Quick and Easy Cowboy Stew
This recipe for Texas Cowboy Stew will be a new family favorite! It’s not your regular beef stew; it’s a fun twist on the classic beef stew recipe! This recipe is perfect for kids and adults alike. This hearty stew is full of smoked sausage, bacon, ground beef, and so much more! Ready to wow your family with this fabulous recipe? Let’s get cookin’!
What is Cowboy Stew?
This stew is a fabulous one-pot wonder. It cooks up in one pot and doesn’t require a lot of other dishes to prepare it. A cutting board, spatula, measuring cups and spoons and a plate to drain the bacon are just about everything else you’ll need to wash once you’re done cooking.
Cowboy Stew can be a fun and interactive meal if you have little cowpokes at home. Invite your kids to help you assemble the ingredients and stir the pot. They’ll enjoy adding ingredients like pinto beans, sweet corn, and diced potatoes.
Just a twist on Beef Stew
Cowboy Stew stands out because of its exciting twist on regular beef stew. Instead of just beef, it incorporates a medley of meats like lean ground beef, bacon and kielbasa sausage. But you can swap out the hamburger meat for ground turkey, ground chicken, or ground game meat like deer or moose.
Instead of sausages, you could also use hot dogs or other kinds of smoked sausage, even game meat sausages or hot dogs. This diversity of meat adds rich flavor and a touch of the unexpected. It’s a little bit of chili, a part stew, and only changes it for the better.
The aroma of southwestern spices, chili powder, and ground cumin will fill the kitchen, creating an enticing experience for their young senses. We would use camp plates and bowls when we had fun camp-out meals like these.
What you need to make This Cowboy Stew Recipe
While the ingredient list may look long it’s nothing special or intimidating, just pantry staples.
- bacon, use your favorite thick or thin-cut bacon
- ground beef, swap this out for ground turkey, or other ground meat mentioned above
- smoked sausage
- onion
- carrots
- seasonings
- diced tomatoes
- pinto beans
- black beans
- whole kernel corn
- potatoes, yukon golds or your favorites
- beef broth
- parsley (optional)
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- knife
- cutting board
- can opener
- spatula
- spoon
- large Dutch oven
About those beans
You can change up the beans in this recipe if you like or prefer. You can use all black beans or pinto beans.
Or start with dry beans. Ensure you soak and cook them before using them. Or just soak them overnight and cook until soft before starting this stew.
Or use any variety of canned prepared beans you like such as ranch-style beans or chili beans. Baked beans are probably not the best choice, though because they’re typically so sweet.
Side dishes for stew
Cowboy Stew is hearty enough to be a complete meal on its own, but there are some delicious accompaniments you can consider.
Jalapeño Corn Bread is a fantastic side dish. If you don’t like it spicy, use green chiles instead! Quick Dutch Oven Bread is the perfect crusty loaf for any bowl of soup or stew. Or make simple Peasant Bread to go with this stew. Need something you don’t have to bake? Try tortilla chips!
Add a salad! This Arugula Salad is zesty and light and the perfect accompaniment for stews and soups! Or try this Broccoli Cauliflower Salad, yes, THAT salad; it’s perfect any day or time, in my humble opinion!
Toppings for this stew
This stew needs no toppings, it’s so full of delicious ingredients. But toppings can elevate a bow of cowboy stew. Try a dollop of sour cream on top and a sprinkle of shredded cheddar cheese. Add your favorite hot sauce if you like or a splash of salsa.
Toss it in the crock pot
Once you’ve prepared this to the point of adding all the remaining ingredients, you can then add it to a crock pot or slow cooker. This stew should be finished cooking on low in a slow cooker for 6-8.
The first time you try it in the slow cooker, be sure it’s on a day when you have time for it to take a little longer. Everyone’s slow cookers are different, and I always recommend trying a recipe for the first time in a slow cooker on a day when you aren’t bummed out that it is taking too long to cook.
Our other favorite soups!
We love a good soup around here, like this Busy Day Soup. Or Beer Cheese Soup. And of course, this fabulous knockoff of the Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi!
Got Leftovers?
You’re in LUCK! Cowboy Stew also has the advantage of tasting even better the next day. After it’s cooled, store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
The flavors will meld together overnight, creating a more complex and delicious dish. It’s the kind of meal that gets better with time, just like this recipe for Turkey Pumpkin Chili. Reheat as desired in the microwave or on the stovetop.
Classic Cowboy Stew
Ingredients
- 4 slices bacon chopped
- 1 lb ground beef
- 14 oz package smoked sausage
- 1 medium yellow onion
- 2 carrots
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1 15-ounce can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 15 ounce can sweet corn, drained
- 3 cups beef broth
- 3 medium russet potatoes
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Chopped fresh parsley for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Chop the bacon into half-inch pieces, and add to a dutch oven
- While the bacon is cooking, chop the onion, carrots, potatoes, and smoked sausage
- Once the bacon is done cooking, remove it from the pot and drain on paper towels
- wipe out the remaining bacon grease
- Add the ground beef and start to brown it, breaking it up as it cooks
- Once the ground beef is halfway cooked, add the smoked sausage, onions, and carrots
- then continue cooking until the beef is browned and the onions are soft
- Stir in the garlic, chili powder, cumin, and paprika
- Add the diced tomatoes, pinto beans, black beans, corn, potatoes, and beef broth and add the bacon back in as well
- Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat, stir, and reduce the heat to low
- Simmer for about 40 minutes until the potatoes are tender
- Add salt and pepper to taste, then serve, and sprinkle with fresh parsley if desired
