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Low-Carb Autumn Beef & Vegetable Stew

★★★★★★★★★★
4.4 stars, average of 52 ratings

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Low-Carb Autumn Beef & Vegetable StewPin itFollow us 148.4k

When the weather turns colder, it's the perfect time for comforting stews and autumn spices. This beef stew is an all-time slow cooker favorite in my house. It's made with all the favorite fall ingredients and low-carb veggies and it's perfectly balanced for a keto diet: high in fat, low in carbs and high in electrolytes (sodium, magnesium and potassium).

Cooking in a slow cooker/ crockpot is very convenient - you won't have to spend hours in the kitchen. In fact, when I make bone broth from oxtails and marrow bones, I leave them cooking overnight for up to 24 hours. Since you can use inexpensive meat cuts, a slow cooker is budget-friendly and makes meat juicy and tender.

Hands-on Overall

Allergy information for Low-Carb Autumn Beef & Vegetable Stew

✔  Gluten free
✔  Dairy free
✔  Egg free
✔  Nut free
✔  Pork free
✔  Avocado free
✔  Coconut free
✔  Fish free
✔  Shellfish free

Nutritional values (per serving)

Net carbs8.5 grams
Protein31.9 grams
Fat39.5 grams
Calories533 kcal
Calories from carbs 7%, protein 25%, fat 68%
Total carbs12.5 gramsFiber4 gramsSugars6.8 gramsSaturated fat17.9 gramsSodium579 mg(25% RDA)Magnesium84 mg(21% RDA)Potassium1,111 mg(56% EMR)

Ingredients (makes 10 servings)

  • 1.5 kg/ 3.3 lb beef braising steaks, boneless (10 medium braising steaks, 150 g/ 5.3 oz each)
  • 1/2 cup ghee, lard or tallow (110 g/ 3.9 oz) -you can make your own ghee
  • 1 medium white onion (110 g/ 3.9 oz)
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 1 large tin chopped tomatoes, unsweetened (400 g/ 14.1 oz)
  • 1 cup bone broth or vegetable stock or water (240 ml/ 8 fl oz) - you can make your own bone broth
  • 2 tbsp ground cumin
  • 1 tbsp paprika
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp ground coriander seeds
  • 1 tsp turmeric powder
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt or to taste (I like pink Himalayan salt)
  • freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 1 medium-large rutabaga (600 g/ 1.3 lb)
  • 4-5 medium zucchini or marrow squash (1 kg/ 2.2 lb)

Instructions

  1. Preheat the slow cooker (crockpot) to high. You will need to use a large 6 quart slow cooker or halve the recipe to fit the ingredients into a smaller slow cooker. Using a paper towel, pat dry the braising steaks and season with salt and pepper from both sides. Place two to three steaks at a time in a hot pan greased with 1/4 cup of ghee. Low-Carb Autumn Beef & Vegetable Stew
  2. ... and seal until lightly browned all over. When done, transfer each batch into the preheated slow cooker. Low-Carb Autumn Beef & Vegetable Stew
  3. Meanwhile, peel and dice the onion and garlic. Place in a pan greased with the remaining ghee and cook until fragrant and lightly browned.
    Low-Carb Autumn Beef & Vegetable Stew
  4. Add the tinned tomatoes, broth, paprika, cumin, ginger, chili powder, ground coriander seeds and turmeric. Mix and cook briefly. Pour into the slow cooker over the meat.
    Low-Carb Autumn Beef & Vegetable Stew
  5. Add the cinnamon sticks and bay leaves. Cover with a lid and cook for 3 hours before adding the rutabaga. Low-Carb Autumn Beef & Vegetable Stew
  6. Meanwhile, peel and dice the rutabaga. Low-Carb Autumn Beef & Vegetable Stew
  7. After the meat has been cooking for 3 hours, use a spatula to push the meat on one side of the slow cooker and add the diced rutabaga. Cook for another hour before adding the zucchini. Meanwhile, dice the zucchini. (I used zucchini and marrow squash.) Low-Carb Autumn Beef & Vegetable Stew
  8. After an hour, add the zucchini on the same side with the rutabaga and mix briefly to cover with the juices. Using tongs, remove the bay leaves and cinnamon sticks (or remove after the meal is done). Cook for another 2 hours. (Note that bay leaves and cinnamon sticks are only used for infusing the stew, they are not included in the nutrition facts.) Low-Carb Autumn Beef & Vegetable Stew
  9. The stew is cooked when the rutabaga and zucchini are fork-tender. Low-Carb Autumn Beef & Vegetable Stew
  10. Place in serving plates and garnish with fresh herbs such as parsley or cilantro. Season with more salt and pepper if needed. Enjoy! Low-Carb Autumn Beef & Vegetable Stew

