Beef Stew and Dumplings

This is a rich and luxurious crock pot beef stew recipe and the herb dumplings add a wonderful texture and flavor to the overall dish. The red wine adds a great flavor and the onions make this one of the most healthy crockpot recipes, which adults and kids alike will adore. It doesn’t make much different to the end results whether you cook this on a low heat or a high heat, as long as you get the timing right.

Some people say that using a low heat for a longer time does make the beef a little more tender but crockpot cooking tends to make meat tender whether you use the low or high setting.

Beef Stew and Dumplings Variations

There are various recipes for crockpot beef stew, ranging from very simple ones with beef, vegetables and not much else to more elaborate, gourmet-style beef stew recipes with mustard, wine, and homemade dumplings. This crockpot beef stew obviously falls into the latter category and the flavor of this dish is amazing. It is well worth making if you enjoy beef stew recipes or if you are looking for something easy but full-flavored.

You might expect such a sophisticated crockpot beef stew recipe to be more complicated to make than a very simple one but it is actually the same. You just add everything to the slow cooker and leave it to work its magic.

As for the dumplings, you just combine the Bisquick with the milk herbs half an hour before end of the beef stew cooking time and drop them into the mixture. That is how simple it is to make a stunning crockpot beef stew recipe. And if you want to try similar recipes, consider goulash style stew or gluten free beef stew.

Victoria Haneveer

Beef Stew and Dumplings

This rich-flavored beef stew is complemented with homemade herb dumplings. The stew slow-cooks until everything is tender, then the wonderfully herby dumplings go in later. This makes a tasty and satisfying meal, and is especially popular during the cooler months in fall and winter. Just look how tasty these herby homemade dumplings are and they are the perfect accompaniment to such a tasty beef stew recipe. This is quite an aromatic crockpot beef stew, thanks to the thyme, mustard, wine and of course the herbs used in the dumplings. It's also fortified with mushrooms for an earthy flavor and the red wine (or use beef broth if you prefer) really gives this crockpot beef stew a wonderful richness, bringing out the flavor of the meat. This is a very simple recipe, considering how great it tastes. Start making it early to ensure it is ready by dinnertime. The smell will be making your mouth water before dinnertime rolls around - guaranteed!

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 4 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Total Time 4 hours hrs 45 minutes mins

Servings: 8

Course: Main Dish

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

 

• 2 pounds (1 kg) top round steak or lean stewing beef, in 1-inch (2½ cm) chunks
• 2 sliced celery stalks
• 4 carrots, in ½-inch (1¼ cm) slices
• 2 sliced yellow onions
• ¼ cup (60ml) water
• ¼ cup (30g) all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup (185ml) dry red wine or beef broth
• 8 sliced medium mushrooms
• 14½ ounces (400g) can diced tomatoes in juice
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon mustard powder
• 1½ teaspoons salt

For the Dumplings:

• ½ cup (125ml) milk
• 1½ cups Bisquick
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme
• ¼ teaspoon dried sage
• ¼ teaspoon dried rosemary

Method

 

1. Put the beef, celery, carrots, onions, tomatoes, thyme, pepper, mustard, mushrooms, and wine or beef broth into a slow cooker.
2. Cover and cook on a low heat for 8 to 10 hours or a high heat for 4 or 5 hours.
3. The vegetables and beef will become tender - don't open the crockpot as it cooks (you'll lengthen the cooking time if you do!)
4. Nest, combine the flour with the water and stir this mixture slowly into the beef stew.
5. Combine the Bisquick with the thyme, sage and rosemary and stir in the milk until the mixture is just moistened.
6. Drop spoonfuls of the dumpling dough on to the hot beef stew.
7. Cover again and cook on high for 30 minutes.

Notes

• If you are using wine, use all the salt. If you are using beef broth you might not need it depending on the saltiness of the broth so taste it to see.
• The beef stew with dumplings is ready when a toothpick inserted into the herb dumplings comes out clean.
• Sub potatoes in place of the carrots if you want a beef stew with dumplings and potatoes. You could even try another vegetable such as parsnip, turnip or rutabaga if you want to get experimental.
• Some home cooks like to brown the beef on the stove before adding it to the crockpot, for additional depth of flavor. This step is optional but if you have the time, you might want to consider it.