How to Make Sweet Potato Stew in the Crockpot (Slow Cooker)

Keep reading to learn how to make sweet potato stew in the crockpot!

I don’t know what it is, but I have just been really feeling soups and stews lately! You’d think it’s because it’s still winter, but it’s warm weather all year-round where I live.

Whatever the reason, my family and I have been living it up with all of these cozy meals the last few weeks.

If you’re interested, you can see some of those delightful dinners here (creamy tomato soup) and here (healthier chicken and dumplings).

I came across this sweet potato stew recipe on Pinterest a couple of weeks ago and was intrigued. I already really like my usual stew recipe, but I had never tried one that used sweet potatoes before!

So I needed to try it out, naturally.

And guess what? It was really, really good!

Even my seven year old LOVED it! My four year old said she didn’t like it, but that was after she gobbled up everything except the onions, so I suspect she was just feeling cantankerous and took it out on an innocent bystander (ie: the stew).

Regardless, this sweet potato stew is definitely going on our “have again” list. It’s just as delicious as typical stew, but the sweet potatoes make it feel cozier, and the fire-roasted veggies make it taste fancier.

And even though it tastes indulgent, it’s actually really healthy! A sizeable serving is under 300 calories and has 22 grams of protein. Pretty awesome, right?

Aaaaand you can make it in the crockpot (slow cooker), so it’s a great “set it and forget it” meal for those days when you won’t be home until it’s already dinner time!

So would you like to learn how to make this uniquely delightful sweet potato beef stew?

Let’s get making!

How to Make Sweet Potato Stew

First, dice 1 ½ pounds of beef (you can use pre-cut stew meat if you like, but I usually just use whatever beef happens to be on sale and cheapest when I’m grocery shopping—when I made this stew, London broil happened to be the cheapest cut, so I got that and just cut it into bite-sized chunks myself).

Put the beef in the crockpot (not turned on yet) along with 1 ½ teaspoons of salt, ½ teaspoon of black pepper, ½ teaspoon of paprika, and 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour. Stir it all together until the meat is evenly coated.

Now you can put everything else in the slow cooker: 1 ½ pounds peeled and diced sweet potatoes (about 2 medium ones), 1 diced onion, 8 ounces chopped carrots (even when using baby carrots, I still like to cut them into bite-sized pieces—I’m of the persuasion that everything in a stew or soup should be bite-sized), 1 clove minced garlic, 1 can fire-roasted tomatoes, 1 drained can fire-roasted corn, 2 cubes beef bouillon, 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, 1 cup water, and 1 bay leaf.

Stir it all together and turn the heat on to low for 7—9 hours or on high for 5—7 hours.

Give it one last stir and remove and the bay leaf before serving.

Can you freeze stew?

Yes, you can. But it will make the veggies a bit extra mushy when you thaw it, though.

What about if I want to prep everything for the stew and freeze it before cooking? Can I make stew into a freezer meal?

Yes, that works, too! But it’ll take a few extra steps. You can put everything except the diced carrots and diced sweet potatoes in a  freezer bag and right into the freezer (be sure to toss the beef with the flour first).

You’ll need to blanch the sweet potatoes and carrots before you freeze them. To do this, place them in already boiling water for 3-5 minutes. Then move them to ice water to stop the cooking and cool them down quickly. Now you can place them in another freezer bag and into the freezer.

When you’re ready to make your stew, simply thaw the contents of the two freezer bags and cook like normal in the crockpot.

Do you have a unique spin on a classic dish that you just love? Let me know in the comments!