Winter Squash Beef Stew {Slow Cooker Recipe}
Servings 6
Ingredients
- 1 to 2 pounds stew beef
- 4 to 5 cups beef broth (enough to cover meat and squash use one cup for the skillet see instructions*
- 2 Tbsp. all purpose flour
- 4 cups diced Kabocha or butternut squash
- 1 cup spaghetti sauce
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 cup minced fresh onions or 1/2 cup dried minced onions
- salt to taste
- optional fresh herbs for topping
Instructions
Browning the Beef:
- Brown the meat first. Before putting the beef in you'll want to brown the meat. It's quick and easy to do with a sizzling hot skillet. Just heat up the skillet and put some cooking spray or a thin layer of oil on it. Take your beef and put it all on the skillet and turn the sides once one side is becoming browned. You don't want to cook the meat through so turn every minute or two until all sides are browned and then add it to the crockpot, instant pot or stovetop (whichever method you want to use). Add flour to the skillet for a thicker/meatier stew. Once you've browned your meat add the meat to the pot you will be cooking the whole stew in, but put the skillet back on the stove on a medium heat. Add two Tbsp. of flour to the skillet and cook that with the meat juices that are left in the pan. When the flour starts turning brown add 1 cup of beef broth and scrape up as many browned bits from the bottom of the skillet as you can. Then add the cooked broth to the pot for cooking.
Cooking in the crockpot:
- Place browned beef, the cooked broth and all other ingredients except the fresh herbs into the crockpot. Cook on low for at least 7 hours or high for 4 to 5. Everything will be ready when meat is tender and squash is soft. Add the fresh herbs to the stew once you've dished it out into individual serving sizes. Just sprinkle a little on top.
Instant Pot Instructions:
- Cooking in the instant pot will be similar to the crockpot, but instead of browning the meat on the stove you will brown your meat in the instant pot before adding the rest of the ingredients. Follow the directions for browning the beef in the instructions above, but use the sauté setting on the instant pot to do this and remove the beef from the instant pot into a temporary bowl until you've finished adding the flour and beef broth from the instructions above. Next add the rest of the ingredients except herbs (making sure not to overfill - refer to your instant pot manual). You'll want to cook on the stew function of the instant pot and let it naturally release. Add the herbs to each bowl before serving.