A super simple (dump it and forget about it) hearty, and healthy sweet potato and beef stew.
This is not really your typical stew. Which you probably gathered by the pictures and that the focus is on sweet potatoes instead of meat. However, there is still meat in this stew! But instead of being the focus of the stew it really is the perfect complement of the super tender and flavorful sweet potatoes!
My dad is a huge stew guy. He made it all the time for us growing up. He’s super intense about his stews though: like, make it in the Lodge dutch oven (he won’t use any other brands haha!) and cook it over actual coals in our backyard. Although these days he’ll usually cook it in his Lodge dutch oven in the oven. The coals and special outdoor ovens don’t come out as much as they used it.
And although we all (especially me) went crazy for his stew (Growing up, I requested it for my birthday dinners which happened to be in the middle of May ?), my philosophy with stew cooking is, er, less fancy. I’m happy with 10 minutes prep time and letting it slow cook alll day while I don’t have to keep poking coals and smell like a boy scout after a week long camping trip.
And guys, this stew is really, really great. The kind of meal where you are freaking out excited to have leftovers the next day? Yes, this stew is just that. I never thought I’d say it, but I actually like sweet potatoes over red potatoes in stew. And by like, I mean, I don’t think I’ll ever go back. This is THE stew. ❤️
It’s ultra hearty and such a fun twist on a typical red potato stew. It’s amazing how much the sweet potatoes change the overall flavor.
The prep time is quite nice too — you don’t even need to cook the meat first. It’s literally a dump it and forget it kind of deal. Especially because there isn’t a whole lot of veggie chopping — just sweet potatoes, a celery stalk, and an onion. Which, let’s talk onions…
My husband (you may know this long time blog readers) hates onions. I adore them. I also can’t picture a stew without onions, so I decided to get creative here. I actually just cubed a yellow onion in four large cubes and threw them in the slow cooker. That way the stew benefitted from the delicious flavor of cooking with onions for 8 hours, but there were no onions in the husband’s soup. I just pulled the tender onions apart and enjoyed them in my stew. (If you don’t like huge chunks of onions you could also cut them up after cooking to put in certain bowls.)
So moral to that story — add onion even if you despise onion. You can either throw it out after it’s slow cooked with the ingredients all day OR you can add the onion to the bowls of people that like onions — chopped or leave them in large chunks.
Oh, also, the corn. Weird stew ingredient? I think it may be. But my dad ALWAYS added in corn to his stews and to me, it adds so much. So I never make a stew without adding in some corn ?.
I’ve also recently made a discovery which is fire-roasted corn that is CANNED. (How have I not discovered it sooner?!) I found it right next to the regular canned corn but it is called “fire-roasted.” It is seriously the newest food love of my life. ??? I’ve been adding it to all the things. (Besides my breakfast because I haven’t gotten that crazy. yet.) Anyways, if you happen to see it you should definitely try it out. It’s not something that “makes or breaks” this stew but it is pretty fantastic in it!
And now it’s time to convince my dad to try his stew with sweet potatoes. Because yum.
- 3 cups (~2 potatoes) medium-sized sweet potatoes chopped
- 1/4 cup chopped celery
- 1 small yellow onion
- 8 ounce bag mini carrots
- 1 can (15 ounces) corn I use fire-roasted
- 1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes I use fire-roasted
- 1 pound stew meat cut into 1-inch chunks (I buy it pre-cut)
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1/2 teaspoon each seasoned salt and pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley
- 2 beef boullion cubes
- 1 cup water
- Optional: fresh flat leaf parsley
- Grease a slow cooker with non-stick spray. I use a 6-quart crockpot.
- Peel and chop the sweet potatoes into large chunks. Measure to get a heaping 3 cups and place in the prepared slow cooker.
- Add in the chopped celery, chopped onion (I actually just cube the onion in 4 large pieces so I can easily pull them out and then chop and put them in my bowls of stew since the husband hates onion. SO if you hate onion, put them in to get a great flavor and then you can pull it out after it's done cooking! 🙂 )
- Add in the bag of carrots, drained can of corn (I buy corn that is fire-roasted and it adds so much flavor! It's right by regular canned corn in the grocery store) and undrained can of diced tomatoes.
- Toss together the flour, seasoned salt, and pepper. Toss the cut stew meat (cut in 1 inch cubes if not pre-cut) in the flour mixture until well coated.
- Place the coated meat in the slow cooker on top of all the vegetables. You do not need to pre-cook the meat at all.
- Add in the bay leaf, minced garlic, paprika, Worcestershire sauce, and fresh parsley. (I coarsely chop parsley and pack it in a tablespoon measuring spoon to get that measurement.)
- Add in the boullion cubes and the water.
- You don't even need to stir it. Just cover and cook on low for 7-9 hours or high for 5-7 hours or until the sweet potatoes and vegetables are tender and the meat is cooked through. All slow cookers cook at different temperatures. Mine takes about 8 hours on low and I don't typically cook stews on high because I find them to be more flavorful (meat more tender) after slow cooking all day!
- When ready to serve, remove the bay leaf.
- If you are home, occasionally stir the stew throughout the day.
- Stir the ingredients together and slightly mash the tender sweet potatoes in the crockpot. This gives it a chunkier and thicker stew consistency and it's delicious!
