Slow Cooker Irish Guinness Beef Stew
The BEST slow cooker Irish Guinness beef stew recipe. Chunks of tender beef cooked in a Guinness beef broth with carrots and potatoes. Topped with micro greens that look like lucky clovers!
When I was in college, I worked at a British pub in town as a waitress and bartender for a few years. Come St. Patrick’s Day, that restaurant would be packed! Hands down one of the busiest night of the year. Now mind you, this wasn’t an Irish pub, it was a British pub. But to us Californians, it was close enough.
We would serve a ton of corned beef and cabbage, but mostly we sold a ton of beer. For the college age drinkers, it was a lot of bud light dyed green with food coloring. That green food coloring made for some very interesting green stains on my fingers and clothes, but even worse was the green stained teeth of the customers.
For the more sophisticated drinkers, we served a lot of Guinness. We had Guinness on draft, and I became an expert of drawing little designs in the foam of the beer, just like how a barista can make cute designs in the foam of your cappacino. On St. Patrick’s Day I was making lots of clover designs. If I was really quick I could do a 4 leaf clover, but if I was too slammed a 3 leaf clover would have to do.
Except for when the Guinness was for Shawn. He always got a heart.
I love drinking Guinness, especially in the winter. It has a great smooth and creamy texture with a little bit of a bitter espresso flavor to it. It is delicious in beef stew. The flavor combination of the flavorful beef with the slightly bitter and coffee flavor of the Guinness is just delicious.
Beef stew, on the other hand, is so good we make it all year long. For me, St. Patrick’s is all about this Irish Guinness beef stew. And since St. Patrick’s Day is on a weekday this year, this slow cooker version will let you have tender Guinness beef stew ready for you in your crockpot when you get home.
I topped this slow cooker Irish Guinness beef stew with micro greens. Don’t they look like lucky 4 leaf clovers? A cute idea that was inspired by my blogging friend Sarah at Snixy Kitchen. Along with being oh so cute, they give a wonderful freshness to the stew. But parsley would work as well.
Slow Cooker Guinness Irish Beef Stew
Ingredients
- 3 pounds lean beef stew meat cut in 1" cubes, I get my beef from ButcherBox, which I highly recommend
- 1/2 cup white all purpose flour
- 1 pound carrots, chopped (about 4 large, will yield 3 cups)
- 1 pound yukon gold potatoes, chopped (about 4 medium size, will yield 3 cups)
- 2 large yellow onions, chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, grated of finely minced
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 12- ounce bottle Guinness Draught beer
- 64 ounces 8 cups chicken stock, divided
- 2 bay leaves
- salt and pepper
- olive oil
- micro greens for garnish, optional, or could use chopped parsley
Instructions
- In a baking dish, stir and combine the flour, 2 teaspoon salt and 2 teaspoon pepper. Add the beef stew meat and toss to coat. Tap off excess, and transfer the flour dredged stew meat to a plate. Discard any leftover flour.
- Heat a large skillet over medium high heat for 2 minutes. Add 1 teaspoon olive oil, and add about 1/4 of the meat, being careful to not overcrowd the pan (otherwise the meat will steam and not brown). Cook about 4 minutes per side, or until golden brown, turning to cook both sides. Transfer the cooked meat to your slow cooker. Repeat to continue browning the meat, adding another teaspoon of olive oil to the pan each time before adding the meat. It takes me about 4 batches to cook all the meat.
- While the meat is browning, chop up the carrots and potatoes to be about 1" x 1/2" chunks. You don't want to cut the vegetables too small, otherwise they won't hold up in the stew. Transfer the cut carrots and potatoes to the slow cooker. Chop up the 2 onions and set aside.
- After the meat is done cooking, add 1 teaspoon of olive oil to the same pan and cook the onions. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. While the onions are cooking, scrape up any brown bits and cooked flour on the bottom of the pan. Cook for about 5 minutes, until the onions just starting to soften. Add in the garlic and tomato paste, stir and cook for 1 more minute. Add in about 1 cup of the chicken stock and scrape up any remaining bits on the bottom of the pan. Transfer the cooked onions and liquid to the crock pot. Add in the Guinness beer, remaining chicken stock, and bay leaves to the crock pot. Give a stir to evenly distribute the meat and vegetables. Cover and cook on HIGH for 4-6 hours, or LOW for 8-10 hours. Taste for salt and pepper after cooking. Sometimes I'll even add garlic powder if it needs it.
- Serve warm, and garnish with micro greens or chopped parsley.
Notes
More Slow Cooker Soup and Stew Recipes
Potato, White Bean and Kale Soup
Italian Sausage and Vegetable Soup
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50 Comments on “Slow Cooker Irish Guinness Beef Stew”
This looks SO comforting and delicious! Perfect for winter :)
So talented! I used to bartend too but never was able to make any designs with the foam lol. This beef stew looks amazing!!! Pinned!
This sounds too perfect for St. Patty’s Day, and such comfort food in this cold weather! Slow cooker meals are awesome, and the microgreens on top look so cute.
I’ve had a stew like this on my radar and just bought a big old bottle of Guinness today. This looks so delicious, and I love the Guinness flavor with beef — it’s amazing! Lovely photos, too! :)
This looks hearty and delicious! I would love this with some crusty bread and I love the micorgreens (perfect for St. Patty’s!)
This is such a beautiful dish. I adore a good beef Stew. Kurt has one that’s been passed down to him by a friend that passed away and it’s just amazing. Very similar to yours, so I know its super good. You’re making me want to make this dish on Sunday. So yummy. The pictures are beautiful Natalie.
