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Healthy Crockpot Beef Stew is a lower calorie recipe made gluten free in a slow cooker. A classic recipe made better for you! Gluten Free + Low Calorie
If you're looking for a hearty dinner, you came to the right place today! This healthy crockpot beef stew will knock your socks off. It's better for you than traditional beef stews but not to worry, it still has all the comforting flavors you're looking for!
The best part is it's made easy in a slow cooker. Who doesn't love letting the slow cooker do the work for dinner? That's always a win in my opinion!
But first... let's talk about what makes this beef stew recipe better for you.
What Makes This Crockpot Beef Stew Healthy?
Here's why this recipe is nutritionally better for you.
- Lower in Calories - Calories are lower in this recipe than other stews that us flour or cream to thicken the sauce. This recipe uses steamed cauliflower to naturally thicken the sauce without adding a ton of calories.
- Lower in Fat - Beef chuck is used in this recipe to keep the fat lower. It's leaner and has less fat than other beef cuts. We are using beef so the fat will be higher though.
- Lower Carbs - Carbs from flour, creams and potatoes are omitted from the recipe on purpose to keep the carbohydrates lower. Anytime you are cooking with higher fat, you generally want to keep the carbohydrates lower. That's exactly what I tell my weight loss clients!
- High Protein - The protein content is 32 grams per serving and 25-40 grams is generally the goal for each meal. Protein keeps you full and keeps cravings away.
Ingredients For Crockpot Beef Stew
- Beef Chuck (I used ButcherBox stew beef)
- Carrots
- Onions
- Garlic
- Cauliflower
- Peas
- Tomato Paste
- Worcestershire Sauce, gluten free
- Balsamic Vinegar
- Beef Broth, low sodium
- Thyme
- Salt, Pepper
How To Make Beef Stew In A Crockpot
Making beef stew in a slow cooker couldn't be easier! This is what you need to do...
Start by trimming the fat from the beef then cut it with a kitchen scissors into one-inch pieces. Place the cut beef and remaining ingredients (except the cauliflower) in a slow cooker. Cover and set to cook on low for 8 hours or 4 hours on high. I highly recommend slow cooking for 8 hours if you can. The slow and low cooking really makes this stew super tasty.
Approximately 30 minutes before the stew is set to finish, add the cauliflower florets to a pot of boiling water. Make sure the water covers the cauliflower. Boil the cauliflower until softened. Drain and cool then add the cauliflower to a blender. Blend on high until thick and smooth.
Can You Make Beef Stew In The Instant Pot?
I have not tested this recipe in the Instant Pot yet; however, if I were to make this in an Instant Pot here's what I would do.
Add all the ingredients to the Instant Pot (except the cauliflower), cover, seal and set to pressure cook 30 minutes. Then I would slow release, add the steamed and blended cauliflower and serve!
Substitutions For Beef Stew
Here are a few substitutions you can make for this low calorie beef stew. Remember that making substitutions in the ingredients will change the nutritional values listed in this recipe.
- Instant Pot - Stews are generally meant to be cooked long and slow; however, you could make this in an Instant Pot. See the notes above this section for how I would do it!
- Beef Chuck - Other cuts of beef can be substituted for beef chuck. Lower fat cuts include eye of round roast and steak, sirloin tip side steak, top road roast and steak, top sirloin steak.
- Beef Alternatives - Chicken would substitute well here! I would use chicken breasts so that it shreds during the cooking process.
- Cauliflower - I don't recommend substituting this. You can even taste it and it thickens sauces nicely while adding a nice boost of low calorie nutrition! If you do need to substitute it, I would add two tablespoons of arrowroot powder.
- Peas - Swap them for corn or potatoes.
- Beef Stew Additions - Potatoes and corn could be added.
More Healthy Soup Recipes
More Healthy Crockpot Recipes
Healthy Crockpot Beef Stew
Ingredients
- 2 lb beef chuck
- 2/3 cup white onion diced
- 1 cup carrots diced
- 2/3 cup peas frozen
- 2 tablespoons garlic minced
- 2 cups beef broth low sodium
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce gluten free
- 1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 2 teaspoon thyme
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 12 oz cauliflower florets
Instructions
- Cut the fat off the beef and cut into 1-inch pieces and add it to a slow cooker. Add the salt and pepper.
- Add the onions, carrots, garlic, tomato paste, worcestershire sauce, balsamic, beef broth and thyme. Cover and set to cook on low 8 hours (or low 4 hours).
- About 30 minutes before the stew is done, add the cauliflower to a large pot and add water to cover the cauliflower. Bring to a boil. Boil 5-7 minutes or until cauliflower is soft. The smaller your florets, the faster this will be. Drain the cauliflower and set aside to cool 10 minutes.
- 15 minutes before stew is done add the cauliflower to a blender and blend until smooth. Add the cauliflower and frozen peas to the crockpot. Stir to combine and cook another 15 minutes to warm then serve!
- Store the stew in the refrigerator up to 5 days or in the freezer up to 90 days.
Notes
- Each serving is approximately 1 1/2 cups.
- My Amazon shop has more products similar to those used for this recipe and that I recommend to my weight loss clients.
- If you love this recipe, check out my cookbook for more delicious recipes!
Nutrition
What I Used For The Recipe
What size crock pot is this for, I have a 3qt?
The section in the blog post that says "what I used for the recipe" shows the slow cooker size. I believe mine was 8 quart.