Slow Cooker Guinness Beef Stew

Make this hearty, satisfying stew with chunks of beef, carrots, parsnips, potatoes, and of course, Guinness stout. Perfect for everything from snow days to St. Patrick's Day.

Slow Cooker Guinness Stew
Elise Bauer

If molasses were a beer, it would be a Guinness stout—rich, thick, dark, caramel-y, deeply flavorful. It is Ireland's most popular brew with, get this, more than 10 million pints sold every day around the world. (That's a lot of beer!)

Crock Pot Guinness Beef Stew In Black Bowl
Elise Bauer

Guinness Everywhere

Around here in Sacramento, Guinness is a favorite for St. Patrick's Day, and you can find stacks of Guinness displays at practically every store that sells beer.

Naturally, Guinness has made its way into flavoring many dishes, including breads like our Guinness Bread with Molasses, and desserts like our Chocolate Guinness Cake and Guinness Chocolate Brownies, as well as stews like this one.

What's in This Beef Stew?

Guinness beef stew is Ireland's answer to Belgian carbonnade, with chunks of beef and with stout instead of ale, and with root vegetables such as parsnips, carrots, and celery root.

Check out these other "beef and beer" stew recipes:

How To Cook for Tender Beef and Soft Vegetables

This stew we are making in a slow cooker (though you could make it in the oven as well). The controlled low and slow cooking is perfect for tenderizing the flavorful but tough pieces of beef chuck roast, while keeping the root vegetables intact.

The trick is to brown the meat first, before adding to the slow cooker. That way you get all of the wonderful flavor from the browned meat in your stew.

How To Store Leftovers

Like many stews, this one is actually better the second day (and even better the third day). Leftovers can be stored for up to five days or so, and can be gently reheated on the stovetop over medium heat or in the microwave.

You can freeze the leftover soup, but the potatoes and other root vegetables tend to break down when thawed and reheated. It will still taste good reheated, but know that these vegetables will be softer.

Slow Cooker Guinness Beef Stew

Prep Time 20 mins
Cook Time 4 hrs 30 mins
Total Time 4 hrs 50 mins
Servings 6 to 8 servings

If you would prefer to make the stew in the oven, cook everything in a large Dutch oven. After you add the liquid, bring it to a simmer on the stovetop then put it, tightly covered, in a 225°F oven for 6 hours (or a 300°F oven for 4 hours).

Note that different people have different sensitivities to bitter flavors. If Guinness Stout tastes bitter to you, then the stew will taste bitter as well. If it doesn't taste bitter to you, the stew should not taste bitter.

You can either use celery root, young turnips, or potatoes in addition to parsnips and carrots. If you use turnips, make sure you only use young turnips, which are smaller and sweeter than regular turnips. Regular turnips can be quite bitter.

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons butter

  • 2 pounds (900 g) well marbled chuck beef roast, cut into 2-inch pieces

  • Kosher salt

  • 2 cups chopped onion (about 1 large onion)

  • 2 stalks celery, chopped

  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste

  • 1 pint (16 ounces, 475 ml) Guinness extra stout (make sure you use extra stout and not draught)

  • 3 cups (700 ml) beef broth

  • 2 large carrots, peeled and cut into chunks

  • 3 to 4 parsnips, peeled and cut into chunks

  • 1/2 pound (280g) celery root, potatoes, or very young turnips, peeled and cut into chunks

  • 2 teaspoons dried thyme

  • 4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, optional

Method

  1. Brown the beef, transfer to slow cooker:

    Heat the butter in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Brown the beef in the butter, starting with the fattiest pieces of meat, fat side down in the pan. This will allow some beef fat to render out. Work in batches as to not crowd the pan.

    Sprinkle salt over the beef as it browns. Once browned on all sides, transfer the beef pieces into a 6-quart or larger slow cooker.

    Several Beef Chunks being cooked to a brown in frying pan
    Elise Bauer
    Beef chunks cooked in frying pan to a brown with some red in meat
    Elise Bauer
  2. Sauté the onions and celery, transfer to slow cooker:

    Add the onions and celery to the pan in which you just browned the beef. Sauté the onions and celery until they begin to brown at the edges, about 5 minutes.

    sautéed celery and onion in black frying pan
    Elise Bauer

    Add the tomato paste and mix well. Cook for a minute or two, then add a little of the Guinness, enough to make it easier for you to scrape up any browned bits at the bottom of the pan.

    Transfer the celery and onions into the slow cooker.

  3. Add the Guinness, broth, root vegetables, thyme, salt:

    Add the rest of the Guinness, the beef broth, carrots, parsnips, celery root, and thyme to the slow cooker. Add two teaspoons of salt.

    Beef, Guinness, broth, root vegetables, thyme and salt Mixed together in slow cooker
    Elise Bauer
    Crock pot Guinness beef stew being prepared and made ready to cook in slow cooker
    Elise Bauer
  4. Cook in the slow cooker:

    Cover and cook on "high" for 4 hours, or "low" for 8 hours. When done, add more salt to taste. If you want, sprinkle with fresh parsley to serve.

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Nutrition Facts (per serving)
353 Calories
11g Fat
19g Carbs
40g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6 to 8
Amount per serving
Calories 353
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 11g 14%
Saturated Fat 5g 26%
Cholesterol 120mg 40%
Sodium 516mg 22%
Total Carbohydrate 19g 7%
Dietary Fiber 4g 14%
Total Sugars 6g
Protein 40g
Vitamin C 15mg 74%
Calcium 83mg 6%
Iron 5mg 26%
Potassium 864mg 18%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.