Fussy Eater’s Slow Cooker Beef Casserole
My partner is a ridiculously fussy eater. He doesn’t like onions, garlic or herbs and I’m pretty sure the thought of red wine in a casserole would have him running straight to McDonald’s rather than sitting down for his tea.
So when I make something like a beef casserole, I have to keep things pretty simple. No fancy ingredients, no hidden vegetables and definitely no red wine. Just tender beef, potatoes and carrots in a lovely thick gravy.
And actually, sometimes simple is best!
This is one of those meals that’s perfect for the slow cooker as I can just pop everything in first thing in the morning and leave it cooking on low all day. I’ll add some peas or green beans partway through if I fancy them and then thicken the gravy right at the end with some gravy granules.
It’s nothing complicated but that’s exactly the point. It’s an easy, filling family dinner made with everyday ingredients and, most importantly, there’s nothing in it that’s going to send my partner off in search of a Big Mac. 😂
Fussy Eater’s Slow Cooker Beef Casserole Recipe
One thing I should say about this recipe is that I don’t really measure the vegetables. It all depends on what mood I’m in, how much I want to make and what I’ve already got in the fridge or freezer.
Sometimes I’ll add more carrots, sometimes more potatoes and sometimes I’ll throw in a handful of peas or green beans. It’s such an easy recipe that you really don’t need to be precise with the quantities, which is one of the reasons I love making it.
Ingredients
- Diced casserole beef, with any visible fat removed
- Carrots, peeled and sliced (fresh or frozen)
- Potatoes, peeled and chopped into small chunks
- 2 beef Oxo cubes
- Enough water to cover everything
- A handful of frozen peas or some green beans (optional)
- Bisto beef gravy granules to thicken
How to make Fussy Eater’s Slow Cooker Beef Casserole
- Add your diced casserole beef to the slow cooker. There’s no need to brown it first which makes this even easier.
- Peel and slice your carrots and add them to the slow cooker with the beef. If you’re using frozen carrots, you can add them straight from the freezer.
- Peel your potatoes and chop them into reasonably small chunks before adding them in too. I like my potatoes to be really soft by the time we sit down to eat, so I deliberately cut them smaller than I would if I was making roast potatoes or boiling them to serve separately.
- Crumble in your two beef Oxo cubes and add enough water to cover everything in the slow cooker.
- Pop the lid on and cook on low for around 7–8 hours, or until the beef is tender and the vegetables are cooked through.
- If you’re adding peas or green beans, pop them in about halfway through the cooking time.
- Towards the end of cooking, give the Bisto gravy granules a shake into the slow cooker, stir well and keep adding a little more until the gravy is as thick as you like it.
- Give everything a good stir and it’s ready to serve.
You’ll notice that there isn’t specific mesurements and that’s because it really depends on how much beef you want to add which is often dependent on how much you want to pay. I used 750g today because that’s the size pack I bought from the shop as it looked nice but it was £7.97 which can be a costly addition to your weekly shop. On that, I used 2 big potatos and about 3 carrots (I used frozen which is where the ‘about’ comes from. 😁)
I would probably use more veggies if I was using less meat.
Why this slow cooker beef casserole works for fussy eaters
The beauty of this recipe is that there’s nothing complicated about it. There’s no long list of ingredients and no strong flavours that might put someone off before they’ve even tried it.
The beef cooks slowly in the stock until it’s tender and the carrots and potatoes cook in the same lovely gravy.
I always chop the potatoes quite small because I like them to be really soft by the time we eat. They soak up the gravy and some of them start to break down a little, which makes the casserole even more comforting.
And because everything is cooked together, there’s no need to worry about making lots of different things to go alongside it.
Obviously, every fussy eater is different and what works for my partner might not work for everyone, but the nice thing about this recipe is how easy it is to adapt.
If someone doesn’t like peas, leave them out. If green beans are more popular, use those instead. You can even stick to just beef, carrots and potatoes if that’s what everyone prefers.
A budget-friendly slow cooker dinner
This is also a great meal when you’re trying to keep your food shopping costs down.
I like using casserole beef in the slow cooker because the long cooking time makes it lovely and tender, and you don’t need expensive cuts of beef to get a good result.
The potatoes and carrots help bulk everything out too, so you can make the meat go further without feeling like you’re missing out.
And I pretty much always have carrots in the fridge as I regularly make carrot batons for the kids and my partner to snack on. Don’t tell anyone but I also keep a bag of frozen carrots in the freezer as a backup, so even if I’ve run out of fresh ones, I can still make this casserole without needing to pop to the shops.
I also like that there’s very little preparation involved. There’s no browning the meat, frying onions or making a complicated sauce before you start. Everything just goes straight into the slow cooker and cooks away while you get on with your day.
And because I don’t measure out the vegetables, it’s a brilliant meal for using up whatever I’ve already got in. If there are a few carrots left in the fridge or some potatoes that need using, in they go.
Is this slow cooker beef casserole Slimming World friendly?
Yes! This is a really Slimming World friendly meal and it’s one of those recipes that fits into the plan without needing to change how I normally make it.
The lean casserole beef, potatoes and peas are all Free Foods, while the carrots and green beans are Speed Foods. Even the Oxo cubes are Free, so the only Syns come from the Bisto gravy granules I add at the end.
I’m not going to pretend I measure those out though. I just give the tub a shake until the gravy is as thick as I like it. 😂
It’s a lovely filling meal that’s easy to make, packed with vegetables and perfect for those days when you want a proper comforting dinner without having to spend ages in the kitchen.
Can you make this beef casserole ahead of time?
This is exactly the sort of meal that’s handy to make ahead, especially if you’ve got a busy week coming up.
You can make a larger batch, cool any leftovers and keep them in the fridge for another day. Just make sure you reheat them thoroughly before serving.
You can also freeze portions for another day, which is always useful when you’re meal planning. I love having a few homemade meals tucked away in the freezer because it means there’s something ready for those days when I really can’t be bothered cooking from scratch.
Just cool the casserole promptly and freeze it in suitable portions. Defrost it in the fridge before reheating until piping hot.
An easy family dinner without the fuss
I think sometimes we make meal planning more complicated than it needs to be. Not every dinner has to involve trying a new recipe or buying ingredients that you’ll only use once.
This is a good example of the kind of meal I love having in my regular rotation. It’s easy to make, doesn’t need much preparation and uses ingredients that are easy to pick up in pretty much any supermarket.
And while I might enjoy trying new flavours and experimenting in the kitchen, I know that sometimes the best way to keep everyone happy is to stick with something simple.
Especially when the alternative is my partner deciding he’d rather have McDonald’s for tea. 😂
Thank you for reading, Cass x
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