Slow Cooker Summer Beef Casserole

The challenge for me in the summer is coming up with weekday meals that do not require turning on the oven and heating up my kitchen. While I love grilled foods, sometimes I just crave a more complex tasting dish that is easy to make. Slow Cooker Summer Beef Casserole checks all those boxes and, because it’s cooked in the slow cooker, you can set it and forget it. But that doesn’t mean it skimps on flavor.

This meal is delicious because the ingredients meld together over time allowing the steak to become tender, creating a deep, rich taste that is both hearty and comforting. The key to this recipe is adding the vegetables at the end of the cooking time so they remain crunchy and vibrant rather than soggy and mushy. No one likes a soggy, mushy vegetable.

Prepping the Ingredients

Start by using the Boning Knife to chop the steak into bite-sized chunks. We chose chuck steak for this recipe because it tends to be a cheaper cut of beef. However, because it has tougher muscle fibers, it needs to be cooked slowly to become tender, which is perfect for a slow cooker recipe.

Use a 7-5/8″ Petite Chef to mince the garlic. Use this same knife to chop up the celery, carrots, bell peppers and zucchini. We recommend chopping these vegetables up and placing them into a sealable plastic bag, even though they are not added to the recipe until the end. It makes the dish easier.

To chop the shallot, use a 5″ Petite Santoku. For easy instructions on how to cut shallots, follow our step-by-step instructions in this easy tutorial. 

If you’re planning to top the dish with fresh parsley, use the 7-5/8″ Petite Chef to chop it. If you want to add some spring onions, use the 5" Petite Santoku to slice them on the bias.

Making the Casserole

To make the casserole, start by adding the flour, thyme, salt and black pepper into a sealable bag and shaking the ingredients together. Add the beef and shake to ensure the beef is coated. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat the olive oil and add the coated beef, browning the meat on all sides, approximately five minutes.

Add the garlic and shallot and cook for an additional minute so the vegetables are slightly softened. Remove the beef mixture from the heat and pour into the slow cooker. Add the stout, bone broth, celery and carrots.

Here is the set it and forget it part. Set the slow cooker on low for six to eight hours and cook until the beef becomes tender.

For me, this is the important part. Wait until the end to add the red, yellow and green peppers, and zucchini to the beef mixture, stirring in the vegetables. Cooking for an additional 30 minutes will allow the vegetables to become warm but still retain some crunch. If you don’t mind mushy vegetables, you could add them in at the beginning, but this extra step really does add texture to the casserole as well as color.

Use individual serving bowls and spoon in cooked quinoa (or rice, whatever you prefer) and ladle the beef casserole over top. Sprinkle with cheese, parsley, spring onions and a dash of lemon juice. Add additional salt and pepper, to taste.

All these ingredients give this Slow Cooker Summer Beef Casserole a balance of sweet, savory, earthy and umami-rich flavors simmered in one pot. It’s the type of dish that makes your kitchen smell amazing the minute you walk in, and makes everyone hungry and ready to eat. Give it a try, it’s delicious!