This dish is the perfect meal for a winter night. It is hearty, filling, and warms you from the inside out. Plus, it is incredibly easy to make. All you need is a slow cooker and a few simple ingredients. This dish is often called “poor man’s stew,” because it is so inexpensive to make. But don’t let the name fool you. This stew is delicious and will leave you feeling satisfied.

Poor Man's Stew

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Poor Man’s Stew

Do you have those days where you just don’t know what to make, or what to do with the package of ground beef you took out of the freezer? Here’s an idea: Poor Man’s Stew. I make this a couple of times a year, just because I forget about it.

I figured maybe if I share it with you all, I’ll remember to make it more often. If you are looking for a cheap meal, this is it, it’s all there in the title.

Poor Man's Stew

What you need:

How to make Poor Man’s Stew:

Start by browning your ground beef, the smaller it is the better. While your ground beef is browning start chopping up carrots and potatoes into bite-sized pieces, and dice an onion.

Drain and rinse the grease off the ground beef. I always use hot water to run over my ground beef because I don’t like it to be greasy tasting at all.

Dumb everything into your slow cooker. Add in a small can of tomato paste, two cups of beef broth, and seasonings. Give it a good stir.

This is the easiest full-meal slow cooker recipe.

Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken

Now you can slow cook on low for 6-8 hours in your crockpot.

I don’t recommend the high setting to have it cooked in a shorter amount of time simply because I find the potato needs a longer time to cook through and to evenly cook.

I hope you enjoy Poor Man’s Stew as much as we do. Just like other stews, this is amazing reheated the next day for lunch. I try to make enough for supper each night so that we have at least one, if not two, servings for lunch the next day.

This is a great summer meal. It is filling in your belly, but you don’t have to spend an hour or two over the hot stove.

You could remove standing over the stove completely by browning your ground beef in your slow cooker ahead of time too. I do this when I buy large packages for freezing.

Poor Man's Stew
Yield: 5

Poor Man’s Stew

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 5 hours
Total Time: 5 hours 15 minutes

A slow cooker meal that is easy on the budget.

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. ground beef, browned and drained
  • 1.5 lbs potatoes, diced large
  • 3 carrots, sliced
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 6-oz. can tomato paste
  • 2 cups water
  • 2 beef bouillon cubes
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • ¼ tsp. pepper
  • 1 tsp. onion powder
  • 1 tsp. dried oregano

Instructions

  1. Add the cooked ground beef, potatoes, carrots, onions, and garlic to a 5-quart or larger slow cooker.
  2. Pour in tomato paste, water, beef bouillon, add in seasonings, mix together.
  3. Cover and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours.

Nutrition Information:

Serving Size:

1 grams

Amount Per Serving: Unsaturated Fat: 0g

Recommended Products for this Meal:

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Slow Cooker Chicken Stew

Asian Ground Beef

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