- If desired top with some fresh parsley.
Here are some more delicious crockpot soup recipes:
Easy Slow Cooker Mexican Tortilla Quinoa Soup
Easy Crockpot Italian Chicken and Quinoa Soup
Crockpot healthy chicken, butternut squash, and quinoa soup
Crockpot healthy quinoa minestrone
Slow Cooker Sweet Potato, Quinoa, and Chicken Soup
Crockpot Kale, White Bean, and Quinoa Soup
I was laughing as I read your post because I just came in from the kitchen after starting a pot of stew. I didn’t use sweet potatoes but I will try it next time. We have 3 sons and the youngest hates onions. I used to put mine in the food processor and grind them into mush and he never knew they were in there. He bought a house 3 weeks ago and moved out (empty nest now) so I cut them in little chunks and put them in the stew. Thanks for the suggestion about sweet potatoes.
This stew looks so heart and healthy!
Wow! I never would have thought about sweet potatoes in stew, but I love that idea! I adore stew and I can hardly wait to add corn (fire-roasted of course) and sweet potatoes next time! Thanks Chelsea.
Might this be my new favorite thing? I LOVE sweet potatoes AND corn in stews, though I don’t think I’ve ever had them together in the same pot. Can’t wait to try it this way… plus, dump it all in the crockpot and forget about it? It really doesn’t get any better than that 🙂 Pinned!
I made this yesterday and it turned out fantastic. Thanks for the recipe!
So glad to hear it!! 🙂 Thank you Kim!!
Has anyone tried this without the meat in it? This looks AMAZINGLY yummy, I just don’t do meat 🙁 just wondering if it changes anything
I would just add in extra sweet potatoes! 🙂
Made it tonight. So yummy! It even appeased the picky 4 year old. But I have to ask, what bread is also in the picture? Recipe, perhaps?
So happy to hear this was a crowd pleaser 🙂 Thanks so much for the comment! And that bread is actually store bought! It’s sourdough bread from a local bakery 🙂
I am SO EXCITED to try this recipe tomorrow! A few questions – can I sub the boullion cubes and water for beef broth? And how essential is the bay leaf (I’ve never used them) thanks!!!
Well I hope you love it! 🙂 Yes you absolutely can do boullion cubes instead of beef broth! And I love the flavor the bay leaf adds, but it will be okay without it 🙂 If you are looking to try them out they are just with spices in the store, enjoy! 🙂
I just put this is the crock pot for dinner! But, I am out of diced tomatoes. Would it be ok without or should I add in some tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes?
I’d put in some crushed tomatoes 🙂
I put this together this morning because we had an INCREDIBLY busy day ahead. When everybody got home, a fabulous hearty stew awaited. Great recipe! Thanks!
So glad to hear it!! Thanks so much for the comment! 🙂
This looks great! I have never used bullion before. I have always used broth, but I would like to try to make this as you have instructed. Can you tell me if I need to dissolve the bullion in the water before adding it to the crock pot or if I just toss in the cubes and the water to let it dissolve during the slow cooking process? If I were to use beef broth instead of the two cubes and water, would I just use one cup (the same amount of water that is used)?
Thank you!
Hey Sara, thanks for the comments and questions! If you use the boullion just throw in the cubes and it will dissolve 🙂 And you’ll still want just 1 cup of broth, but you won’t have a very strong flavor with just 1 cup like the boullion cubes will bring so I would try to stick to those for this recipe.
Hello, I made this stew for this week’s lunch and it turned out great. The sweet potato and corn adds much needed sweetness to this kind of stew, which I’ve made in the past and always turned out a bit too acidic. I threw in some red wine and leek rather than onion as I had some lying around. This recipe will be a keeper!
I’m so thrilled this was a hit! Thanks so much for the review Jroux! 🙂
Hi! I’m making this meal for my family this week (quite excited), but I was also wondering if this is a good freezer meal? I am hoping to put together a few meals for an expecting friend, and thought this might be a good one if it freezes well!
I have done this as a freezer meal and its awesome! 🙂 Thanks for the comment Brittany!
I can’t wait to try this! One question though–I’m not a big red meat fan. Do you think this recipe would still work with ground turkey or chicken? Thanks!
Thank you Abbey! I’ve never tried a stew with either, but I’m sure they would work okay. I’d do chicken though and probably add some poultry seasoning to the chicken. Enjoy!
Has anyone tried putting this into the oven instead of the crockpot?
Having the grandkids over for a visit tօ mark your wedding?
HI Cheslea, I went to the grocery store today to get all the ingredients to make it tomorrow but I have one question: is it two or three cups of sweet potatoes because on the recipe list it says two but then in the directions it says three ….
Hi Tabitha! Sorry for the confusion; it is supposed to read 3 cups (or 2 potatoes)! Enjoy 🙂
Just wondering if you used yams (orange and very sweet) or actual sweet potatoes which are pale yellow in color and less sweet
You can use either one 🙂
I wanted to try a new recipe and something I haven’t made in awhile. I made this recipe exactly as above except I used beef broth instead of bullion cubes (couldn’t find at store). It was delicious, and I also have picky eater that not only ate it but asked if there were leftovers a couple days later. I’m looking forward to making it again.
So happy to hear that!! Thank you for the comment and review Brock 🙂