Crock Pot Beef Dumplings
Crock Pot Beef Dumplings is a tender stew beef that’s been slow-cooked in savory broth with fluffy, buttermilk biscuit pieces as dumplings!
A BELLY FILLING CROCK POT RECIPE
This Crock Pot Beef Dumplings recipe is the ultimate cozy, comfort food dinner. Basically, this is a beef version of the classic Chicken and Dumplings. It really is more like a beef stew with dumplings. This is one of those comfort food dinners that I love so much because it really is so easy to tailor this dish to whatever you prefer. It’s a simple, hearty, all-in-one meal that’s doesn’t require too much prep time or effort!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
Yes, you could use ground beef if you wanted but it should be cooked and crumbled before adding to the slow cooker.
This recipe is versatile, and the vegetables can be swapped out for others including leeks, parsnips, canned tomatoes, green beans, corn, chopped cabbage, etc.
You can add more broth if you’d like your stew to be soupier or less if you want it thicker.
You can skip adding any additional seasonings to the biscuits before adding them to the crockpot. You can divide each biscuit into four pieces and add them as is. They will absorb the flavors of the stew which are delicious.
Browning the meat adds color and flavor but if you are in a hurry you can skip it (which means you don’t need the flour or oil in the recipe).
You do not have to do this at all. Combining them into a ball and pinching off the dumplings just gives it more of that “made from scratch” look. You can skip that step altogether and just cut each biscuit into fifths and add them into the crock pot.
This is really a whole meal by itself. However, you could gather a nice, green side salad and some crusty bread to really tie it all together.
Leftover stew can be stored in an airtight container and can be refrigerated for up to 4-5 days. These dumplings don’t do well with freezing.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
- beef stew meat – you can cut up a chuck roast or buy it already in chunks.
- all purpose flour
- vegetable oil
- beef broth – you can use low or no sodium versions
- tomato paste – if you don’t like the tomato flavor, just leave it out.
- Worcestershire sauce
- low sodium soy sauce
- garlic cloves– I prefer fresh garlic but you can use the jarred stuff if that is what you have on hand.
- salt and pepper
- yellow onion, carrots and celery – I like slightly bigger chunks of veggies in this.
- yellow Yukon potatoes– peeled and sliced into 2-inch pieces. I think the Yukon golds hold up a bit better to the longer cooking process but russets or reds can be used.
- bay leaves
- canned refrigerated buttermilk biscuits– Instead of canned biscuits, you can also make fresh drop biscuits and add them to the stew (see my recipe for Bisquick Dumplings on how to do that.)
- garlic powder
- grated Parmesan cheese
- dried rosemary
HOW TO MAKE CROCK POT BEEF DUMPLINGS:
Add the beef stew meat to a large Ziploc bag. Add the flour, 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of pepper and 1 teaspoon of garlic powder. Seal the bag and shake it until all pieces are coated in the flour mixture. To a large stockpot or skillet, add the 2 Tablespoons of vegetable oil and heat it over medium. Once hot, add the beef stew meat and brown all sides. Add additional oil as needed. Try and not crowd the meat while browning. This means you may need to brown the meat in a few batches.
Once the meat is browned, add ½ cup of the beef broth to the pan and use it to deglaze the pan, scraping all the stuck bits from the bottom. Tons of flavor lies here! To a 5-6 quart crock pot add the remaining beef stock, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, minced garlic, tomato paste, rosemary and bay leaves. Stir to combine. Add the carrots, celery, potatoes and onion to the crockpot. Add the beef and everything scraped from the bottom of the pan as well. Stir to combine.
Cover and cook on High for 5 hours or Low for 8 hours. Or until the beef is fall-apart tender and the vegetables are cooked. When you have one hour remaining to cook, remove the biscuits from the tube and squish them together into one ball and add them to a bowl. Add ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon of pepper and ½ teaspoon of garlic powder. Squish the ball together mixing the seasoning throughout. Note: you can skip this step and just cut each biscuit into fifths (see my Frequently Asked Questions above for more on why I did it this way.)
