Healthier Slow Cooker Beef Stew Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Is homemade beef stew healthy to eat? ›

This beef stew combines beef with a list of other ingredients like potatoes, broth, vegetables, herbs, and spices for a dish that is savory and rich in flavor. Plus, it's packed with nutrients! You'll get the protein from the beef, healthy carbs from the potato, and vitamins and fiber from the vegetables.

Chuck. Chuck is one of the leaner types of beef, making it perfect for stews because it melts into delicious pieces as it cooks. A chuck roast has a large amount of connective tissue, which allows it to retain its moisture during the cooking process.

Add lots of vegetables - More carrots, peas, potatoes, celery, broccoli or even turnips helps bulk up portions while using less meat. Slash the salt - Use low sodium beef broth. Skim off excess fat - Fat will rises to the top as the stew simmers.

Like soup but usually more hearty, a bowl of stew can be comforting, filling, energizing, and fat-blasting. But that's only when you simmer up the right stuff; too many stew recipes are often packed with calories, sodium, and fat that don't exactly align with your body goals.

Turnips are an ideal potato replacement as they have a similar texture. Turnips can be prepared n several different ways, including baking, boiling, roasting, or steaming.

Couscous is ideal for thickening soups and stews because it cooks quickly, releasing starch as it plumps. Choose tiny Moroccan-style couscous for the subtlest thickening effect. Use larger pearl couscous (aka Israeli couscous) to add a more luscious, subtly chewy element to the final dish.

Root Vegetables

Carrots are a go-to for stews and braises, but look beyond them to parsnips, turnips, rutabaga, celeriac, and sweet potatoes. Be sure cut them on the larger size so they don't dissolve into mush.

The most important key to making stew meat tender is being sure to cook it for a long time. If you want super tender beef, you'll need to cook it on a low heat in a Dutch oven on the stove or a slow cooker for at least a few hours.

What is the leanest beef for stew? ›

The best (and least expensive) beef stew meat comes from the front shoulder, also known as the chuck. The rear muscle (also called the round) would definitely make a great stew, but we like chuck better because it has more connective tissue.

Tapioca. One of the joys of eating stew is its hearty sauce, which should have more body than regular soup broth. Add a little tapioca to absorb some of the liquid and you'll end up with a nice, thick broth. Use this tapioca trick in your own favorite stew recipe, or see it at work in our Classic Beef Stew.

There are flavors in tomatoes that are alcohol-soluble, so adding red wine along with tomato paste also helps to enhance beef stew." Laurence has a few other tricks I've borrowed to create the best beef stew, including adding Worcestershire, which gets a serious umami punch from anchovies.

If it tastes off-balance, add some finishing flavors to bring it to the next level. Try adding soy sauce or Worcestershire for extra savory (or umami) flavor, a touch of honey or brown sugar for sweetness, lemon zest or vinegar for brightness or chili powder or smoked paprika for spice and depth.

A stew can be a good source of protein, vitamins, and minerals depending on the ingredients used, but it may not provide all of the essential nutrients needed for optimal health.

intake and health benefits. vitamins (niacin, thiamin, riboflavin, and B6), vitamin E, iron, zinc, and magnesium. safe to eat without cooking. If heated, serve right away or refrigerate leftovers in a container that is not made from metal.

It's also a way to retain the maximum nutritional value of the food you cook. Stewing is suitable for the least tender cuts of meat that become tender and juicy with the slow, moist heat method – simmered, not boiled. This makes stewing popular in low-cost cooking.