Low Sodium Beef Stew Recipe (2024)

Published: Sep 22, 2015 · Modified: May 25, 2022 by JasonN

This hearty, classic beef stew is loaded with fresh ingredients and flavor, without all the sodium. A perfect low sodium slow cooker recipe.

Approximate sodium content: 171mg per serving

Beef stew is probably a dish you grew up enjoying with family for Sunday dinner. You remember mom or grandma working hard in the kitchen chopping vegetables and prepping all the ingredients, then letting the slow cooker do it’s work all day while the kitchen smelled of delicious food. Let’s rediscover the joy of this classic comfort food with a low-sodium version which is sure to please the palette and satisfy that hunger for this classic American staple.

Ingredients

Our beef stew recipe will not stray far from the classic beef stew recipes we know and love. We’ll use 1lb. of stew meat, cut into chunks of about 1 inch each. Often times you can find “stew meat” already cut up in the supermarket meat section. This is usually just fine to use. If you want to cut your own, go with a collagen rich meat such as chuck roast or beef short ribs. These are the perfect cuts of beef for stew to produce juicy and tender results.

Of course our stew will have fresh potatoes. I like to use Yukon Gold potatoes. They give use just the right starch contend to be savory and delicious when slow cooked in stew. Some celery and carrots and onion will fill out our veggies.

The liquid ingredients will include no-salt added beef broth, no-salt added tomato paste, red wine vinegar and some brewed coffee. The vinegar will really help to boost the flavors in absence of the salt and the coffee adds even more depth to the overall flavor profile.

We’ll get some subtle flavor and color from paprika, and of course some vibrance from fresh ground black pepper. And naturally, a few bay leaves will seep their elegance into the whole dish during the slow cooking.

Preparation

Beef stew can certainly be made without browning the meat first. But since we’re making a low-sodium version, we’ll want all the flavor boost we can get and there’s no better way to do that than to brown the meat first. We mix the flour with paprika and pepper, then add dredge the meat through the flour mixture. The meat will only be lightly coated, but that’s exactly what we want. Heat some olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven and add the meat to brown on all sides. This should take about 5 minutes.

Once the meat is browned, set it aside on a plate. You’ll then deglaze the bottom of the pot or Dutch oven. All those little stuck on bits are called fond and are loaded with flavor! Pour in the beef broth, coffee and red wine vinegar and use a wooded spoon to scrape up the bottom of the pot. Now, turn the heat on low and bring the liquid to a simmer. Our flavors are building so nicely right now! Once it reaches a simmer, add the tomato paste and whisk/stir it well to combine.

Now on to the slow cooker. Add the beef to the slow cooker along with the carrots, potatoes, onion and bay leaves. No pour that delicious liquid into the slow cooker.

Slow Cook

Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours (my favorite) or high for 4 hours. Now you may ask the question “So which is better, 4 hours or 8 hours?” It’s a fair question for certain. Here’s the deal… Your meat will be cooked plenty at 4 hours and the dish will be very good. But, at 8 hours, the meat will be even more tender and the the dish will be excellent! Now, you can always adjust the time based on how firm or tender you like everything. If you still like a little snap in your veggies maybe try a little less time on low such as 6 hours.

Ready to Serve

Now for the best part… time to serve! There’s really not too much to do here other than ladle your beef stew into a bowl and enjoy. Try garnishing the stew with the leaves from the top of the celery. They add a real nice subtle flavor.

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