Warm, hearty and packed with mushrooms and bacon, this slow cooker beef stew is cooked in a fragrant red wine sauce to tender perfection. It’s a warming family meal when the weather is cool, or serve as a main meal for a dinner party.
Looking for more beef stews or more slow cooker recipes?
Ingredients
Method
Trim the green ends from onions, leaving about 8cm of stems attached; trim the roots.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan; cook onions, mushrooms, bacon and garlic, stirring, until the onion softens. Stir in the wine, tomato paste and caster sugar; bring to the boil, boil, uncovered, for 2 minutes.
Place the beef, fennel and onion mixture in a 4.5-litre (18-cup) slow cooker. Cook, covered, on low, for 8 hours.
Before serving the beef stew, stir in chopped parsley; season to taste.
What to serve with slow cooker beef in red wine sauce
We recommend serving this beef with red wine stew accompanied with creamy mashed potato. You could also serve with a soft polenta, and some fresh bread to mop up the sauce.
Ingredient swap
Chuck steak or any stewing steak can be used instead of gravy beef.
What is gravy beef?
Gravy beef is a boneless stewing beef cut from shin. Slow cooked, gravy beef imbues stocks, soups and casseroles with a gelatine richness. Chuck steak is an inexpensive cut from the neck and shoulder area that’s perfect for slow cooking where it becomes beautifully tender and flavoursome.
For more slow cooker beef recipes, see this recipe collection.
Can I freeze the beef and red wine stew?
This recipe is not suitable to freeze. Interested in freezer-friendly meals? Check out this recipe collection. Find recipes for curries, pies, ragus, pasta sauces, stews, casseroles and soups that can all be frozen.
