This slow cooker Guinness Beef Stew is the dinner you make when you want everyone to assume you've been tending a pot all day like a thoughtful, responsible adult. Beef turns tender, the Guinness goes dark and rich, and the house smells like you followed and ancient family recipe given to you by an Irish pub owner.
You didn't. You dumped it in the slow cooker and walked away-but we don't need to discuss that.
Table of Contents
🥰 Is this beef stew recipe for you?
- You like dinners that sound impressive but mostly involve dumping things into a slow cooker and leaving the room.
- You believe beef stew should be rich, dark, and unapologetically filling-not a sad bowl of watery broth pretending to be "flavorful".
- You want the house to smell like you've been doing something productive, even if you absolutely have not.
- You enjoy pub-style comfort food without needing to put on real pants or purchase an international flight.
Grab the free Guinness Beef Stew cheat sheet with the variations, storage, and a few things that make this turn out rich instead of just "fine." It's the part you'd scribble on a notecard if you planned to make this again-which you will. Often.
📖 Recipe
Slow Cooker Guinness Beef Stew
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- 2 pounds beef stew meat, or lamb stew meat if desired
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
- ½ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons oil, for browning the beef
- 2 large onions, peeled and cut in eights
- 5 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 2-inch chunks
- 5 carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
- 2 stalks celery, minced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 cups beef stock
- 1 tablespoon Better Than Bouillon Beef flavor
- 12 ounces Guinness Extra Stout
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon white sugar
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Preheat a cast-iron skillet over high heat.
- Season the beef with ½ teaspoon of the salt and all of the black pepper.
- Add the oil to the hot skillet. When it shimmers, add the beef in a single layer (work in batches if needed). Brown deeply on all sides, about 4-6 minutes per batch. Don't rush this-color equals flavor.
- Transfer the browned beef to the slow cooker.
- Add the quartered onions, potatoes, carrots, celery, garlic, beef broth, Better Than Bouillon, Guinness, remaining ½ teaspoon salt, tomato paste, thyme, and sugar to the beef.
- Stir gently to combine. Cover and cook on LOW for 7 hours, until the beef is tender.
- Melt the butter and whisk in the flour to form a smooth paste.
- Stir it into the stew.
- Cover and cook for 1 more hour, or until the stew thickens slightly and coats the back of a spoon.
- Remove thyme stems before serving. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
Notes
- Brown the beef properly:This is where flavor starts. If someone tells you they don't brown the beef and it's "just as good," they are lying.
- Give it enough time: Tough cuts don't respond to encouragement. Low and slow until the beef is tender, not when the clock says so.
- Season at the end: Long cooking dulls salt. Taste and adjust right before serving so it eats like stew, not effort.
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
This recipe has been tested several times. If you choose to use other ingredients, or change the technique in some way, the results may not be the same.
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🧾 Ingredients for Guinness beef stew
Nothing complicated, nothing obscure. Just solid ingredients that know how to mingle in the slow cooker.
- Beef stew meat - tough cuts with good work ethic. Low and slow cooking is where the magic comes from. (Lamb works too, if you're feeling a little Irish-pub-after-dark.)
- Kosher salt - steady, reliable, making flavors pop.
- Coarse black pepper - brings warmth and depth.
- Oil - for browning the beef because no one wants gray meat.
- Onions - big chunks, because we're not trying to lose them to the stew void.
- Yukon Gold potatoes - creamy, sturdy, and not about to fall apart under pressure.
- Carrots - sweetness with purpose. Not garnish.
- Celery - background support. You'd miss it if it wasn't there.
- Garlic - obviously. We're adults.
- Beef stock - the backbone. This is not the place for water.
- Better Than Bouillon (beef) - the quiet cheat that makes everyone ask what your secret is.
- Guinness Extra Stout - dark, malty, and doing the heavy lifting without making a fuss.
- Tomato paste - depth, richness, and a little attitude.
- Fresh thyme - just enough herbal note to keep things from feeling flat.
- A pinch of sugar - not for sweetness, for balance. Calm down.
- Butter - because finishing without butter is how regret enters the room.
- All-purpose flour - thickens things up so this eats like stew, not soup with opinions.
🔪 How to make slow cooker Guinness beef stew
This is mostly a matter of letting the slow cooker mind its own business. Brown the beef, dump the rest in, and walk away like someone who trusts the process.
- Brown the beef and place in the slow cooker.
- Add the remaining ingredients except flour and butter.
- Mix the flour and butter to a paste.
- Stir into the stew and cook one more hour to thicken.
😱 What can go wrong (and how to fix it)
🍺 The stew tastes flat
You rushed the salt or skipped the bouillon. Add a little more salt, another spoon of Better Than Bouillon, or a splash of stock. Taste again. Trust your mouth.
🍺 The beef is chewy
It's not done yet. Tough cuts need time, not encouragement. Keep cooking until it relaxes and behaves.
🍺 The sauce feels thin
You didn't give the flour and butter their moment. Stir a quick slurry or mash a few potatoes into the broth and let it simmer uncovered for a bit.
🍺 The Guinness flavor feels too loud
Balance is missing. A small pinch of sugar or an extra spoon of tomato paste will round it out without turning it sweet.
🍺 The vegetables went soft
They were cut too small or cooked too long on high. Next time, bigger chunks and low-and-slow. This stew rewards patience.
🍺 It smells amazing but tastes "meh"
It needs finishing. Salt, pepper, maybe a knob of butter. Stew wakes up at the end-don't skip that part.
👩🏻🍳 FAQs
You can, but you'll miss flavor. Browning gives the stew depth and keeps it from tasting like everything just met in the parking lot..
It tastes rich and dark, not like you're drinking a Guinness with a spoon. The alcohol cooks off and what's left is body and depth.
You can substitute more beef stock, but it won't be the same stew. If you're making Guinness Beef Stew, the Guinness is kind of the point.
🍽 If you liked this slow cooker beef recipe
If this slow cooker beef stew recipe is hitting the spot, you're probably in the mood for dinners that lean savory and take their time. Beef stew with onions keeps things classic and grounded, and French onion pot roast leans into that same slow-cooked, deeply satisfying lane without asking you to do anything wild.
And no stew should be left without something solid on the side. Guinness Irish soda bread belongs here-simple, sturdy, and built for sopping up gravy.
🏡 Bringing it home
This Guinness Beef Stew is for you if you know dinner doesn't need a culinary degree to be good. You put it in the slow cooker, let time do the work, and end up with something that makes your stomach growl-dark and deeply satisfying, no performative effort required.
If that's you, you're in the right place.
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