Mediterranean Beef Stew

Mediterranean Beef Stew will be a hit with everyone who loves rosemary, olives, and capers and this beefy stew is loaded with flavor! You can make it in the slow cooker or on the stove, and see my newly-added tips in the post for making a Mediterranean Stew that’s less expensive.

PIN Mediterranean Beef Stew to try it later!

This Mediterranean Beef Stew is a recipe that’s been super popular on my website. But now that beef is so much more expensive, this dish might be too much of a budget splurge for some people. If you’d like to see my thoughts on making a delicious version of this stew with less beef, see those ideas below.

And however you adapt the ingredients, this Mediterranean Stew interesting flavors is a dinner that can cook all day in the slow cooker! Start this mid morning and by dinner time it will be ready to go. If you’ll be gone all day, just do advance prep the night before and refrigerate ingredients overnight in a plastic container. Then in the morning put the cold ingredients in the slow cooker and let it cook all day while you’re out.

You can also make this tasty stew on the stove if you prefer that method. And no matter how you switch it up, this stew is loaded with flavor from mushrooms, onion, garlic, beef, tomatoes, rosemary, olives, capers, and balsamic vinegar. I hope you try it soon!

What ingredients do you need for this recipe?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

• olive oil
• mushrooms
• onion
• chuck steak or roast
• beef stock or canned beef broth (affiliate link)
• canned diced tomatoes with juice
• tomato sauce
• balsamic vinegar, I use Colavita Aged Balsamic Vinegar (affiliate link)
• black olives
• garlic cloves
• fresh rosemary or use ground rosemary (affiliate link)
• fresh parsley
• Capers (affiliate link)
• fresh ground black pepper and salt to taste
• (See tips below if you want to make this using less beef which will add another ingredient to this list.)

Want a version of Mediterranean Beef Stew that’s less expensive?

A recipe that uses this much beef is probably hard on the budget for most people these days. So when I updated this recipe I gave some thought to how to make a version that’s less expensive. Here are some ideas to try if you want to make this Mediterranean Stew with less beef:

• Make this stew less expensive by doubling (or tripling) the mushrooms and reducing the amount of beef. Mushrooms should still be cooked before they go into the slow cooker, otherwise the recipe might be too watery.
• If you’re home to add ingredients, add slightly-cooked zucchini to replace some of the beef. Dice up the zucchini and saute in olive oil to evaporate some of the liquid in the zucchini, Then add to the slow cooker after 6 hours if you’re cooking on low. Add it after 3 hours if you’re cooking on high.
• I’d enjoy this with some small pieces of cauliflower added to replace some of the beef. I would cut the cauliflower into small pieces and precook it for a very short time in the microwave to be sure it gets tender. Then add it at the beginning of the cooking time.
• For all these options, reduce the amount of beef by the amount of the substitute ingredient you’re using.

Do you have to pre-brown brown the beef?

I realize, (and people remind me) that some of you don’t like having to brown the meat or pre-cook other ingredients before you put them in the slow cooker. I recommend doing that because I think browning the meat or onions adds so much flavor to slow cooker dishes. And cooking mushrooms removes the extra liquid that doesn’t get cooked off in the slow cooker. But I don’t take it personally if you ignore my instructions, and I think this will still be pretty good even if you just dump the ingredients in the slow cooker and turn it to low.

What size show cooker did I use?

I used a Crock-Pot 3.5 Quart Slow Cooker (affiliate link) for this recipe, but any similar size will work. If you’re a slow cooker fan, here are all my Slow Cooker Recipes!

How low in carbs is the Mediterranean Beef Stew?

This recipe has only nine net carbs with 48 grams of protein! (If you’re making the less expensive version that replaces some of the beef with more mushrooms, zucchini, or cauliflower that will very slightly increase the carbs and reduce the amount of protein.)

A tip to make this slow cooker beef stew a bit lower in carbs?

If you want a version of this that’s slightly lower in carbs, use less tomato sauce and replace balsamic vinegar with 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar plus a little sweetener.

How to make Slow Cooker Mediterranean Beef Stew:

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

1. (These tips are for the original version of the recipe. See tips and additional ingredients above if you want to make a version with less beef.)
2. Slice mushrooms and chop up one small onion.
3. Heat a small amount of olive oil and cook the mushrooms.  When they’re brown and the pan is dry, add to the slow cooker.
4. While mushrooms cook, trim the chuck roast or steak into bite-sized pieces. (I trim away the fatty parts, and save all those fatty pieces to make homemade beef stock.)
5. Add a little more oil to the pan and lightly brown the chopped onions; then add them to the slow cooker.
6. Then add a little more oil, add the pieces of beef and cook until they are well browned on all sides. Add the browned beef to the slow cooker.
7. De-glaze pan with one cup of homemade beef stock or beef broth, cook until slightly reduced, then add to the slow cooker.
8. While the beef browns slice the garlic pieces and olives, measure the capers, and chop the rosemary and parsley. Add the can of diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, balsamic vinegar, olives, garlic slices, chopped rosemary, chopped parsley, and capers.
9. Cook for 6-8 hours on low (or slightly longer if you prep the night before and started with ingredients that were cold.)  This can also be cooked on high for 3-4 hours, but I prefer longer cooking on low for beef.
10. The last photo shows how the stew looked when it had cooked all day and was ready to eat. Season with fresh ground black pepper (and a little salt if desired), and eat!

