Hamburger Stew
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Hamburger stew is a budget friendly meal, and it is so easy to make in a crock pot! My family loves this cozy ground beef stew and I think your family will love it just as much.
Why This Recipe is a Family Favorite
Hamburger stew is one of my favorite easy winter meals to beat the cold weather. Because using ground beef in recipes costs a fraction of what you’d spend on other cuts of beef, this meal is really budget friendly.
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I love this soup. It’s easy and the ingredients are what I usually have in the pantry/fridge. It’s cheap and filling and it freezes well.
–Robyn
In fact, another name for it is poor man’s stew! It’s just a folksy name for any stew made with ground beef or hamburger meat instead of beef cuts like top round.
Making dinner for a family shouldn’t have to break the bank, which is why I try to create wholesome recipes with a modest budget in mind.
Happy Kitchen Secrets
Here are my important mom-tested cooking tips for making this stew recipe! I’ve made it countless times to save you from a failed attempt.
- I recommend using 85% lean ground beef for stews. It’s not so lean that it’ll dry out, and not so fatty that it makes the soup greasy. You can drain off any excess fat if you need to.
- Chop the potatoes and veggies into similar bite sized pieces so that they all finish cooking at the same time. If you have some large chunks and some small, then they’ll all cook at different rates.
- If you add any extra ingredients to your stew, be sure to increase the amount of broth so that there is still plenty of liquid.
Ingredients
Seven ingredients are all you need to make an amazingly quick stew for dinner.
Use 85% lean ground hamburger if possible. It will add flavor and moisture without making the hamburger stew greasy.
I recommend using Yukon Gold (yellow) or red potatoes, since they hold their shape better in soups and stews. Russet potatoes will work, but they fall apart quite a bit, so they’re better for baking.
Using Italian seasoned diced tomatoes allows you to skip buying your own, separate Italian seasonings, making the ingredients for this recipe cost even less.
I use beef broth, but chicken broth, vegetable stock, or water will work fine. For extra protein, use beef bone broth.
Sometimes I include a small bag of frozen peas to add a little sweetness to the rich stew. Feel free to add any frozen vegetables your family likes! Just wait to add them until the last 15-20 minutes of cook time. Otherwise, they tend to get mushy.
How to Make Hamburger Stew in a Crock Pot
Scroll down to the recipe card for the full step by step instructions! ⬇️
- Brown the hamburger meat in a skillet over medium-high heat, then transfer it to the crock pot.
- Add the veggies and broth to the slow cooker. Stir everything together and place the lid on the crock pot.
- Cook for 3-4 hours on Low or 2-3 on High. Check to be sure the potatoes and carrots are tender and cooked through.
- Before serving, taste a bit of the hamburger stew and season it with salt and pepper.
And that’s it! Honestly, does a healthy, hearty, balanced weeknight dinner get any easier than this? I don’t think so.
How to Store Leftovers
Transfer the leftover cooled stew to an airtight container or gallon size zip top bag, and store in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
To freeze leftovers, transfer to a freezer zip top bag, squeeze all the air out of the bag that you can, then set it flat in the freezer overnight. Transfer it to any place in the freezer and store for up to 2 months. Defrost in the refrigerator overnight before heating it up to eat it.
Meal Prep Tips
To make the recipe in advance: To make the beef stew ahead of time, cook the ground beef, prep the vegetables, and set it all in the refrigerator up to a day in advance.
After potatoes are cut, they will brown a bit, so alternatively, you can store the cut potatoes in a bowl of cold water in the refrigerator. Drain the water before adding the potatoes to the slow cooker.
To make a freezer meal: Cook the beef and prep the vegetables, and add all the recipe ingredients to a freezer safe zip top bag. Squeeze the air out of the bag, then store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Defrost the bag on a plate in the refrigerator overnight, then follow directions to cook the dish.
Serving Suggestions
I like to serve any hearty stew with slices of crusty French bread or cheesy garlic bread, but this really is a complete meal all on its own.
