This slow cooker mulligan stew is the kind of easy, hearty dinner that lets four simple ingredients do all the work. Brown the beef, chop a few potatoes and onions, open the tomatoes, and let the slow cooker handle the rest. Plain can be downright heroic.
Why You’ll Love It
- Four simple ingredients — ground beef, potatoes, onions, and canned tomatoes make a complete, hearty stew.
- Slow cooker easy — brown the beef, layer everything in, and let it cook hands-off.
- Budget-friendly — potatoes, onions, and tomatoes stretch two pounds of ground beef into plenty of servings.
- Comforting flavor — tender potatoes, soft onions, and beef simmer into a rich tomato broth.
- Flexible for serving — serve it as-is or over rice, noodles, or macaroni to stretch it farther.
Ingredient Notes
Use ground beef that’s around 80 to 85 percent lean. Enough richness gives the broth some body, but not so much grease that the whole thing feels heavy. Drain after browning. Try our Slow Cooker 4-Ingredient Poor Man Goulash next.
Russet potatoes are the right choice here because they soften beautifully over the long cooking time and lend a little starch to the broth. Peel them. In this particular stew, peeled russets make it feel more like the old-fashioned, simple meal it is meant to be.
Yellow onions are best. They cook down sweet and soft, almost melting into the tomatoes. For a smoother texture, dice them pretty small. Smaller than you think. If you like this, you'll love our 5-Ingredient Slow Cooker One Pot Spaghetti.
For the tomatoes, either crushed or diced tomatoes work, as long as you use the full cans and all the juice. The liquid is important. Plain tomatoes keep the flavor mild and traditional. Fire-roasted tomatoes or tomatoes with green chiles will create a different flavor—but still good, just not quite the simple old version.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef, preferably 80–85% lean
- 4 cups peeled and diced russet potatoes, about 3 to 4 medium potatoes depending on their mood at the store
- 2 cups diced yellow onion, usually about 2 medium onions
- 2 cans (28 ounces each) crushed or diced tomatoes with their juice—do not drain them, for heaven’s sake
Instructions
Brown the ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat, breaking it up into small crumbles as it cooks. Keep going until there is no pink left and most of the liquid has cooked away, about 7 to 10 minutes. Drain off extra grease if desired.
Spoon the browned beef into the bottom of a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker and spread it out more or less evenly. It does not need to be perfect.
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Layer the peeled, diced russet potatoes over the beef. Try to keep the potato pieces fairly similar in size so they cook at the same pace. Aim for bite-size chunks.
Scatter the diced yellow onions over the potatoes. Do not stir everything together at this point. The layering helps the potatoes and onions cook evenly in the tomato liquid.
Pour both cans of crushed or diced tomatoes, juices and all, over the onions and potatoes. Cover as much of the vegetables as you can. If the tomatoes are very thick, gently shake the slow cooker insert or press things down lightly with a spoon so some of that tomato juice settles around the potatoes. For another easy option, see our Hobo Casserole Rustic Ground Beef and Potato Bake.
Cover with the lid and cook on LOW for 7 to 8 hours or on HIGH for 4 to 5 hours, until the potatoes are very tender and the onions have softened almost completely into the broth. Try not to keep lifting the lid to check on it. Every time you do, you lose heat and add cooking time.
Gently stir the stew from the bottom once the cooking time is up, combining the beef, potatoes, onions, and tomatoes into that rich, dark tomato broth. Taste it, then add a pinch of salt and pepper at the table if you want. It is intentionally simple, though. Don’t feel like you have to doctor it into something else.
Ladle the stew into bowls while it is hot, making sure each bowl has plenty of beef, potatoes, onions, and broth. Keep the slow cooker on WARM for serving at different times.
Variations
Use diced tomatoes with green chiles for a little kick, and serve it over rice.
You can also serve it over cooked egg noodles or elbow macaroni if you need to stretch it farther.
If you like a thicker stew, mash a few of the cooked potato pieces against the side of the slow cooker and stir them back in. You can also leave the lid slightly ajar for the final 20 to 30 minutes while cooking on HIGH to let some liquid cook off.
Do not add extra potatoes without increasing anything else. Stick with the amounts here, or serve it over noodles if you need more mileage.
If you have a pressure cooker, my Instant Pot Beef Stew is another hearty beef stew to try.
Storage & Reheating
Leftovers keep well in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, covered tightly. In fact, it may taste even better the next day once the potatoes and tomatoes have had time to settle into each other. You might also like our Cheesy Hamburger Potato Casserole: A Comforting, Hearty Meal.
Reheat individual bowls in the microwave until steaming hot, stirring once in the middle if you remember. For a larger amount, warm it gently on the stovetop over medium-low heat, stirring now and then so the bottom does not catch.
The potatoes will soften more after chilling, so don’t expect them to stay perfectly tidy. This is mulligan stew, not a pageant contestant. If it seems thicker after refrigeration, a little water stirred in while reheating will loosen the broth.
Final Notes
There is something comforting about a recipe that is simple. Four ingredients. One skillet. One slow cooker. A little chopping, a little waiting.
Serve this with thick buttered bread, crackers, cornbread, whatever you have. Put out hot sauce if desired. Try our Pioneer Woman Cheeseburger Pie next.
And if the kitchen smells like onions and tomatoes all afternoon, well… there are worse things. If you like this, you'll love our Creamy Potato & Hamburger Soup Made In the Crockpot.
Slow Cooker 4-Ingredient Mulligan Stew
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Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef Preferably 80–85% lean
- 4 cups russet potatoes Peeled and diced; about 3 to 4 medium potatoes
- 2 cups yellow onion Diced; usually about 2 medium onions
- 2 28-ounce cans crushed or diced tomatoes Use with all of their juice; do not drain
Instructions
- Brown the ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat, breaking it into small crumbles, until no pink remains and most of the liquid has cooked away, about 7 to 10 minutes; drain extra grease if desired.
- Spoon the browned beef into the bottom of a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker and spread it out evenly.
- Layer the peeled, diced russet potatoes over the beef, keeping the pieces fairly similar in size and bite-size.
- Scatter the diced yellow onions over the potatoes without stirring the ingredients together.
- Pour both cans of crushed or diced tomatoes, juices and all, over the onions and potatoes, gently shaking the insert or pressing down lightly if needed so the tomato juice settles around the vegetables.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 7 to 8 hours or on HIGH for 4 to 5 hours, until the potatoes are very tender and the onions have softened almost completely into the broth.
- Gently stir the stew from the bottom to combine the beef, potatoes, onions, and tomatoes into the broth, then taste and add salt and pepper at the table if desired.
- Ladle the hot stew into bowls, making sure each serving includes plenty of beef, potatoes, onions, and broth; keep the slow cooker on WARM for serving at different times.
Notes
Nutrition
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Nutrition values are estimates based on the listed ingredients and serving count. Actual values vary with brands, cuts and portion sizes.
