This recipe came about because we had some eye-round steaks in the fridge and absolutely no idea what to do with them.
Eye round can be a pretty tough cut of meat, so my first thought was to throw it in the slow cooker and let time do the work. I was also craving dumplings, and we were officially one week out from fall—so obviously, they were going to be pumpkin dumplings.
And that was definitely the move.
The beef cooked down until it was tender, the broth turned into this rich, creamy gravy, and the pumpkin dumplings were soft and savory with just enough cinnamon and nutmeg to make the whole thing feel like fall without making dinner taste like pumpkin pie.
It started as a we need to use these steaks dinner and somehow turned into one of those recipes I already know we’ll make every fall.
Definitely a new fall staple in our house.
Slow Cooker Beef Stew with Pumpkin Dumplings
Ingredients
Method
- Add the beef, carrots, onion, garlic and beef broth to the slow cooker. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder.
- Cover and cook on HIGH for about 6 hours, or until the beef is tender and the carrots are cooked through.
- Stir in the frozen corn and peas.
- Meanwhile, make the pumpkin dumplings. In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add the pumpkin purée, milk and egg and stir just until a thick, sticky dough forms. Don’t overmix.
- Drop spoonfuls of dumpling dough over the surface of the hot stew. Cover and cook on HIGH for approximately 30 minutes, until the dumplings are puffed and cooked through.
- Carefully remove enough dumplings to give yourself room to stir the stew without breaking them apart.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and milk until completely smooth. Pour the slurry into the stew and gently stir it into the liquid. Return the dumplings to the top, cover, and cook for another 10 minutes, or until the broth has thickened into a creamy, rich gravy.
- Taste and adjust the salt and pepper before serving.
Notes
- Don’t overmix the dumplings. Stir the dough just until everything comes together. It should be thick and sticky rather than smooth.
- Keep the lid closed while the dumplings cook. They need the trapped steam inside the slow cooker to cook through and become fluffy.
- Thicken at the end. Move a few dumplings out of the way before adding the cornstarch slurry, then stir gently so you don’t break them apart.
- The gravy will continue to thicken as it sits. If it becomes thicker than you like, loosen it with a splash of beef broth or milk.
- Pumpkin flavor: The pumpkin adds moisture, color and a subtle earthy sweetness to the dumplings. For a more savory flavor, you can reduce the cinnamon and nutmeg.
- Beef options: Eye-round steak works well here, but stew meat or chuck roast cut into bite-size pieces can also be used. Chuck will generally give you a richer, more tender result because it has more fat and connective tissue.
- Frozen vegetables go in near the end. There’s no need to thaw the peas or corn first; adding them after the long cook keeps them from becoming overly soft.
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