Wow, this stew sounds amazing! I love a good beef stew. Perfect for St. Patrick’s Day!
Thanks Kelly!
Guiness Beef Stew is one of my winter favorites. How wonderful to now have a slow cooker version! I love the clever use of micro greens and your photos are beautiful as always!
Thanks Rachelle! Slow cooker to the rescue! It is my favorite way to cook my beef stews. Such great flavors as it cooks all day long. Plus, my house smells amazing. Keeps my stomach growling all day : )
This is seriously the best looking beef stew ever! I love that you topped them with micro greens, they do look just like clovers – so pretty and festive! So cute that you made Shawn a heart every time too :) It’s so cold here and all I want right now is a giant bowl of this delicious stew! It’s perfect!
Thanks Kelly! You’re so sweet! I am just loving those little micro greens. They really do look like clovers don’t they? They sell a little container of them at Trader Joe’s. So cute!
Oh my gosh, they DO look like clovers!!! So cute! I totally want to see your beer art Natalie. You will have to show us sometime! I’m with you on the corned beef. Bring on the stew! It looks fab! Pinned :)
Don’t they?! They sell a cute little carton of them at Trader Joe’s. You should put some on Charlotte and Truman’s dinner on St. Patty’s Day and tell them their 4 leaf clovers. It will be their lucky day!
this is the most gorgeous looking stew I’ve ever laid eyes on!!! looks sooo yummy Nat, perfect for St Pats! xx
Thanks Christine! You’re so nice! I just think those micro greens are too cute. Like little edible 4 leaf clovers. You’re the best!
Love love love this! I adore stew and I adore anything cooked with beer. Win win!
Thanks Olivia! Stew and beer is a great combo, haha : )
Clayton and I are home today on a “snow day” we did not prepare so we have like NO food. Basically we have milk and a bag of chips. Oops! So I am so wishing I had some of this delicious stew! It looks amazing! And those micro greens are darling! I want to garnish everything with those!
Hope you’re enjoying your snow day! Here in California, we don’t have any of those. It seems so fun! I’ve always dreamt of getting cooped up in the house due to weather. But being stuck with no food would be a major problem, haha. And aren’t those little micro greens too cute? They have them at Trader Joe’s!
I’m definitely going to try this. I got the stovetop version down, but I’ve had trouble perfecting the slow cooker version now that I have one! I think I’ve made it three times and they have all been a bit off. I went to an Irish pub last week and it was so nice because we were surrounded by fellow english speakers and yummy pub food- not all that easy to find here!
I bet you’re having so much fun playing around with your slow cooker! Isn’t it the best? One thing about slow cookers is they don’t really lose any liquid like stove top versions do. So the amount of liquid you put in is the same amount you get out. Bet you were happy to be around some english speakers : )
Corned beef and cabbage is not my thing either! This stew, however, looks delicious. I’ve never cooked with Guinness, and I bet it lends amazing flavor and really complements the beef!
Ya, corned beef and cabbage is just not that good. Plus, I really hate the way boiled cabbage smells. Very…stinky. I’ll take this beef stew instead. Thanks Kristine!
This is gorgeous my friend! I adore beef stew and love that this is cooked up in the slow cooker. Simple yet amazing!
Pinned.
Have a fabulous day!
Thanks Melanie! Slow cookers are just the best. Still thinking about your Italian Wedding Soup from this week : )
This looks absolutely delicious, and brings back great memories of visiting Ireland! I’m not much of a beer drinker, but everyone has to get a Guinness in Dublin. Over time, I’ve actually come to like the taste . . . and I bet it’s amazing in stew!
You’re so lucky you got to visit Ireland! I bet Guinness is a must drink there. I actually really like Guinness beer. Just 1 or 2 though, it’s so heavy I can’t have more than that. I’ve heard it’s great for breast feeding, so maybe you’ll be enjoying a cold one soon! *wink*
This looks amazing, Natalie! Love that you topped it with those cute little micro greens. How sweet of you to always give Shawn a heart on his Guinness!
I remember the green beer during St. Patrick’s day in college – the university (Penn State) always conveniently scheduled spring break during the holiday because it was absolutely crazy at the bars. So, what did the student’s do? Created “State Patty’s Day”. Things got so crazy that most of the bars shut down to stop it from happening!
Shawn got lots of hearts in his Guinness. Except one time I was trying to be funny and draw a middle finger, but I wasn’t quick enough so it looked like a bunch of squiggles, haha! And that is so funny about State Patty’s Day! Probably smart to have it happen during spring break. Aren’t there a lot of Irish in PA? Then again, everyone is a little Irish on St. Patty’s day right?
What a gorgeous stew, Natalie! I definitely think of this meal come St. Patrick’s Day, and I’m not Irish either! I love the lighting in your pictures, so beautiful! And I’m sure you have a lot of interesting stories from working at that pub in college! :)
Thanks Gayle! Isn’t everyone a little Irish on St. Patty’s Day? Haha. And yes, sooo many interesting stories from working in that pub.
Beef stew is just pretty much my ultimate WEAKNESS. I am absolutely all over this gorgeous stew, Natalie! I love how loaded it is with so many veggies and tender beef cubes! And uh, I definitely would never say no to a beef stew with ‘zee booze in it either! ;) Gorgeous photos too, girl! Pinned.
Sarah, I need to give you some kind of award because you are always the first person to comment on my posts. Makes me so happy every morning when I see it in my email box. You’re so nice! And yes, beef stew and booze is a win, haha!