Divide the ball into 40 small pieces and add them to the top of the stew. Add the cover and cook for the final hour until the dumplings are cooked through. When everything is ready, give it a good (gentle) stir and serve it garnished with fresh parsley!
CRAVING MORE RECIPES?
- Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplings
- Ground Beef and Dumplings
- Cracker Barrel Chicken and Dumpling Soup
- Crock Pot Beef Tips and Gravy
- Chicken and Bisquick Dumplings
- Chicken and Dumplings Casserole
- Chicken and Dumplings
- Crock Pot Beef Stew
- White Chicken Chili with Cornbread Dumplings
- Crock Pot Chicken and Cheese Dumplings
Crock Pot Beef Dumplings
Ingredients
- 2 pounds beef stew meat (see notes below)
- 2 Tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt (divided use)
- 1 ½ teaspoons black pepper (divided use)
- 1 ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 3-4 Tablespoons vegetable oil
- 4 cups beef broth can use low or no sodium
- 3 Tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 3 Tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 5 carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 3 celery stalks, diced
- 1 pound yellow Yukon potatoes, peeled and sliced into 2-inch pieces
- 1 (7.5 ounce) can refrigerated buttermilk biscuits
- 1 Tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
Instructions
- Add 2 pounds beef stew meat to a large Ziploc bag.
- Add 2 Tablespoons all purpose flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper and 1 teaspoon garlic powder. Seal the bag and shake it until all pieces are coated in the flour mixture.
- To a large stockpot or skillet, add 3-4 Tablespoons vegetable oil and heat it over medium to medium high heat. Once hot, add the beef stew meat and brown all sides. Add additional oil as needed. Try and not crowd the meat while browning. This means you may need to brown the meat in a few batches.
- Once the meat is browned, add ½ cup beef broth to the pan and use it to deglaze the pan, scraping all the stuck bits from the bottom. Tons of flavor lies here!
- To a 5-6 quart crock pot add the remaining 3 1/2 cups beef broth, 3 Tablespoons tomato paste, 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, 3 Tablespoons low sodium soy sauce, 2 garlic cloves, minced, 1 teaspoon dried rosemary and 2 bay leaves. Stir to combine.
- Add 1 yellow onion, diced, 5 carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces, 3 celery stalks, diced and 1 pound yellow Yukon potatoes, peeled and sliced into 2-inch pieces to the crock pot.
- Add the beef and everything scraped from the bottom of the pan as well. Stir to combine. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours (or on high for about 4-5 hours.) Note: I think this works best on low if you want fall apart tender meat. Do not remove the cover while cooking.
- When you have one hour remaining to cook, remove the biscuits from the can and squish them together into one ball and add them to a bowl. Note: you can skip this step and just cut each biscuit into fifths (see my Frequently Asked Questions above for more on why I did it this way.)
- Add ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper and ½ teaspoon garlic powder. Squish the ball together mixing the seasoning throughout.
- Divide the ball into 40 small pieces and add them to the top of the stew. I just pinch off a bit and add to the pot as I go along. Add the cover and cook for the final hour until the dumplings are cooked through.
- When everything is ready, give it a good (gentle) stir, garnish with 1 Tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese and serve!
Notes
- Please refer to my FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
- You can cut up a chuck roast or buy it already cut. You don’t need exactly two pounds, it’s okay if it is less than 2 pounds.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
This was excellent! Great flavor and my whole family loved it. I didn’t change anything in the recipe. Very easy to follow along.
Where does the Parmesan come in?
It’s just a garnish for serving and is optional 🙂
So I ended up making this recipe after you shared it yesterday. I had pretty much everything except for the biscuits so I ran to the store and got those. This was FANTASTIC! I know you mentioned it wasn’t absolutely necessary to combine all the biscuits and season them but I followed your directions to a tee because you never steer me wrong and it was great! The biscuits came out looking more homemade and the taste was perfect – thank you so much! Your recipes are always reliable Brandie 🙂
Oh my goodness – than you so much Steph! I didn’t know if I should post this recipe now or wait for fall and comfort food weather. Thank you for giving it a try and for the beautiful comment. I can’t tell you how much it made my day!!