Sweet Potato Stew: hearty, delicious, and slow-cooked to perfection! Sweet potatoes, carrots, celery, corn, tomatoes, beef, and perfect seasoning!
The Easiest Sweet Potato Stew
Sweet potatoes are my favorite veggie! They’re super versatile—baked, roasted, or in burrito bowls are just a few ways I love them.
I combined my go-to cold-weather recipe (stew) with sweet potatoes, and that’s how this sweet potato stew was born.
It’s full of flavor, hearty, and so easy to make. Just chop a few things, dump everything into the crockpot, and let it cook!
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make Sweet Potato Stew:
- Beef chuck roast: Or use pre-cut stew meat for less prep.
- Flour: Helps thicken the stew nicely.
- Sweet potatoes: Peel and cut into consistent 1-inch chunks for even cooking.
- Celery: Adds crunch and flavor.
- Onion: Yellow onions work best for a mild, sweet taste.
- Carrots: Petite-cut carrots are ready to go! Just dump them in!
- Corn: Use frozen corn, no need to thaw.
- Diced tomatoes: Fire-roasted tomatoes add more flavor.
- Bay leaf: Adds depth of flavor.
- Garlic: Minced garlic offers a strong, fresh flavor.
- Paprika: Adds a hint of smokiness.
- Worcestershire sauce: Adds umami and depth.
- Parsley: Fresh parsley brightens up the stew.
- Beef bouillon powder: Boosts the rich beef flavor of the stew.
How To Make Sweet Potato Stew
1. Prep the slow cooker: Spray CrockPot with cooking spray.
2. Coat the beef: Toss beef with flour, seasoned salt, and pepper.
3. Add ingredients: Add beef and remaining ingredients, stir to combine.
4. Cook: Cover and cook on low for 7-9 hours or high for 5-7 hours.
5. Finish and serve: Remove bay leaf, mash some sweet potatoes, and garnish with parsley.
How to Pick a Good Sweet Potato
- Stick with orange or red-skinned sweet potatoes (like Red Garnet or Jewel) for a sweeter, creamier texture.
- Choose firm potatoes without growths or discolorations; avoid soft or wet ones.
- For freshness tips, check out this article.
What To Serve with Sweet Potato Stew:
- Rice or Quinoa – Serve the stew over rice or quinoa for a heartier meal.
- Crusty No-Knead Bread – Perfect for dipping into the stew. Or serve with dinner rolls.
- Garden Salad – A light green salad with a tangy dressing to balance the richness.
Storage
How to Store Sweet Potato Stew:
- Fridge: Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- Freezer: Freeze in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating.
- Reheat: Warm on the stove over low heat or in the microwave until heated through.
More Easy CrockPot Recipes:
- Crockpot Cowboy Casserole with Italian sausage
- Shredded Beef Enchiladas with the best seasoning blend
- Crockpot White Chicken Chili with green enchilada sauce
- Crockpot Chicken Tacos easy taco-spiced chicken
- Crockpot Chicken Stew with carrots and peas
Sweet Potato Stew
Equipment
- Crock-Pot 6-quart
Ingredients
- Cooking spray
- 1 pound beef chuck roast cut into 1/2-inch chunks (or pre-cut stew meat for super quick prep)
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 3 cups chopped sweet potatoes see note 1
- 1/4 cup chopped celery
- 1 small yellow onion finely diced
- 1 (8-ounce) bag petite-cut carrots
- 1-1/2 cups frozen corn
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley see note 2
- 1 tablespoon beef bouillon powder
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Lightly coat the Crock-Pot with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, toss the beef with flour, seasoned salt, and pepper until well coated.
- Place the beef in the slow cooker. Add the remaining ingredients and stir everything together. Make sure the meat is submerged under the vegetables.
- Cover and cook on low for 7–9 hours or on high for 5–7 hours, until the sweet potatoes and beef are very tender. For best results, cook on low.
- Before serving, remove bay leaf. Stir everything together and gently mash some of the sweet potatoes to thicken the stew.
- Garnish with additional fresh parsley if desired.
Video
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I’ve made this before, it’s so tasty!! Thanks for the recipe. For the life of me I can’t find sweet potatoes in my area. Do you think I could use frozen sweet potatoes?
I think that will work fine! 🙂
I just made this recipe in my Instant Pot (40 minutes, stew setting, quick release) and it was really delicious. I did add beef broth instead of bouillon because I had it and it did require some salt when done. No biggie- full of flavor. I am looking for ways to add more vegetables and reduce meat in my diet. This recipe is perfect. Thank you.
I am so happy you enjoyed! Thanks for your comment Lois! 🙂
Can you double up this recipe for the slow cooker? Would the cooking time change?
I haven’t ever tried doubling this recipe; my concern is that it wouldn’t all fit; it’s a lot! If you do double it, I think the cooking time would increase by maybe 1-2 hours.
I can’t even begin to describe how delicious this soup was! I usually need saltine crackers with my soup and I didn’t even put any in because it was THAT good! This will be a weekly lunch/dinner. Even my husband liked it and he is not a soup guy. Thank you for this recipe!
I’m so happy you guys loved this Sweet Potato Stew so much! Thanks so much for your comment! 🙂
Hello there,
i was wondering if there was an insta pot version for this recipe? so excited to try it.
Hope you love it! Here’s an excerpt from the post:
Instant Pot Techniques
I recently tested Sweet Potato Stew in the Instant Pot® and it worked well! The sweet potatoes did end up a bit mushier than when cooked in the slow cooker, but flavors were delicious. Add everything to the Instant Pot and cook it on the “meat/stew” setting. Allow it to release naturally for 10 minutes before doing a quick release. If you don’t have the “meat/stew” setting, cook on high pressure for 35 minutes.
Does this work in the instant pot?
I am very excited to try this recipe it sounds amazing! I have one question regarding adding the fire roasted corn and tomatoes. Does this make the dish spicy at all? Or just incredibly flavorful? My fiance does not like very much spice in his food so I want to make sure he enjoys it too! Thank you!
I find it just adds flavor 🙂
Trying this for supper tonight! I’ve made stews with sweet potatoes before. My family loves sweet potatoes! This looks yummy and flavorful. I noticed you mentioned lifting the lid occasionally to stir. I was taught never to lift the lid of a crockpot (unless you’re adding something in the end) as it can take up to 20 minutes to get back up to temp!
I’ve heard that too, but haven’t ever had a problem with this stew 🙂 You don’t have to stir if you’d rather not. Enjoy!
Hard to believe there is 45 grams of sugar in this recipe. Is this correct?
There is a lot of sugar in sweet potatoes, carrots, and corn so I do think it is correct. There is definitely always variance product to product so nutrition facts are an estimate; we use NutriFox to calculate nutrition facts for each recipe on this site. I’d recommend using My Fitness Pal with your exact ingredients and plugging those in to see if your products can lower that amount if you are concerned! Hope that helps 🙂
What is a serving size?
I don’t have final serving sizes measured into cups. (To get an exact quantity for nutrition facts, you’ll want to divide the stew into 6 equal parts and each part is 1 serving)
We made this yesterday and it turned out so good!
So glad to hear that! Thank you Paul 🙂
Hi Chelsea. A delicious stew. I’m trying to find recipes to pressure can for the Navajos on the reservation who are starving. This would be so healthy! If I cooked it part of the way and then pressure canned it do you think it would work? Thanks
Hey Corinne, thank you so much! Unfortunately I have zero experience with canning so I have no clue how this stew would hold up. I wish I could be of more help; sorry!