-E it
    3. Slow cooker.
    Thanks for sharing girl!

    • #
      1.1
      Rachel — January 10, 2014 at 3:00 pm

      Fingers crossed I don’t fail, but no promises lol. And thanks! I hope you both enjoy it :)

  2. #
    2
    marvin — January 10, 2014 at 11:06 am

    Dammmn..I’m hungry now thanks this is a must try thanks for sharing

    • #
      2.1
      Rachel — January 10, 2014 at 2:59 pm

      Thanks Marvin :)

  3. #
    3
    Carla @ Carlas Confections — January 10, 2014 at 11:56 am

    Those bowls are seriously the cutest! I want them! As well as this beef stew (although it does NOT have bacon or BBQ sauce :P). I guess I can stray off my normal path for ONE meal…

    • #
      3.1
      Rachel — January 10, 2014 at 2:55 pm

      Thanks Carla :) And you’re totally allowed one meal without bbq or bacon ;) I guess

  4. #
    4
    Tina @ Tina's Chic Corner — January 10, 2014 at 2:01 pm

    I’m with you…not really into new year’s resolutions. But I’m thinking I should start to use my slow cooker more often…not because it’s the new year but because it’s Jan 10 and I see this awesome recipe I’d love to try. :) Yummo!

    • #
      4.1
      Rachel — January 10, 2014 at 2:55 pm

      Thanks so much Tina :)

  5. #
    5
    Alli — January 10, 2014 at 2:17 pm

    Can you cook this on low? Would it be the normal 8 hours? I’d like to have it on low while I’m at work all day. Looks yummy!

    • #
      5.1
      Rachel — January 10, 2014 at 2:56 pm

      I imagine that you would work fine, though I haven’t personally made it that way.

  6. #
    6
    Charlie — January 10, 2014 at 2:23 pm

    Thanks for the recipe. Do you find there’s any difference if you brown the stew beef first?

    Unrelated, but if you’re spending the time to put your data into a spreadsheet, it might be worth learning out to use the calculator functions built-in to spreadsheets. That’s what a spreadsheet is designed for.

    • #
      6.1
      Rachel — January 10, 2014 at 2:59 pm

      Some say browning adds a bit of flavor, but I personally don’t find the extra work and mess to be worth it. As for the calculator and spreadsheet… the calculating feature wouldn’t be effective for adding items on a physical receipt as I was not adding individual items to the spreadsheet, but totals from individual receipts… thus the need for a stand alone calculator. :) Enjoy the recipe!

  7. #
    7
    Norma | Allspice and Nutmeg — January 10, 2014 at 4:04 pm

    Just letting you know I directed my cousin to your site cause she loves soup and she’s feeding hungry teenage boys and we know how teen boys eat.

    • #
      7.1
      Rachel — January 10, 2014 at 5:34 pm

      Thank you so much! That’s very sweet of you :)

  8. #
    8
    Stacy | Wicked Good Kitchen — January 10, 2014 at 6:59 pm

    This looks soooo good, Rachel! Repinning from you at Pinterest right now. Thanks for sharing and have a great weekend!

    • #
      8.1
      Rachel — January 11, 2014 at 8:45 am

      Thanks so much Stacy! You too!! :)

  9. #
    9
    Tieghan — January 11, 2014 at 12:31 am

    My family would love this! Such a great hearty winter soup

    • #
      9.1
      Rachel — January 11, 2014 at 8:45 am

      Thanks Tieghan! :)

  10. #
    10
    Autumn@Good Eats Girl — January 11, 2014 at 7:53 pm

    This is a perfect sounding stew! YUM! And, I love your bowls! Too cute!

    • #
      10.1
      Rachel — January 12, 2014 at 8:33 am

      Thanks so much Autumn!

  11. #
    11
    Laura @ Lauras Baking Talent — January 11, 2014 at 9:00 pm

    This beef stew looks absolutely perfect for these cold winter days. Love the easiest of any slow cooker recipe.

    • #
      11.1
      Rachel — January 12, 2014 at 8:33 am

      Thanks Laura!

  12. #
    12
    Andrea — January 13, 2014 at 9:18 am

    You had me at slow cooker. Or maybe it was the beef. Then again…the white beans! My husband recently went hunting. Now I have 2 freezers full of venison and plan on using it in this delightful looking stew. Thanks!

    • #
      12.1
      Rachel — January 13, 2014 at 3:55 pm

      haha! Whatever it was that had you… I hope you enjoy it! :)

  13. #
    13
    Katrina @ In Katrina's Kitchen — January 13, 2014 at 7:18 pm

    My records are a mess. Sigh

  14. #
    14
    Nutmeg Nanny — January 15, 2014 at 10:39 pm

    My receipts are still sitting in a bag. I have yet to organize that giant mess. I have a feeling in a few weeks I will be complaining about that on Twitter…haha. I love all these slow cooker recipes coming our way. Perfect for the cold winter weather. P.S. Where did you get those bowls? Love <3

    • #
      14.1
      Rachel — January 16, 2014 at 8:54 am

      Hmmm I don’t remember where I got them. I have so many fav prop stores it’s hard to keep track!

  15. #
    15
    Bob Pruden — May 3, 2014 at 3:13 pm

    Your indulgence please! White bean stew with meat is a crossword clue. Nine letters, fourth one is S, last three are LET. Can you help? Thanx. Bob

    • #
      15.1
      Rachel — May 3, 2014 at 4:36 pm

      I couldn’t immediately think of the answer, even though it was right there, so I asked some friends. Your answer is… cassoulet! :)

  16. #
    16
    Ted — July 2, 2014 at 2:20 pm

    Do you use dried beans or cooked?

    • #
      16.1
      Rachel — July 2, 2014 at 7:02 pm

      Canned beans, that have been drained and rinsed, are used.

  17. #
    17
    Kelly — March 12, 2015 at 9:21 pm

    Is it 30 oz or 3 oz with the beans and toms?

    • #
      17.1
      Rachel — March 13, 2015 at 7:25 am

      30-oz each.

  18. #
    18
    Angel — March 20, 2018 at 10:52 am

    This was a wonderful dish. I did this on the stovetop over the day on Sunday rather than use a crockpot. The house was permeated with a fabulous aroma. I used dried great northern beans soaked overnight and used a mix of baby arugula and spinach. Otherwise followed the recipe. I will definitely make this again.

    • #
      18.1
      Rachel — March 21, 2018 at 6:59 am

      So glad you enjoyed it, Angel! :)

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