Cozy and comforting, this hearty slow cooker Poor Man's Stew recipe is not only easy to make, it includes budget-friendly ingredients. Make a big pot of this stew in your slow cooker full of ingredients like tender potatoes and flavorful ground beef that both kids and adults will enjoy on a cold day.
Ingredients
1poundground beefbrowned and drained
3largerusset potatoespeeled and chopped
3largecarrotspeeled and chopped
1smallonionchopped, or half of a medium onion
1 1/2teaspoonsgarlicminced
2cupsbeef broth
6ouncestomato paste
14.5ouncespetite diced tomatoes in juicecanned, include tomato juice don't strain
2teaspoonssugar
2teaspoonsItalian seasoning
1 1/2teaspoonsgarlic salt
1teaspoonpepper
1teaspoononion powder
Parsleyoptional garnish
Instructions
In a large skillet brown the ground beef until cooked all the way through. Drain any excess grease well from the beef. Place the cooked ground beef in the bottom of a slow cooker.
Chop potatoes, carrots and onions into chunks that are about an inch big, small enough to fit on a spoon.
Add chopped potatoes, carrots, onion, garlic, beef broth, tomato paste, and diced tomatoes with the juice to the slow cooker. Add sugar, Italian seasoning, garlic salt, black pepper, and onion powder in the slow cooker.
Stir everything in the slow cooker to combine, then cover the slow cooker.
Turn the slow cooker to low heat and cook for 6 hours. You can also cook on high heat for 4 hours. The potatoes will be fork-tender when finished. Scoop and enjoy!
Notes
I know to some people sugar can seem like an odd ingredient in this recipe. Sugar can help to balance the acidic taste of the tomatoes to make the overall taste more flavorful. If you prefer you can add the sugar after the dish has cooked and add just a pinch at a time stirred in to your taste. A pinch of baking soda can also help to balance the acidity if you prefer not to use sugar. Use the baking soda very sparingly (start with 1/8 teaspoon) or it can make the whole stew taste bitter, too salty, or both.If you don't have a slow cooker I've included directions further up the page for how to make this recipe on your stove top.