Paleo Beef Stew is an easy, healthy dinner that your whole family will love! Gluten free, whole30 friendly + made in the slow cooker or on the stove!
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This Paleo Beef Stew will quickly become one of your favorite meals. 12 ingredients and less than 10 minutes of prep time are ALL you need to make this happen for dinner tonight.
And a slow cooker of course, which is probably my FAVORITE kitchen appliance.
This beef stew is super hearty and cozy – but it takes SUCH minimal work – which is part of the reason why I love it.
(We eat LOTS of hearty soups and stews in our house. This Ground Beef and Sweet Potato Chili Is another one of our favs!
I love any kind of recipe that is a ‘dump and bake’ sort of situation, which this healthy beef stew totally is.
That’s why I LOVE my crockpot so much. I can throw all the goods in there, turn it on as I walk out the door, and then when I come home… dinner is magically cooked! Amazing, right?
I make pretty much anything/everything in the crockpot… soups, shredded chicken, paleo turkey chili.. This beef stew recipe is one of those recipes where you just throw a few ingredients in the crock pot, set it, wait a little bit + then get something totally delicious!
P.S. – If you love crockpot recipes, check out these 45 Healthy Crockpot Recipes!
Ingredients for Paleo Beef Stew:
To make healthy beef stew you’ll need:
- potatoes, carrots, celery, onion
- stew meat (we get ours from ButcherBox)
- bay leaf
- broth
- salt, pepper, garlic powder
- rosemary
- tomato paste
Now I know what you’re thinking – ok… that’s it? YES, that’s literally all you need to make the best ever beef stew… and let me show you JUST how simple it is to make!
You can find substitutions for all of these ingredients below in the green shaded box.
How to make Paleo Beef Stew:
I think this honestly might be the easier recipe I’ve ever really shared… but let me break it down for ya.
- Add all ingredients to crockpot.
- Stir all ingredients to evenly coat. Cook on low.
- Enjoy!
Your whole house is going to smell SO incredible after having this cook all day in the crockpot – get excited!
In addition to being delicious – this stew is Whole30 friendly, dairy free, gluten free and paleo – so pretty much anyone can enjoy it!
Can you thicken this stew?
This stew gets pretty thick naturally, but if you prefer you can add corn starch or arrowroot powder. Mix one tablespoon of either corn starch or arrowroot powder with one tablespoon of water.
Stir in the slurry to the stew during the last 30 minutes while it’s cooking and allow it to thicken.
Substitutions for healthy beef stew recipe:
This recipe is pretty versatile and you can easily adjust it to your own tastes.
Potatoes – You can sub in russet potatoes or red potatoes for this recipe. I have not tried sweet potatoes in this recipe, but I think they would become too mushy
Tomato Paste – You can make this without the tomato paste. It just helps the stew thicken + adds a little flavor
Meat – You can substitute beef with boneless, skinless chicken breasts if you do not eat red meat. We also have a Ground Beef Stew, Slow Cooker Chicken Stew or Instant Pot Chicken Stew recipe if you’d prefer that!
Wine – A 1/3 cup of red wine adds a nice depth of flavor to this recipe – although it’s totally not necessary. If you are doing a Whole30 do not add wine.
Rosemary – If you don’t have fresh rosemary you can substitute the same amount of dried rosemary. You can also omit rosemary if you don’t like it, but I think it adds such a nice flavor!
Instant Pot – We also have an Easy Instant Pot Beef Stew Recipe if you’d prefer that!
Soup – If you want a beef soup, try our Roast Beef Soup!
How to store beef stew:
Storing: This stew will store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Freezing: This stew freezes very well. Allow the stew to completely cool. I love these containers for freezing leftovers! You can use code CLEANEATINGCOUPLE to save $$ on them!
Reheating: When you’re ready to eat, simply take out the night before to defrost, or just pop them in the microwave and heat.
I hope you love this paleo beef stew as much as we do!
Other healthy slow cooker recipes:
Looking for other easy meals? Check out these 40+ Healthy Dinner Recipes. Click here to grab our free healthy 30 minute dinners cookbook.
Paleo Beef Stew
Ingredients
- 1 lbs stew meat
- 2 cups carrots cut in 1/2 inch thick circles
- 1 1/2 cups celery thinly sliced, 1/4 inch thick
- 1/2 cup onion finely chopped
- 8 oz mini potatoes halved
- 1 cup chicken or beef broth
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary chopped
- 1 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
Crockpot Instructions:
- Optional: Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a pan and brown stew meat + onions. This step is not necessary, but will add an extra layer of flavor.
- Cut all vegetables/potatoes.
- Add the stew meat, carrots, celery, onion + potatoes to the crock pot + stir to combine
- Add broth, tomato paste + spices to the crock pot. Stir to evenly distribute seasoning. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
- Serve + enjoy!
StoveTop Instructions:
- Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a pan and brown stew meat + onions. Cook for about 10 minutes.
- While meat/onions brown, cut all other vegetables/potatoes.
- After the meat has browned. Add the carrots, celery + potatoes to the pan. Stir to combine.