Autumn Beef & Vegetable Stew
Step by Step

★★★★★★★★★★
4.4 stars, average of 52 ratings
Autumn Beef & Vegetable Stew
When the weather turns colder, it's the perfect time for comforting ...
Hands on30m
Overall7h
Servings10
Calories533 kcal
Pin it

Ingredients

  • 1.5 kg/ 3.3 lb beef braising steaks, boneless (10 medium braising steaks, 150 g/ 5.3 oz each)
  • 1/2 cup ghee, lard or tallow (110 g/ 3.9 oz) -you can make your own ghee
  • 1 medium white onion (110 g/ 3.9 oz)
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 1 large tin chopped tomatoes, unsweetened (400 g/ 14.1 oz)
  • 1 cup bone broth or vegetable stock or water (240 ml/ 8 fl oz) - you can make your own bone broth
  • 2 tbsp ground cumin
  • 1 tbsp paprika
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp ground coriander seeds
  • 1 tsp turmeric powder
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt or to taste (I like pink Himalayan salt)
  • freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 1 medium-large rutabaga (600 g/ 1.3 lb)
  • 4-5 medium zucchini or marrow squash (1 kg/ 2.2 lb)

Instructions

  1. Preheat the slow cooker (crockpot) to high. You will need to use a large 6 quart slow cooker or halve the recipe to fit the ingredients into a smaller slow cooker. Using a paper towel, pat dry the braising steaks and season with salt and pepper from both sides. Place two to three steaks at a time in a hot pan greased with 1/4 cup of ghee.
  2. ... and seal until lightly browned all over. When done, transfer each batch into the preheated slow cooker.
  3. Meanwhile, peel and dice the onion and garlic. Place in a pan greased with the remaining ghee and cook until fragrant and lightly browned.
  4. Add the tinned tomatoes, broth, paprika, cumin, ginger, chili powder, ground coriander seeds and turmeric. Mix and cook briefly. Pour into the slow cooker over the meat.
  5. Add the cinnamon sticks and bay leaves. Cover with a lid and cook for 3 hours before adding the rutabaga.
  6. Meanwhile, peel and dice the rutabaga.
  7. After the meat has been cooking for 3 hours, use a spatula to push the meat on one side of the slow cooker and add the diced rutabaga. Cook for another hour before adding the zucchini. Meanwhile, dice the zucchini. (I used zucchini and marrow squash.)
  8. After an hour, add the zucchini on the same side with the rutabaga and mix briefly to cover with the juices. Using tongs, remove the bay leaves and cinnamon sticks (or remove after the meal is done). Cook for another 2 hours. (Note that bay leaves and cinnamon sticks are only used for infusing the stew, they are not included in the nutrition facts.)
  9. The stew is cooked when the rutabaga and zucchini are fork-tender.
  10. Place in serving plates and garnish with fresh herbs such as parsley or cilantro. Season with more salt and pepper if needed. Enjoy!

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories533kcal
Net Carbs8.5g
Carbohydrates12.5g
Protein31.9g
Fat39.5g
Saturated Fat17.9g
Fiber4g
Sugar6.8g
Sodium579mg
Magnesium84mg
Potassium1,111mg

Detailed nutritional breakdown (per serving)

