Cowboy Stew {Hearty!} Gonna Want Seconds (2024)

My cowboy stew recipe is one part beef stew, one part chili, five parts DELICIOUS! Three types of meat and wholesome veggies will have everyone in your family begging for more of this stew recipe!

Love hearty stew recipes? You’ll flip for this! With the tender meat of aslow cooker beef stew (one of the most popular stew recipes in the history of my site!!!), and the veggies and beans of a Brunswick stew, cowboy stew takes the best parts of your favorite recipes and simmers them to perfection.

The only thing it doesn’t have is a nod to chicken stew…but hey, let’s throw in some shredded poultry! Why not? Cowboy stew welcomes every ingredient!

Let’s make this stew!!

What I Love About This Recipe

This ain’t your mama’s stew recipe! Loaded with three types of meat and tons of veggies, this stew is the lip-smacking dinner your family’s been waiting for.

• Tender, juicy meat
• One-pot wonder
• Easy cleanup!
• Crowd-pleasing flavor

Cowboy Stew Ingredients

• Bacon
• Kielbasa Sausage
• Ground Beef
• Onion
• Garlic
• Flour
• Salt + Pepper
• Chili Powder
• Diced Tomatoes
• Baked Beans
• Green Chilies
• Sweet Corn
• Potatoes
• Parsley

Cowboy Stew Recipe Notes

My cowboy stew recipe is an amazingly wholesome and easy-to-prepare meal that you’ll feel great about feeding your family! Cooking everything in one pot helps contain the mess and build incredible layers of flavor.

• Let’s Talk Beans!! This is the exact taste of Cowboy stew that my Girl Scout troop used to make. That said, some people find the baked beans, too sweet. I’ve received many suggestions (Hello, Texas! Love you!!) to use ranch-style beans, including the liquid in the can instead!
• Kielbasa – This recipe uses three types of meat for a fully dimensional flavor sensation! If you’re thinking about skipping one, don’t — I promise, it’s worth it. For instance, the kielbasa brings a delicious smokiness that the bacon and beef don’t have. You just can’t have cowboy stew without all these treats!
• Tomatoes – I use canned tomatoes for this recipe to save time in the prep stage as well as the cooking stage. And using petite diced tomatoes helps them break down even faster! If you can’t find petite, using crushed is a good alternative.
• Beans – I love the flavor and sweetness that comes with using canned baked beans in this stew! My favorite is good ol’ Bush’s Original, but you can use any brand at your store.
• Corn – Playing up the sweetness, even more, I use sweet corn in this recipe too. Sweet corn is NOT just corn canned with sugar — it’s a specific type of corn. So make sure you’re reading labels and not just getting plain corn with added sugar. Yuck!

How To Make Cowboy Stew Recipe

1. Cook bacon until brown and crispy in a large pot. Set aside.

2. Add the sausage to pot drippings and brown on both sides. Set aside.

3. Add beef, onion, and garlic to the pot.

4. Brown until the beef is no longer pink.

5. Sprinkle flour, salt, pepper, and chili powder over beef. Stir and cook for 1 minute.

6. Add diced tomatoes, baked beans, green chilies, sweet corn, potatoes, bacon, sausage, and water.

7. Bring to a boil then immediately reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

***See Full Instructions Below.

Cowboy Stew Crockpot Instructions

1. Cook bacon until brown and crispy in a large pot. Using a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to a plate lined with a paper towel to drain.

2. Add the sausage to the pot drippings and brown on both sides, adjusting the heat as needed so the fond (brown bits on the bottom of the pot) does not burn. Remove to the plate with bacon; set aside.

3. Add beef, onion, and garlic to the pot and brown until the beef is no longer pink. Sprinkle flour, salt, pepper, and chili powder over beef. Stir and cook for 1 minute.

4. Add all meats to a large crockpot.
5. Add diced tomatoes, baked beans, green chilies, sweet corn, potatoes, and water to crockpot.
6. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 6-8 hours.

Storing + Freezing + Make-Ahead

• How Long Can You Keep This In The Fridge? Store your cowboy stew leftovers in an airtight container, and they’ll last in your fridge for up to four days. If saving space is a priority, you can put your cooled cowboy stew in a gallon-sized Ziploc.
  • It does tend to thicken a little as it sits in the fridge so you may need to thin it out with a little water when you reheat it.
• Can You Freeze This? Yes and no. This cowboy stew recipe is fantastic for meal prep and it always helps to have a ready-made meal in the freezer. But the potatoes can be quite finicky in freezing temps, so you may want to leave those out — you can always add canned potatoes to this when it’s time to serve!
  • If you do freeze it sans potatoes, you can let it sit in your freezer for up to three months. To thaw, let it sit in the fridge overnight. Then add your potatoes and reheat!
• Make Ahead Tips: This one-pot wonder comes together pretty quickly thanks to those canned goodies! The various meats can’t be cooked ahead because you need them to build the flavor for your stew, but you can always chop the onions, garlic, potatoes, and kielbasa ahead of time.
  • The onions and garlic can be stored together, and the kielbasa can go in a sealed plastic bag — all of it can sit for up to a week in the fridge.
• Food Safety: If you’d like more info on food safety check out this link.

Serving Recommendations

This cowboy stew recipe goes with pretty much any favorite chili and stew sides! Southern cornbread or Bisquick cornbread if you like it sweet, Bisquick biscuits, beer bread, or tender buttery crescent rolls. Looking for biscuits instead? I don’t blame you! Try my easy peasy Bisquick biscuits, butter swim biscuits, big ol’ cat head biscuits, or for a sweet addition, my Bo Berry biscuits!

I also like to add some veggies and crunch via my KFC coleslaw, strawberry spinach salad, carrot salad, or broccoli salad!

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More Hearty Soups And Stew

• Hungarian Goulash (Authentically Dee-Lish!!)
• Instant Pot Beef Stew
• Hamburger Stew
• Green Chile Stew
• Shipwreck Stew

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