Crock Pot Hamburger Stew FAQs
If you like that classic thick stew broth, then add some flour or cornstarch into the stew. This will help thicken it up pretty quickly!
You can really use whatever kind of veggies you want. Carrots, green beans, tomatoes, potatoes, green peas, the list could go on! Whatever you have on hand and sounds good to you.
Sure, you can make poor man’s stew in a dutch oven or a large heavy-bottomed pot. Use the ingredients and amounts listed in the recipe card of this post. The instructions are almost the same. Just brown the ground beef in the dutch oven instead of a skillet. Bring the stew to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pot with a lid, and simmer for about 45 minutes, opening and stirring occasionally.
After you make it, please leave a comment and star rating below to let me know how it went!
After you make it, please leave a comment and star rating below to let me know how it went!
Hamburger Stew
Equipment
Video
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground beef 85% lean is best
- 3 small carrots peeled and cut into bite size pieces
- 1 medium yellow onion peeled and diced large or cut into slices
- 3 medium Yukon Gold potatoes or red potatoes, cut into bite size pieces (peel if desired)
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic (about 2 small garlic cloves)
- 3½ cups beef broth or water
- 15 ounces canned Italian-seasoned diced tomatoes or substitute unseasoned diced tomatoes plus ¼ teaspoon oregano, ¼ teaspoon basil, and ¼ teaspoon thyme.
Instructions
- Heat a medium sized skillet over medium heat. Brown 1 lb. ground beef in the skillet, breaking the meat apart as it cooks. Transfer the cooked beef to the slow cooker.
- Add 3 small carrots, 1 medium yellow onion, 3 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, 2 teaspoons minced garlic, 3½ cups beef broth, and 15 ounces canned Italian-seasoned diced tomatoes to crock pot. Stir with a large spoon to combine.
- Cover slow cooker with a lid and cook stew on Low heat for 4-5 hours or High heat for 2-3 hours.
- Pierce the potatoes and carrots with a fork to be sure they are cooked through and tender, then season the stew to taste with salt and black pepper. Serve while warm.
Notes
- I use 85% lean hamburger. If your ground beef has more than 15% fat, you may want to drain any excess grease before adding the meat to the slow cooker.
- If desired, add 1 cup frozen peas in the last 30-45 minutes of cook time. This allows enough time for them to cook through without turning mushy.
The ingredient list says chicken broth, but the ingredient list on the recipe says beef broth. So, I used chicken broth, then added a little beef flavored bouillon cover all the bases! 😉
Can I use mince garlic instead of garlic cloves ? If so how much do I put in?
Hi Patti! Yes, definitely! Use 1/2 teaspoon of minced garlic per clove in a recipe. -Laura
I love this soup. It’s easy and the ingredients are what I usually have in the pantry/fridge. It’s cheap and filling and it freezes well.
Hi Robyn! Thank you so much for the kind words. I’m thrilled you enjoy it! 🙂 -Laura
Brown the onions and the carrots. Salt the ground beef and the veggies as you’re browning them. Add in some tomato paste for a bigger flavor. Triple the amount of garlic. Add in a bay leaf while the stew is cooking.
Hi Michael, thank you for the feedback. I kept the recipe ingredients to a minimum to keep the costs down and make this as budget-friendly as possible, and the instructions as simple as possible. But I agree that the changes you suggest are great ideas if it works for you! 🙂 -Laura
This is so good! It’s not dinner time yet but I keep running over to my instapot taking bites.
Lol, I love that! Enjoy! -Laura
This is a ground beef (stew) recipe. If you don’t thicken it it’s soup. I make this in my Instant Pot. When my stew has finished cooking I have a slurry of corn starch and water ready. I add my slurry and stir. Sometimes the stew is still cooking and I don’t need to set it to saute. But if it doesn’t thicken up enough set it to saute and let it begin simmering, add slurry and unplug. Stir and it only takes a minute to thicken.
Very good recipe.
Great tips! In this recipe, the potatoes thicken it naturally as it cooks. 🙂 -Laura