1.5 Ltr Slow Cooker Recipes

This Slow Cooker Irish Stew recipe is easy to throw together in advance. It makes for a warming, stick-to-your-ribs meal. Perfect for after a long hike or a day out adventuring.

white cloth with blue blue filled with slow cooker Irish stew and 2 spoons

My slow cooker addiction

My name's Jane and I'm a slow-cooker-oholic. There. It is official!

wooden kitchen surface with 3 slow cookers of different sizes stacked up

It seems I now own three of these appliances, and yes each one DOES have its very own purpose.

The biggest slow cooker (6.5 litre) is for large joints, batch cooking and bone broth. The middle one (3.5 litre) is my original slow cooker and is used for 'normal' slow-cooked meals. And my newest addition to the family is this rinky-dink little 1.5 litre slow cooker, which is to keep in Myrtle the campervan.

Now obviously I'm only going to be able to use that teeny one when we are parked up on a campsite that has electric hookup. But as slow cooking takes ALL the hassle out of getting dinner on the table, it'll make the perfect end to those long days out exploring.

Here's a link to the tiny little slow cooker I bought. It's the perfect size for 1-2 people, however if you are a family of around 4 I would recommend a 3.5 litre slow cooker. And if you are a large family, say 6 or more, you may be better off with a 6.5 litre.

white cloth with blue blue filled with slow cooker Irish stew and 2 spoons

So, let's talk about an Irish Stew recipe. There must 27 bazillion different recipes out there for this. And as with all traditional recipes, every family will enjoy theirs a little bit differently.

Because I want to adapt mine so that it is effectively a one-pot camping recipe, to make my campervan version I have made this a slow cooker Irish stew recipe so that it is all cooked at once and I've kept it exceedingly simple.

Meat, veggies and a stock cube kinda simple.

Jane Sarchet with red, curly hair holding bowl of slow cooked irish stew

Which Meat Goes in an Irish Stew Recipe?

From the research I've done on this, there is no definitive answer to this question. If a family could afford beef, then it would be beef.

If they were on a smaller income, then lamb or mutton would have been used. And if a family was strapped for cash, then no doubt rabbit or hare would have been the meat of choice, as these were freely available to all that could hunt.

My first choice for a slow cooker Irish stew would have been mutton.

Being from an older sheep (2 year plus), the meat is tougher, stronger in flavour, and fattier. I'll admit this doesn't sound terribly appetising, however this is the meat that a slow cooker can turn into pure edible heaven!

However my butcher doesn't stock mutton as a rule, as he needs to buy the whole sheep, and sadly there is very little call for it these days.

So instead he recommended lamb neck, which was just perfect.

Ingredients for slow cooker irish stew i.e. lamb neck, potatoes, carrots, onion and stock in a white slow cooker

Lamb neck is a cheaper cut of meat and something I love about this simple stew is that it is great for keeping food budgets down, with just carrots, potatoes and onions as the other key ingredients.

If you wanted to keep costs really low, you could even replace the meat with lentils (and perhaps some beans – just make sure they are cooked beans as the slow cooker doesn't always cook them through and add them later on in the recipe in this instance). The timings can be reduced again for a vegetarian version of this recipe.

white cloth with blue blue filled with slow cooker Irish stew and 2 spoons

How Long to Cook a Slow Cooker Irish Stew?

As a general rule of thumb, these are the timings I aim for when slow cooking meat;

3-4 on high
6-8 hours on low

As we're using chopped meat, rather than a big joint, it may be ready a little sooner than these timings. So if you are particularly ravenous, it may be worth trying a little sooner.

And as all other slow cooker addicts will know, as the steam is contained within the slow cooker, you can safely leave your meal cooking for much longer than these time guides without fear of it burning, drying out or ruining your dinner.

Want some more Slow Cooker recipes? Feel free to browse my recipes and hopefully you'll find some new family favourites in my archives!

white cloth with blue blue filled with slow cooker Irish stew and 2 spoons

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: British, Irish

Keyword: slow cooker irish stew

Servings: 2

Calories: 840 kcal

400 g lamb or mutton, diced
8 new potates scrubbed clean
1 onion diced
1 carrot diced
1 stock cube
water
2 tsp cornflour (optional)

Tip all the ingredients into a slow cooker.
Pour in enough water to come halfway up the pot. You don;t need to cover all the ingredients.
Switch on to high and cook for 3-4 hours, or low and cook for 6-8 hours.
If you would like to thicken the gravy, in a glass or cup, stir a little cold water into the cornflour to make a smooth paste. Pour this into the slow cooker and stir well.

Pop the lid back on and leave for 5 minutes to thicken.

Stir again, and serve.

Nutrition Facts

Slow Cooker Irish Stew

Amount Per Serving

Calories 840 Calories from Fat 423

% Daily Value*

Fat 47g 72%

Saturated Fat 20g 125%

Cholesterol 146mg 49%

Sodium 639mg 28%

Potassium 1884mg 54%

Carbohydrates 62g 21%

Fiber 8g 33%

Sugar 6g 7%

Protein 40g 80%

Vitamin A 5095IU 102%

Vitamin C 65mg 79%

Calcium 91mg 9%

Iron 5.7mg 32%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

This post may contain affiliate links. Thanks so much for supporting the work that we do here on hedgecombers.com :)

Jane x