Make it for a Low-Carb Meal:

You can eat this Mediterranean Stew alone as a one-dish meal of course. But if you want something more, these would be amazing for a low-carb side dish:

• Savory Almond Flour Bread
• Low-Carb High-Fiber Savory Muffins
• Olive Bread

More Tasty Ideas for Stew or Slow Cooker Beef:

You can use Low-Carb and Keto Stew Recipes to find lots more tasty ideas for stew. Or use Low-Carb Slow Cooker Recipes with Beef  to find more tasty beef recipes like this one.

Weekend Food Prep:

This recipe has been added to a category called Weekend Food Prep where you’ll find recipes you can prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!

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4.7 Stars (32 Reviews)

Yield: 6 servings

Mediterranean Beef Stew

Prep Time 25 minutes

Cook Time 8 hours

Total Time 8 hours 25 minutes

This Mediterranean Beef Stew is a delicious variation of beef stew that's low in carbs and loaded with Mediterranean flavors. You can make it in the slow cooker or on the stove.

Ingredients

• 1-2 T olive oil (depends on your pan)
• 8 oz. sliced mushrooms
• 1 small onion, diced in 1/2 inch pieces
• 2 lbs. trimmed and diced chuck steak or roast, cut in bite-sized pieces (see notes)
• 1 cup beef stock or canned beef broth (see notes)
• one 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes with juice
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce (see notes)
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar (see notes for lower-carb alternative)
• 1 can black olives, cut in half or fourths
• 20 cloves garlic, cut in thin slices (optional, but good)
• 2 T finely chopped fresh rosemary (see notes)
• 2 T finely chopped fresh parsley (see notes)
• 1 T capers (or more)
• fresh ground black pepper and salt to taste
• (See the tips below for other ingredients you might use if you're making this with less beef.)

Instructions

Slow Cooker Instructions:

1. Heat small amount of olive oil in heavy frying pan over medium-high heat, add mushrooms and cook several minutes, until starting to brown. Add mushrooms to slow cooker.
2. Add a little more oil, then cook diced onions about 5 minutes, or until starting to brown. Add onions to slow cooker.
3. Add a little more oil again, then add diced beef and brown well, about 10-15 minutes. Don’t rush the browning step. Add beef to the slow cooker.
4. Add 1 cup beef stock to the pan and simmer a few minutes until slightly reduced, scraping off all browned bits, then add that stock to the slow cooker.
5. Add diced tomatoes and juice, tomato sauce, balsamic vinegar, olives, garlic, rosemary, parsley, capers, and a little black pepper. Stir gently to combine, then put lid on Crockpot and cook 6-8 hours on low. (You could cook this 3-4 hours on high, but for a recipe with large pieces of garlic like this I prefer the low setting.)
6. Season to taste with salt and more fresh ground black pepper and serve Mediterranean Beef Stew hot.
7. If you do all the advance preparation the night before and put the combined ingredient in the refrigerator overnight, this could cook as long as 10 hours in the Crockpot while you’re at work. Manufacturers don’t recommend putting crockery liner with prepared ingredients in the refrigerator; store in another container so contents stay cold, then put in Crockpot in the morning.

Stovetop Instructions:

1. Follow all the preparation steps as outlined, putting ingredients in heavy dutch oven type pan. Add one cup additional beef stock. Simmer on very low heat about 2 hours.

Here are some ideas to try if you want to make this Mediterranean stew with less beef:

• Make a version that's less expensive by doubling (or tripling) the mushrooms and using less beef. Mushrooms should still be sauteed before they go into the slow cooker, otherwise the recipe will be too watery.
• If you're home during the day while this cooks, you can add some slightly-cooked zucchini to replace some of the beef. I would dice up zucchini and saute in olive oil (to evaporate some of the liquid.) Add the zucchini to the slow cooker after 6 hours if you're cooking on low. add it after 3 hours if you're cooking on high.
• I'd enjoy this with some small pieces of cauliflower added to replace some of the beef. I would cut the cauliflower into very small pieces and pre-cook for a minute or two in the microwave. Then add at the beginning of the cooking time.
• If you're making one of these options with less beef, that will very slightly increase the carbs, and the stew will have a bit less protein.

Notes

I used about 3 cups of meat, and for stove-top cooking I might use a more tender cut of meat.

Use 2 cups beef stock for stovetop cooking.

If you don't have fresh rosemary, use 2 tsp ground rosemary. If you only have cracked rosemary, I would grind the rosemary in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder or pound with a meat mallet.

If you don't have fresh parsley, use 1 T dried parsley.

If you want to make a version of this recipe that's even lower in carbs, skip the tomato sauce and use 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar plus a little sweetener to replace the balsamic vinegar.

This recipe was created by Kalyn.

Nutrition Information

Yield

6

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 495Total Fat 30gSaturated Fat 11gUnsaturated Fat 16.4gCholesterol 145mgSodium 472mgCarbohydrates 12gFiber 3gSugar 5.6gProtein 46g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

Did you make this recipe?

Did you make this recipe? Please leave a star rating (under the PRINT button in the recipe) or share a photo of your results on Instagram! THANKS!

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
This Mediterranean Stew with beef, mushrooms, rosemary, olives, and capers would be suitable for low-carb diets. It can work for Keto if you follow the ideas in this post for slightly reducing the carbs. If you use lean beef it would work for any phase of the original South Beach Diet.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Slow Cooker Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This recipe for beef stew with Mediterranean flavors was posted in 2007, and I’ve made it quite a few times since then! The recipe was last updated with more information in 2026.