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Slow cooker beef casserole with dumplings

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Fancy making a super easy slow cooker beef casserole? Don’t want to put too much effort in? I’ve got you covered with this super simple recipe!

You can spend just 5 minutes to prepare the ingredients and then this lovely meal will slow cook all day under it is tender and delicious.

This dish costs around £5 to make, and will easily feed 3-4 hungry people. If you want to bulk it out a little further then you can serve it with a delicious air fryer bread roll or even with a nice side of air fryer green beans or air fryer mashed potatoes.

If you’re looking for some inspiration for other slow cooker recipes then be sure to check out my easy slow cooker recipes (UK recipes).

Cooked slow cooker beef casserole with dumplings in a blue dish

Ingredients for slow cooker beef casserole

3 medium onions

5 medium carrots – sometimes I skip these if I’m serving air fryer carrots and parsnips with it instead for a bit more texture

2 stalks of celery

450g casserole beef (you can one of the cheapest cuts as it will cook for hours to become lovely and tender) or even Cube Steak (minute steak) if you’re cutting back a little

500ml beef stock or bone broth

30g cornflour

3 garlic cloves

Salt & pepper

3 tablespoons of fresh thyme or 2 tablespoons of dried thyme

A generous splash of Worcestershire sauce

A splash of brown sauce

That is it! Now you can add more vegetables as you like. Also, you can add a splash of red wine, a bay leaf and balsamic vinegar if you want to make it extra special. I often skip this and still find this casserole is delicious!

Scroll down to see my dumpling recipe too – which you can add near the end of the cooking time!

Whole chicken, onion gravy, cheesecake and air fryer roast potatoes with text overlay that says easy roast dinner recipes

Extra for slow cooker beef casserole – dumplings

100g plain flour

50g suet – beef or vegetarian will work

Just enough water until you get a wet, slightly sticky dough – I usually find a couple of tablespoons are enough.

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Method for slow cooker beef casserole

Season and brown off the meat lightly first. This seems to help with a nicer flavour overall and is worth spending a few minutes to achieve.

Throw everything in the slow cooker. Apart from the cornflour and dumpling dough.

Slow cooker beef casserole - A look at the ingredients once the herbs and stock are added

This is it once it is all mixed together and the cooking begins. I always start off on high for 1 hour. Then I turn down to low for 5-6 hours. You can cook this on high in 4 hours if you prefer. You can also leave it 8 hours on low. It will just be super tender and pull apart with ease.

Slow cooker beef casserole - A look at the ingredients once thrown together

One hour before serving mix the cornflour into a little water, to form a fine paste, and add this to the slow cooker pot. You can also add the dumpling mix here if you’d like to.

I make around 8-10 decent sized dumplings from the ingredients I have mentioned above. This is ideal if you’re feeding a few people, or even if you’re just a BIG dumpling fan!

In our home, there is usually 4 of us eating and sometimes we have seconds! Adding more vegetables is a great way to stretch this further without spending lots more money. Just about any root vegetables work fantastic within this casserole. I sometimes serve it with root vegetable mash too.

Products I use when making my slow cooker beef casserole:

Looking for some other slow cooker beef recipes?

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Want a few ways to make this recipe even easier?

You can purchase casserole vegetable mixes in the supermarket. These sometimes are found in the vegetable aisle, and other times you may find them prepared in the frozen section. These are ideal if you’re making a casserole but perhaps have limited mobility.

You can also use the casserole mix sachets of flavouring, if you don’t have lots of herbs and seasonings at home. This can be a great way to cook a hearty meal for your family without spending lots of money on herbs you may not use again frequently.

The ingredients in the recipe above are cheap to source, and you can make a huge number of portions just by bulking it out a little more with additional stock and vegetables.

Roast beef, sliced, in a beef gravy, in a glass roasting dish. In the background is a red baking dish filled with roast potatoes cooked in the Ninja Foodi

What are the best vegetables for a slow cooked beef casserole?

Personally I just love any root vegetables. My favourites are onions, parsnips, celery, carrots, turnips and then potatoes (not technically a root vegetable I know!) go SO well too and help make this a really filling hearty meal.

If you’re looking to stretch this a little further then look to add some grated ingredients, such as carrots and onions, to really stretch out the meal without a much larger cost, and in a manner that is not very noticeable.

Can you cook dumplings in the slow cooker?

Absolutely! Follow my recipe above. Be sure to keep the lid on for the whole of the cooking time to create the best cooking environment and get those dumplings to steam up nicely.

The cooked slow cooker beef stroganoff in a blue bowl

Want to make a cheap beef casserole?

While casserole beef in supermarkets is typically cheap there are even cheap cuts that you may be able to source from a local butcher. Brisket, skirt, shin and flank would all work really well for this slow cooked beef casserole.

ALL of the slow cooker recipes on this website have been cooked using a Ninja Foodi OL750UK, or the previous model, but you can use ANY slow cooker, as timings should be very similar.

How to make my slow cooked beef casserole:

Slow cooker beef casserole - A look at the dinner once the flour has been added
5 from 2 votes
Print

slow cooker beef casserole

A delicious slow cooked beef casserole with tasty dumplings

Course Main Course
Keyword beef, casserole
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 4 hours
Total Time 4 hours 10 minutes
Servings 3 servings
Calories 419 kcal
Author Katykicker

Ingredients

Casserole ingredients

  • 3 medium onions
  • 5 medium carrots
  • 2 stalks of celery
  • 450 g casserole beef
  • 500 ml beef stock
  • 30 g corn flour
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 1/4 tsp salt & pepper
  • 2 tbsps fresh thyme or 1 tbsp of dried thyme
  • Splash worcestershire sauce
  • Splash brown sauce

Dumplings

  • 100 g plain flour
  • 50 g suet
  • water to make a slightly sticky dough

Instructions

  1. Season and brown the meat before adding to the slow cooker pot.

  2. Add all of the casserole ingredients into the slow cooker, apart from the cornflour.

  3. Mix together. 

  4. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 5-6 hours. I always start with 1 hour on high. If you need to leave it longer you can easily cook for 8-10 hours, or overnight. 

  5. One hour before serving stir through the corn flour (mixed in a little water to form a paste) 

  6. If you’re having dumplings then add them for the final hour. I always make them smaller than when I’m cooking them in the slow cooker so that one hour is enough time.

Recipe Notes

Add lots more vegetables if you want to bulk this out. They will release a little juice, which will help create more stock too. 

Calories don’t include dumplings. 

Note: All calorie information is for demonstration purposes only and is based on the specific uncooked ingredients that I used when creating the recipe.

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Like this slow cooker beef casserole recipe? Fancy trying another one of my recipes? Here are some great ones:

Why not try one of these fantastic slow cooker accessories or cookbooks:

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Cooked slow cooker beef casserole with dumplings in a blue dish
Recipe Rating




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Eileen Kerriadge

Monday 24th of February 2020

Great to see a site with UK recipes

katykicker

Tuesday 25th of February 2020

Thank you! x

Sue

Thursday 27th of December 2018

That looks delicious, it’s making me hungry ? I don’t have a slow cooker though so will have to use the oven. I remember my mum using one when I was a kid.

katykicker

Tuesday 1st of January 2019

If you're interested in a slow cooker then keep your eyes peeled. Often the supermarkets have a bargain one for £10 around this time of the year!

katykicker

Sunday 16th of July 2017

Mine too! I love a nice easy dinner. Thanks for the comment x

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