Healthy Turkey Stew Recipe - Made in Slow Cooker (2024)

FAQs

Is stew better in the oven or slow cooker? ›

You can make a good stew in either a slow cooker or on the stove. The big advantage of a slow cooker is that you can safely put your ingredients in before you leave for work then after work your dinner is done.

For most soups and stews, it is necessary to add liquid in a slow cooker. Liquid helps to transfer heat evenly, preventing food from burning, and also ensures that the ingredients are evenly cooked. In addition, the liquid helps to create a sauce or broth that adds flavor and richness to the dish.

The essential ingredients for stew -- meat, vegetables and broth -- are healthy stuff. The problem is that traditional recipes call for massive portions of fatty meats paired with super-salty canned broths. Don't be turned off by recipes that use wine; a large portion of the alcohol and calories cook away.

Cornstarch, potato starch, and chickpea flour are a couple of pantry-friendly ways to thicken soups, stews, and sauces in the slow cooker. Just a tablespoon or two of any — added towards the end of cooking — will thicken sauces especially well.

A slow cooker can help with eating healthily, as this way of cooking doesn't need much (if any) fat, which can help to lower the calorie content. It also intensifies flavours – which is helpful when cutting down on salt.

But no one said that the main liquid should be water. Ideally, you'll use beef stock, but beef broth is fine too. Veal stock would be divine. Instant bouillon paste will add flavor and is perfectly acceptable.

The difference between the two settings isn't a higher temperature, it's the time it takes for the slow cooker to reach the simmer point. On high, that's around three to four hours, and on low, it's seven to eight, according to Crock-Pot. So imagine if your dinner is cooking away on high all day while you're at work.

Browning Is Better

And if you dredge the meat in flour before you brown it, your sauce will thicken up to make a gravy. You should always brown ground beef or any ground meat in a skillet before adding it to your slow cooker to prevent the meat from clumping up or from adding excess grease to your cooked dish.

Root Vegetables

They really bring more substance and body to these dishes and turn velvety and soft as they cook. Carrots are a go-to for stews and braises, but look beyond them to parsnips, turnips, rutabaga, celeriac, and sweet potatoes. Be sure cut them on the larger size so they don't dissolve into mush.

Can you eat stew every day? ›

It is possible to eat stew as part of a healthy diet, but it is not recommended to rely solely on stew as the sole source of nutrition. Stew can be a nutritious and satisfying meal that can provide a variety of nutrients depending on the ingredients used.

While you can make a beef stew on the stovetop or also in the Instant Pot, I'm partial to using my slow cooker for beef stew, to give the ingredients that long, unattended time they need to become really tender and delicious.

Cooking a stew in an oven generally results in slower, more even cooking, while cooking on a stove is faster and may require more frequent stirring. Oven cooking can lead to tender, flavorful dishes, while stove cooking is quicker but may require more attention to prevent burning or sticking.

An oven cooked stew like a pot roast is going to bake for a few hours, long enough to tenderize the meat and soften tough vegetables like carrots. It won't be practical to reduce the liquid after baking for an extended time.

Yes, beef stew can be overcooked in the oven, leading to dry, tough meat and mushy vegetables. It's important to cook it just until the beef is tender.