Cowboy stew is a flavorful bowl full of meaty goodness, and it’s the perfect hearty meal for a cold day. I make it with mushrooms and onions, which gives the stew a wonderful flavor. It makes its own delicious gravy as it cooks. If you like, you can serve it over a bed of your favorite keto-friendly veggies, or you can add them into the slow cooker with the meat. I like mine just as it’s written, with a nice gooey cheese melted over the top.
I love to make big batches of food when I cook because there’s nothing better during a busy week than delicious leftovers! Leftovers make great lunches to go and easy weeknight dinners. My cowboy stew recipe makes enough to feed a family and tastes even better a day or two after it’s cooked. Of course, you can easily scale this recipe up or down to suit your needs if you want to. It’s best to make this recipe early in the day or on the day before, the day you wish to serve it.
Yield: 8 cups
Serving size: 1 cup
Ingredients:
- 4 lb top round beef, cubed
- 3/4 small onion, sliced
- 5 oz mushrooms, sliced
- 1 stalk of celery, chopped
- 1 tsp. dried parsley
- 1 tsp. paprika
- 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/4-1/2 tsp. tomato powder
- 1/4 tsp. ground mustard seed powder
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- approximately 5 cups of water
- Salt and pepper
Directions:
- Place the onions, celery, and mushrooms into the bowl of a 6-quart slow cooker.
- In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the meat to the hot oil in batches, and cook, turning the meat often, until it is browned on all sides. Place the meat on top of the vegetables in the bowl.
- Repeat until all the meat has been browned and is in the bowl.
- Sprinkle the meat with the parsley, paprika, garlic powder, tomato powder, and mustard powder. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Add the water to the bowl until the water is 2/3 of the way up the bowl.
- Cook the stew for 4-5 hours on high or until the meat is tender.
- Place the bowl on a cooling rack to cool down to almost room temperature.
- Transfer the stew into another container, and place it into the refrigerator for 3-4 hours or overnight until the fat has risen and solidified on the top.
- Use a slotted spoon to remove and discard the fat.
- Heat the through on the stove top before serving.
I have some ribeye steaks I got directly from the farmer that are tough as boots! If I cut those up into relatively small cubes would they get more tender in a recipe like this? I was figuring my only option might be grinding them but I would prefer to use them this way. Thanks!
Hi Francie!
I’m surprised the ribeyes are so tough! I’m not sure that stewing that cut of beef would work. I like the idea of grinding them. I would grind them and combine them with additional fat or with some ground pork.