- Add broth, tomato paste + spices to the pot. Stir to evenly distribute seasoning.
- Cook on high for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and allow stew to simmer for additional 30 minutes
Instant Pot Instructions
- Set instant pot to sauté for 10 minutes. Heat olive oil. Brown stew meat on all edges (about 5 minutes). Add onions/garlic and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
- While meat/onions brown, cut all other vegetables/potatoes.
- After the meat has browned. Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine.
- Cover and set to sealing, Manual Pressure for 25 minutes.
- It will take the instant pot about 10 minutes to come to pressure.
- When it’s finished cooking, quick release the pressure. Discard bay leaf & enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Potatoes – You can sub in russet potatoes or red potatoes for this recipe. I have not tried sweet potatoes in this recipe, but I think they would become too mushy
- Tomato Paste – You can make this without the tomato paste. It just helps the stew thicken + adds a little flavor
- Meat – You can substitute beef with boneless, skinless chicken breasts if you do not eat red meat. We also have a Slow Cooker Chicken Stew recipe if you’d prefer that!
- Wine – A 1/3 cup of red wine adds a nice depth of flavor to this recipe – although it’s totally not necessary. If you are doing a Whole30 do not add wine.
- Rosemary – If you don’t have fresh rosemary you can substitute the same amount of dried rosemary. You can also omit rosemary if you don’t like it, but I think it adds such a nice flavor!
Nutrition Facts
If you LOVE paleo slow cooker recipes you should click here to sign up for my FREE paleo crockpot cookbook!
Chrissa - Physical Kitchness says
I LOVE crackpot meals (ummm hello life saver) and comfort dishes like this remind me of my childhood. Oh, and also the hubby’s favorites 🙂 I’ve never added gelatin to a stew – I NEED to try this. And I have the exact Vital Proteins product to do it! SCORE!
The Clean Eating Couple says
The crockpot is legit the best invention eeeeever!! You can omit the red wine and this would be perfect for your Whole30!!
Steve says
Awesome and easy meal! Only regret is not making more, will double the recipe next time
Diane Selzam says
Delicious and easy! What more could you ask for?
The Clean Eating Couple says
Thank you so much!!
Courtney says
I love this recipe! It is simple and wholesome. Perfect recipe for the fall and winter. I will definitely make this again.
The Clean Eating Couple says
Thank you so much, Courtney! I’m glad you liked it!
Sabine Schropp says
This was easy and delicious with a lot of flavor! This will be on repeat
The Clean Eating Couple says
So glad you liked it, Sabine!
Grace says
My family loves this soup. We made it every week this fall! So flavorful and hearty. I will say I like adding more broth and letting it cook longer on low – 2 plus hours – and the flavors really meld all together!
The Clean Eating Couple says
Thanks, Grace! I actually like mine with a little more broth too, almost more like a soup! So glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Jade says
Great recipe, one of our favorites!
The Clean Eating Couple says
Thanks, Jade! So glad you like it!
Whitney says
This is the best stew I have ever had!! My husband loved it too. We doubled the recipe and made it on the stovetop because we didn’t have enough time to wait for the crockpot. I did add a little bit of coconut aminos because we like the flavor. It turned out so delicious. Thank you for this recipe…we will be making it again very soon!
The Clean Eating Couple says
So glad you liked it, Whitney! Love the addition of coconut aminos – great idea!
Leia says
Well disregard my first comment! I’m seeing so many Paleo recipes with potatoes that I had to do more research and saw some new thinking on potatoes and other supposedly non-Paleo items! This actually makes sense to me; I’ve always thought the “eating like our cavemen ancestors” thing was a bit much since it totally disregards how we’ve evolved. But I’m cooking for hubby and that was his whole mindset. I’ve sent him some articles on Paleo 2.0 and I’m making this with the darn potatoes; if he doesn’t like them he can leave them out of his portion, ha ha!
The Clean Eating Couple says
Hi Leia – Potatoes are a grey area in the paleo niche. It’s really up to you whether you want to eat them. In my opinion, the goal of paleo is focusing on eating real, whole foods – and potatoes are just that. Hope that helps!
Cassandra Bennett says
Made this last night but was short on time so I used my Instant pot. Everyone ate it, even my pickiest eater. Hubby said I needed to definitely make this again! Highly recommend. I can’t wait to make more recipes from your site.
The Clean Eating Couple says
So happy you all enjoyed it!
Sarah says
I’m not finding where the amount of each thing is put on there. Like how much broth do I use? How many potatoes do I use?
The Clean Eating Couple says
Read the recipe – it’s all listed there. You can click the ‘jump to recipe’ button at the top of the page
Mabel Walsh says
cooked on stovetop, delicious! EASY!
DC says
I didn’t try this recipe yet. I thought potatoes was not aloud in paleo?
The Clean Eating Couple says
some people eat potatoes on paleo, some people don’t. It’s up to you !
Jess says
This has become my go to Beef Stew recipe. My family and I love it. It’s so yummy & very easy to make.