Warm up this winter with beef stew meat from Costco. Learn how much it costs to buy it there, how to package it up and what you can use it for.
What I Did With a Big Package of Beef Stew from Costco
This winter, I decided I wanted to try out the beef stew meat from Costco. I have not tried it out yet, even though I have been a Costco member for over a decade.
I made three different meals over the course of a month from the one package - your standard beef stew with potatoes & carrots, beef stew with dumplings, and beef stroganoff.
I will teach you how to make these dishes along with giving you ideas for some others that I want to try too. I'll share with you what I learned learned from cooking this meat three times in one month and why I think the Costco beef stew meat is the best that I have had.
How Much Does Costco Stew Meat Cost?
I checked to see what the price of the stew meat at Costco was in January 2026. The price I found was $6.99 per pound. If you are interested in learning more about the cost of different beef cuts, check out my post - Current Costco Meat Prices on 39 Beef Cuts.
How Does It Compare to Other Stores?
For a while I was buying stew meat from ALDI. One thing I didn't like about the ALDI meat is all the liquid that would come out of the meat when I was browning it. Here is what it looks like when I cooked the ALDI beef stew meat:
Now compare that to the liquid that came out of the Costco beef stew.
That is a huge difference. With the ALDI meat I was basically steaming it first because there was so much liquid in it. With the Costco meat the browning process was starting the moment the meat hit the pan.
What I also noticed about the Costco meat was the size of the chunks as they were on average larger than other stores. When eating the stew it felt like I was biting into something more substantial.
How to Divide It Up
The last package I bought was 5.73 pounds. For my family of 6, that would be enough to make 3 meals with. What I did was open up the package and divide the meat into 3 portions. Each portion went into a pre-cut plastic bag that I sealed with my vacuum sealer. I planned to use them up over the course of a month, but you could keep them in the freezer for 6-12 months. The more air you can get out of it, then less quickly it will get freezer burned. But since you are going probably going to slow cook regardless, even if its freezer burned it will still be fine to eat.
I cooked some of the beef stew without freezing and I didn't notice any real quality difference between the fresh and the frozen that I thawed out and cooked.
What Other Cuts Can You Use for Beef Stew?
Beef stew meat is the easiest option because it is already prepared for you but you can cut your own chunks for beef stew meat using some of the other cuts you can get at Costco.
- Chuck Roast - I like using chuck roast to make pot roast, but you could cut the meat into chunks and use it to make beef stew. The roasts should run out about $7.99/lb at Costco.
- Short Ribs - This will make for a richer, fatter stew. You will need to cut them into bite sized pieces. They are usually $1 a pound more than the chuck roast.
Beef Stew Recipes
Pick 3 - There are numerous ways you can use the beef stew meat from Costco. Pick three of the options below and make 3 different meals with one package of stew meat. All of the recipes on this list are variations of my classic slow cooker beef stew. It is amazing what you can do when you either tweak the ingredients or change the amount of liquid.
Classic Slow Cooker Beef Stew
The easiest way to use the beef stew meat is to make a slow cooked stew. A long cooking time allows for tough meat to break down so that it is tender.
At the end of this post you will find my recipe for slow cooker beef stew.
Instead of potatoes you could make easy homemade dumplings to go into the stew. You can find my full dumpling recipe and instructions in my post - Easy Slow Cooker Chicken and Homemade Buttermilk Dumplings.
Before you make any of these recipes, check out my post on How to Thicken Beef Stew That Is Watery for many different methods for thickening a stew.
Hungarian Style Goulash
This is similar to an American style beef stew but you use a lot of paprika for the flavor and a ton of onions. As the onions cook, they will break down which will add tons of flavor and body to the broth. I recommend reading my post on How to Source Good Paprika to get some ideas for what you can buy.
Beef & Barley
This variation simply swaps the potatoes for barley as the starch. Costco doesn't sell barley, so you will have to source that elsewhere as well as the fresh dill that my Beef & Barley Stew with Carrots & Fresh Dill recipe calls for.
Chunky Beef Chili
You will cook the stew meat by itself, then add in some canned beans and some spices to turn it into a meat & bean chili. Serve with tortilla chips, sour cream, and shredded cheese.
Beef Stroganoff
For this recipe you are going to make it like a beef stew with just the meat. You are going to use a lot less liquid. Then at the end you are going to thicken that liquid into sauce. You can add it some sour cream for flavor and added body. Serve that over some egg noodles, topped with some fresh parsley.
If you like mushrooms you can add them too, but I would cook them separately and then add them in. I like the flavor of mushrooms but not the texture, so I like to add mushroom powder to my cooking liquid.
Beef Pot Pie Filling
You will do this just the beef and noodles, except you will use carrots and potatoes this time. Again thicken it when finished so that it is thick enough to be a filling for a beef pot pie.
Slow Cooker Homemade Beef Stew with Costco Stew Meat
Ingredients
- 1.5 lb Kirkland Beef Stew meat
- 1.5 lb gold potatoes cubed
- 4 carrots cut into large chunks
- 6 cups water
- 1 onion cut into large chunks
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp dried mushroom powder optional
- salt to taste
- 3 tbsp cooking oil for browning the meat
Instructions
- Add 3 teaspoons of oil to the bottom of a cast iron skillet. Heat the skillet up over medium high heat.
- Season the beef with salt, then add to the skillet. Cook on each side until brown, should take about 5-10 minutes depending on the size of the pieces.
- Remove from the skillet from the heat. Take the beef out of the skillet. Add about ½ cup of water. Using a metal spatula scrape the bottom of the pan to get off anything that stuck. Add that liquid to a slow cooker.
- Add an additional 5 ½ cups of water to the slow cooker.
- Add in bay leaves, Worcestershire sauce, dried mushroom powder, and salt to taste. Taste the liquid and add more seasonings if you feel like it needs it.
- Cut the onions, potatoes, and carrots into large chunks and add to the slow cooker. Then add in the browned meat.
- Set the slow cooker to low and cook for 6-8 hours.
- See notes for ways to thicken your beef stew.
Notes
- Add in instant mashed potato flakes. Stir in 2 tablespoons at a time.
- Remove some of the vegetables (carrots and potatoes) along with enough liquid. Then puree that until thick. Stir it back into the stew.
- Make a slurry. Combine 1 part flour or corn starch and 2 parts cold water. Mix into the stew. Make sure your slow cooker is set to high before you do this. It may take some time for it to thicken.
Corrie
Thank you for this post! We've been meat CSA members for years, but they've recently changed their line up, so I'm having to explore sourcing beef from alternatives like Costco. This post was really helpful!