Beef & Noodle Stew Slow Cooker

Beef & Noodle Stew Slow Cooker. My dad swore by this no-fuss meal back in college. It uses just 3 main things from the pantry and turns into a big, yummy batch with hardly any work!

Makes 6-8 bowls

What You Need

• 2 pounds beef stew meat, chopped into 1- to 1 1/2-inch pieces

• 2 big cans (20-24 ounces each) of beef stew with potatoes and carrots (use all the juice too)

• 12 ounces wide egg noodles (the fun wavy kind if you can find them)

How to Make Beef & Noodle Stew Slow Cooker

1. Put it all in layers: Dump the beef chunks at the bottom of your 5-6 quart slow cooker. Pour the canned stew (with potatoes, carrots, and all the gravy) right on top. Use a spoon to spread it around so the meat gets mostly covered.

2. Give it a quick mix: Stir gently just a bit to push the beef down into the gravy. No need to mix a ton—this recipe is super easy and hard to mess up.

3. Cook slow and low: Put the lid on tight. Set it to LOW for 7-8 hours, or HIGH for 4-5 hours. The beef gets soft, potatoes and carrots mush up nice, and the gravy gets thicker and yummier.

4. Fix the thickness if you want: If it’s too thick for noodles, stir in 1/4 to 1/2 cup hot water. If it’s runny, take the lid off for 20-30 minutes on HIGH to let some water steam away.

5. Boil the noodles: Right before eating, get a big pot of salty water boiling on the stove. Toss in the egg noodles and cook like the package says (about 6-8 minutes till soft). Drain them good and shake off extra water.

6. Mix it together: Switch the slow cooker to WARM or LOW. Add the wet noodles straight in. Fold them gently into the beef mix so every noodle gets covered in gravy, with beef, potatoes, and carrots all mixed up nice.

7. Let it sit and serve: Put the lid back on for 5-10 minutes so noodles soak up gravy and it gets thicker. Scoop into bowls (or foil pans for later). Serve hot with extra gravy on top!