This slow cooker 5-ingredient poor man’s stew is the kind of meal my grandpa leaned on during hard times: humble ingredients, big comfort, and enough to fill a crowd without emptying your wallet. It’s essentially a Depression-era style beef and potato stew, simplified to the essentials—ground beef, potatoes, carrots, onions, and canned tomato sauce—then left to bubble away in the slow cooker until everything is tender and the sauce turns into a rich, red gravy. If you’re looking for a practical, hearty dinner that uses pantry basics and stretches a pound of meat to feed the whole family, this is exactly that kind of recipe.
Serve this stew ladled deep into bowls with plenty of the thick tomato gravy and vegetables. It’s excellent with sliced sandwich bread, cornbread, or simple dinner rolls to mop up the sauce. A basic green salad or steamed frozen peas on the side adds a bit of freshness and color without much extra effort. If you’d like to stretch it even further, spoon the stew over cooked white rice or egg noodles so every bit of that savory tomato gravy gets put to work.

Slow Cooker 5-Ingredient Poor Man’s Stew
Servings: 6

Ingredients
1 pound ground beef (80–85% lean)
4 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
4 medium carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/2-inch rounds
1 large yellow onion, diced
2 cans (15 ounces each) tomato sauce
Directions
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, crumble the ground beef and cook, stirring occasionally, until well browned and no longer pink, about 6–8 minutes. If there is a lot of grease, carefully spoon off most of the excess fat, leaving just a little for flavor.
While the beef browns, prepare the vegetables: peel and cube the potatoes into roughly 1-inch pieces, peel and slice the carrots into 1/2-inch rounds, and dice the onion.
Add the potatoes, carrots, and onion to the bottom of a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker, spreading them out in an even layer so they cook evenly.
Spoon the browned ground beef over the vegetables in the slow cooker, distributing it as evenly as you can so every scoop of stew will have some meat.
Pour the tomato sauce evenly over the top of the beef and vegetables. Do not add water; the vegetables will release moisture as they cook and the tomato sauce will thicken into a rich gravy.
Gently stir just once or twice, pulling some of the tomato sauce down around the meat and vegetables while still keeping most of the layers intact. This helps everything cook together while keeping the potatoes and carrots from breaking down too much.
Cover the slow cooker with the lid and cook on LOW for 7–8 hours, or on HIGH for 4–5 hours, until the potatoes and carrots are very tender and the tomato sauce has thickened into a hearty, red stew-like gravy.
Once cooked, give the stew a good stir from the bottom to the top to mix the beef, vegetables, and sauce into a uniform mixture. Taste and, if desired, season lightly with salt and black pepper from your pantry to suit your family’s preferences.
Let the stew sit with the lid off for 5–10 minutes to allow the steam to escape slightly and the sauce to thicken a bit more, then ladle into bowls and serve hot straight from the slow cooker.