“Food, like a loving touch or a glimpse of divine power, has that ability to comfort.”
~ Norman Kolpas
Comfort for the Long Winter
Today, I offer this recipe as a gift to anyone in the midst of a winter that won’t let go. It’s comfort food weather, and what’s more comforting than beef stew? Like many of you on a healing diet, I had an old stew recipe I used to love, full of ingredients I no longer eat, like potatoes and tomatoes. That’s OK. I’ve been on a healing diet for almost two years now, which means I’m very comfortable developing new versions of old favorites. I started with onions, garlic and rosemary for flavor. I kept the traditional carrots, but added celery root (a vegetable I met through a CSA 16 years ago and it’s been a love affair ever since), radishes (a big thank you to the former blog, Simply Healthy Home, for introducing me to this wonderful potato substitute), and cranberries (the secret ingredient that makes this stew so incredibly flavorful, inspired by Autoimmune Wellness). Finally, I added some bone broth for nutrient-density, and blended it with some vegetables before serving to thicken it without flour (an old grain-free trick that works every time). This stew puts my old stew recipe to shame. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Slow Cooker Beef Stew with Cranberries and Rosemary (Paleo, AIP, GAPS, Wahls, Whole30)
- Total Time: 8 hours 50 minutes
- Yield: 6-8 servings
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. beef stew meat (cut into same size pieces)
- 2 bunches of radishes (scrubbed and trimmed, but left whole)
- 1 lb. celery root (peeled & cut into 1 inch cubes)
- 1 lb. carrots (peeled and thickly sliced)
- 3 cups bone broth
- 1 tsp. sea salt (less if your broth is salted)
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper (optional – omit for AIP)
- 2 large onions (peeled whole)
- 2 large cloves garlic (peeled whole)
- 2 branches fresh rosemary
- 8 oz. frozen cranberries (save these for the final step in the recipe)
Instructions
- Put the beef, radishes, celery root, carrots, bone broth, salt and pepper in the slow cooker. Stir to blend.
- Nestle the whole onions down among the other ingredients. Place the whole garlic cloves on top of the onions. Lastly, place the rosemary branches on top of everything and cover the slow cooker. Save the cranberries for later.
- Turn it to low and cook for 8 hours.ย
- When the 8 hours are up, remove the rosemary branches and discard. Transfer the whole onions and garlic cloves to a blender. Add a couple of ladlefuls of broth and puree. Pour blender contents back into the slow cooker. Add frozen cranberries, and stir to blend. Cover and cook on low another 30 minutes.
- Taste the broth and add more salt, if needed. Serve!
Notes
- If you want to cook this recipe in your Instant Pot, you can cook it on high pressure for 35 minutes, then allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes before doing a quick release.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 hours 30 minutes
- Category: Main Courses
- Method: Slow Cooker
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Does the stew freeze well?
Hi Annette. Yes, the stew freezes very well.
Thank you!
Looks like this recipe fits the SCD protocol also.
Thank you for this stew recipe. After 20 some year of not eating beef I am ready to reintro beef!! So your timing is perfect. I plan to try this soon. I’m 2 1/2 years into AIP and beginning to branch out.
Here’s to branching out! Enjoy the recipe and best wishes with your reintro, Donna.
I tried this tonight and yikes the cranberries are sour. I thought they might sweeten in the soul. This isn’t edible.
Molly, if you don’t like the taste of cranberries generally, you won’t like any recipe that features them. They happen to be one of my favorite berries, which is why I love this recipe. Many people are so used to sweetened cranberries and sweet flavors in general that they haven’t developed a love for sour. That might be true for you, or you might just have different taste preferences. The good news is that the cranberries float, so you can just scoop them out of your stew and eat the rest just fine. I will say for others reading this post, that if you like cranberries, they don’t actually taste sour in this recipe to me. Rather, they provide a burst of flavor that I love. That said, if you’re not a cranberry-lover, this stew isn’t for you. ๐
I’m new to AIP and I thought we couldn’t have onions?
Hi Marissa. I don’t know where you got that idea, but onions are indeed allowed on the AIP. This article tells you the foods to avoid: What is the Paleo Autoimmune Protocol? This article tells you the foods you can eat: AIP Grocery List. And I recommend my book A Simple Guide to the AIP to answer all of your questions. Welcome to the community!
OMG! I’m not adventurous but this was surprisingly delicious for a Saturday nite during Snowmaggedon ’16!
Yay! Thanks for taking the time to report back, Wrecka. I’m so glad you enjoying it.
Hi Eileen! It’s winter here in CO and this soup looks fantastically warm ๐ Do you have any suggestions for substitutions for celery root? I’ve been avoiding it (and I hate peeling it :P). I’m no chef-would turnips or parsnips work as a sub?
Absolutely! Either one of those would be great substitutes.
Thanks so much! Love all you do ๐
This recipe looks incredible! I’ll be making soon.
This stew looks mighty tasty! ๐
Pinning! That looks so good. And I’m glad you are enjoying the radishes. They are really quite amazing.