Make a traditional Irish Stew in your slow cooker for St. Patrick’s Day this year! This hearty stew has a rich broth perfect for cold nights and your seasonal get-togethers.
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This easy crock pot Irish beef stew has a flavorful broth and chunky root vegetables making it the ultimate comfort food. The best part? It's thrown together with hearty vegetables and tender chunks of beef and left alone for hours to meld into a delicious stew!
The secret to a good beef stew is using beer! Yes, you heard that correctly beer and other alcohol can be used in cooking. The beer in this recipe enhances the flavors and it's also used to tenderize meat in marinades or concentrate flavor when simmered down into sauces. Use what you have on hand but I will typically use a Guinness beer or a brown ale.
🌟Why You'll Love this Recipe
- Slow cooker recipe. Throw everything into your slow cooker in the morning and have a filling stew by dinner time!
- Comfort food. This hearty Irish stew will keep you warm and satiated.
- Family meal. Stews are a great way to get a filling meal in just a few easy steps making it one of the top easy dinner recipes in my house. If you like this recipe then you have to try my British Style Steak and Onion Pie.
🥘Ingredients
- Stew meat. Beef chuck, top round or beef stew meat.
- All-purpose flour. Flour is used to thicken the stew.
- Fragrant base vegetables. Yellow onion, carrots and celery stalks act as the base that pulls the entire stew together.
- Fresh herbs. Herbs like thyme, rosemary and bay leaves add a depth of flavor to the stew.
- Potatoes. Yellow, yukon or red potatoes. You want to use a potato that will hold its shape over the cooking process.
- Beer. Use beer to enhance the flavor of the stew. Can be a pale ale, amber ale, or light brown ale, porter or stout. I typically use Guinness.
- Beef stock. I prefer to use a low-sodium stock so I can control the salt content.
See the recipe card below for the remaining ingredients and quantities.
🥩Choosing the Right Cut of Meat
Authentic Irish stew is made with lamb but for this recipe, we are using beef. Tougher cuts of beef like chuck roast, brisket, or round roast are best. These cuts have a lot of connective tissue that breaks down during the long cooking process, resulting in a tender beef and flavorful stew.
📖Substitutions & Variations
- Switch up the meat. Use lamb, beef, or venison instead for this recipe!
- Make it gluten-free. Use gluten-free flour or cornstarch instead of flour.
- Skip the beer. You can skip this step and just add another cup of beef broth or use red wine instead.
🔪Instructions
Step 1: Coat the meat chunks in flour, salt and black pepper in a large mixing bowl or plastic bag. In a Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and heat on medium-high heat. Add the meat to the pan and saute until browned on all sides.
Step 2: Add the meat and all remaining ingredients to the slow cooker. Set the slow cooker to low and cook for 6 hours.
Step 3: Make a slurry by combining cornstarch or flour with liquid from the stew. Whisk and add back to the slow cooker to thicken.
Step 4: Let the stew sit for 15-30 minutes. Serve and enjoy!
💭Recipe FAQs
Yes! Brown the meat in the Dutch oven first, remove it and set it aside. Add the onion, carrots and celery to the pot and cook until slightly soft. Next, add in the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the remaining ingredients to the pot along with the meat. Cover and bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for 50-60 minutes until potatoes are tender.
In this recipe, we toss the beef pieces with flour before browning them. If you find the stew is still not thick enough to your liking after cooking you can create a slurry. To make a slurry mix 2 tablespoons of flour or cornstarch with ¼ cup of water or broth from the stew. Add the slurry back into the stew and cook for another 10 minutes to allow the stew to thicken.
Yes, Irish stew reheats well and often tastes even better the next day as the flavors have had time to meld together. Store leftovers in the refrigerator and reheat gently on the stove or in the microwave.
👩🏻🍳Chef Tips
- The secret to the best stew every time is to cook it long and slow to allow the flavors to meld together.
- The most important thing when cooking beef stew is choosing quality ingredients.
- Flouring your meat helps with browning because of the starch content. It also adds a protective layer to the meat so it doesn't completely fall apart while cooking.
- Allow the stew to set. I like to crack the lid on my crock pot for 15- 30 minutes after turning it off to allow the stew to cool, thicken and set before serving.
🥗Serving
Slow cooker Irish stew is perfect to serve on St. Patrick's Day with a crusty loaf of bread or a traditional Irish soda bread. You can also enjoy this on a chilly night with a glass of red wine or a beer!
Since this stew is so rich it would go great with a fresh green leafy salad, zesty zucchini salad or served over creamy red-skinned mashed potatoes.
🥣Storage & Reheating
Store any leftover stew in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Freeze in a freezer-safe container for 3-4 months. Defrost frozen stew overnight before reheating.
Reheat in single portions on the stovetop or in the microwave covered for 2-3 minutes.
More Soups & Stews
- Italian Pastina Soup45 Minutes
- Easy Broccoli Soup40 Minutes
- Instant Pot White Chicken Chili35 Minutes
- Chicken Broccoli Cheddar Soup50 Minutes
Did you make this recipe? Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating and comment below. Share it on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest!
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Slow Cooker Irish Stew
KITCHEN TOOLS NEEDED
- 1 Large pot or Dutch oven
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Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds beef chuck, top round or beef stew meat, cut into bite-sized pieces
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- Salt and pepper
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 2 carrots, peeled and diced
- 2 celery stalks, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 pound yellow potatoes, quartered
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 12 ounce can or bottle pale ale, amber ale, or light brown ale, porter or stout
- 2 cups beef broth
Slurry
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch or flour, (see instructions below)
- ¼ cup broth from the stew, (see instructions below)
Instructions
- Coat the meat chunks in flour, salt and black pepper in a large mixing bowl or plastic bag. In a Dutch oven or large pot, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and heat on medium-high heat. Add the meat to the pan and saute until browned on all sides.
- Add the meat and all remaining ingredients to the slow cooker. Set the slow cooker to low and cook for 6 hours.
- Make a slurry by combining flour or cornstarch with broth from the stew. Whisk and add to the slow cooker to thicken.
- Let the stew sit for 15-30 minutes. Serve and enjoy!
Sarah's Tips
- The secret to the best stew every time is to cook it long and slow to allow the flavors to meld together.
- The most important thing when cooking beef stew is choosing quality ingredients.
- Flouring your meat helps with browning because of the starch content. It also adds a protective layer to the meat so it doesn't completely fall apart while cooking.
- Allow the stew to set. I like to crack the lid on my crock pot for 15- 30 minutes after turning it off to allow the stew to cool, thicken and set before serving.
- Store any leftover stew in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Freeze in a freezer-safe container for 3-4 months. Defrost frozen stew overnight before reheating.
- Reheat in single portions on the stovetop or in the microwave covered for 2-3 minutes.
Debbie says
Looks good. Just wondering if the ale is necessary or can it be left out?
Sarah Hill says
Hi Debbie, you can leave the ale out and just replace it with more beef broth or you could use red wine in its place. Let me know if you have anymore questions!