Net carbsProteinFatCalories
Total per serving
8.5 g31.9 g39.5 g533 kcal
Beef (for slow cooking), grass-fed
0 g28.8 g27 g366 kcal
Ghee
0 g0 g11 g100 kcal
Onion, white, fresh
0.8 g0.1 g0 g4 kcal
Garlic, fresh
0.4 g0.1 g0 g2 kcal
Tomatoes, canned (unsweetened)
0.6 g0.3 g0.1 g6 kcal
Keto bone broth
0.1 g0.4 g0.6 g7 kcal
Paprika, spices
0.1 g0.1 g0.1 g2 kcal
Cumin, ground
0.3 g0.2 g0.2 g4 kcal
Ginger (ground, dried), spices
0.1 g0 g0 g1 kcal
Chile (chili) powder, spices (ancho, chipotle, Mexican chile powder)
0 g0 g0 g1 kcal
Coriander seed, ground
0 g0 g0 g1 kcal
Turmeric, spices (dried, ground)
0.1 g0 g0 g1 kcal
Salt, pink Himalayan rock salt
0 g0 g0 g0 kcal
Pepper, black, spices
0 g0 g0 g0 kcal
Swede (rutabaga), fresh
3.8 g0.6 g0.1 g22 kcal
Zucchini (summer squash, courgette)
2.1 g1.2 g0.3 g17 kcal

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Martina Slajerova
Creator of KetoDietApp.com

Martina Slajerova

I changed the way I ate in 2011, when I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s, an autoimmune disease that affects the thyroid. I had no energy, and I found it more and more difficult to maintain a healthy weight.

That’s when I decided to quit sugar, grains, and processed foods, and to start following a whole-foods-based ketogenic approach to food.

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Comments (20)

Does it really through it off if I make it with veggie versus bone broth?

You can use either. I've tried this with vegetable stock, chicken stock and bone broth. Even if you don't have any of these, water will be fine. You'll get plenty of flavour from the beef.

Hey there Martina,
Glad I've found your blog!!!! It's helping me to successfully navigate a healthy (keto) lifestyle & I'm excited to get started with the keto diet. Truly want to thank you for sharing your knowledge and recipes which I'm certain will lead the way for incredible health and disease resistance.  By the way, you've listed
Nutritional values (per serving)(outstanding job), yet, per serving equals what amount? I'm thinking Nutritional values (per serving) you've listed might mean 2 cups = per serving, yet, I don't know for sure.  Thank you girl!!!!

Thank you for your kind words Margaret! To be honest I'm not sure, I divided the stew in 2 parts (froze one part and kept the other one in the fridge). Then each part made 5 servings which was easy to estimate/divide when served. It's hard to tell how many cups per serving, as it depends on the amount of liquids that remain in the slow cooker (that depends on the slow cooker). I hope this helps!

Hi Martina,
I am planning to cook this tomorrow. One question for you  about the slow cooker- would you recommend cooking this meal on low or high.
Thanks. Cheers, Judy.

Sorry for the late reply Judy. I cooked in on high.

I made this today. It was awesome! Thank you so much!

Thank you Maggie, I'm glad you liked it! You should also try this one: The Best Low-Carb Beef Bourguignon 😊

We do not have rutabagas where I live 😞  What can I substitute for the rutabaga? Thanks!

You can use turnips (less carbs than rutabaga = also known as swede) or just more zucchini 😊

Hi Martina! This looks amazing and I would like to make it, but was wondering how many cinnamon sticks and bay leaves you put in there. I can't find them among the ingredients. Could you add it please? Thank you so much!

Thank you Orsi! I must have forgotten adding them to the ingredients - there are 2 bay leaves and 2 cinnamon sticks - thanks for letting me know!

I agree, delicious, this is a keeper! I didn't have zucchini but used cauliflower rice instead which I added for the last hour of cooking. My whole family loved it and they didn't even know it was low-carb!

Thank you Bryan!

This looks delicious! Unfortunately I don't own a slow cooker... is there another way to cook this dish without it? Thank you!

Thank you Marta! Yes, you can use a dutch oven (large heavy pot that is usually cast iron but also ceramic and clay and is also great for slow cooking). Or you can bake it in the oven covered with a lid on low-medium (150 C/ 300 F) for about 4-5 hours. I'd add the rutabaga for the last 1.5-2 hours and the zucchini for the last hour or so.

This is delicious, I love all the spices and the vegetables are so yummy when cooked in the juices! Definitely a keeper for me 😊

Thank you Kim!

This sounds delicious, thank you for sharing your recipe Martina! I love rutabaga, it tastes just like potatoes. And the best part is that it's low-carb! 😊

Thank you Marry, I hope you like it! 😊