Beef · Slow cooker adaptation

Slow Cooker Beef Cobbler with Cheesy Scone Topping

Braising steak cooked low and slow in rich gravy with peas and herbs, then finished under a cheesy scone topping that crisps up in the oven. Old-fashioned British comfort food, set and forget in the slow cooker.

R By Richard · Adapted from Backyard Chef · Published 29 May 2026
👁 16.6k source views ❤️ 1.3k source likes
🍲Slow cook 8 hr (Low) / 4 hr (High)
The Topping Makes This Incredible

Source video by Backyard Chef on YouTube. This recipe was adapted with strict source-fidelity rules and is marked for human review.

This is a slow cooker take on Backyard Chef Rick's rustic beef cobbler with cheesy scone topping. Braising steak is lightly browned, then cooked low and slow with onion, carrot, celery, garlic, thyme, bay and Worcestershire sauce until tender. Frozen peas are stirred through and the gravy is thickened with a cornflour slurry. The dish is then finished in the oven under a cheesy scone topping at 200 degrees Celsius for 25 minutes until golden and bubbling. Served with pickled red cabbage for a proper old-school comfort meal.

Slow cooker notes: Source uses an Instant Pot or pressure cooker (40 minutes pressure cook, 10 to 15 minute natural release) for the beef stew portion, then finishes in the oven with the cobbler topping. Adapted for slow cooker: 8 hours on Low or 4 hours on High for the stew. The oven finishing step (200 degrees Celsius, 25 minutes) for the cheesy scone topping is retained. Source also mentions hob for about 3 hours as an alternative.

Ingredients

Stew
  • 1 kgbraising steak (chuck), cubed, cubed
  • plain flour, for dusting the beef
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • vegetable oil, for browning
  • onion, cubed, cubed
  • carrot, cubed, cubed
  • celery, cubed, cubed
  • garlic, crushed, crushed
  • 2 tbspWorcestershire sauce (or Henderson's relish)
  • dried thyme
  • 2bay leaves
  • tomato paste
  • beef stock
  • gravy powder or granules
  • 1Oxo beef stock cube, crumbled
Finishing
  • frozen peas (add late)
  • 1 tbspcornflour, mixed to a slurry with the cold water below (add late)
  • 2 tbspcold water (for the slurry) (add late)
Topping
  • cheese scone topping, dropped over the surface in rough mounds, plus a little extra grated cheese scattered on top (add late)
To serve
  • pickled red cabbage

Method

  1. Cube the braising steak. Season with salt and pepper and dust with a little plain flour.

  2. Heat a little oil in a frying pan and lightly brown the beef in batches for colour. Transfer to the slow cooker.

  3. In the same pan, briefly soften the cubed onion, carrot, celery and crushed garlic, lifting the fond from the base of the pan. Tip everything into the slow cooker.

  4. Add the Worcestershire sauce, dried thyme, bay leaves, Oxo cube, gravy powder and beef stock to the slow cooker. Stir to combine.

  5. Cover and cook on Low for 8 hours, or High for 4 hours, until the beef is tender.

  6. Stir in the frozen peas. Mix the cornflour with the cold water to a smooth slurry and stir through to thicken the gravy.

  7. Transfer the stew to an ovenproof dish (or leave in the slow cooker pot if heatproof). Drop the cheese scone topping over the surface in rough mounds and scatter a little extra grated cheese on top.

  8. Bake in a preheated oven at 200 degrees Celsius for 25 minutes, until the topping is golden and the gravy is bubbling around the edges.

    ~25 min

  9. Rest for 5 minutes, then serve with pickled red cabbage.

    ~5 min

Frequently asked

Do I need to brown the beef first?
The source recommends lightly browning the beef in a pan for colour, then deglazing the pan with the vegetables to lift the fond. Slow cookers steam rather than brown, so this short browning step is where the depth of flavour comes from before the long cook.
Can I use a pressure cooker or hob instead?
Yes. The original Backyard Chef recipe is for an Instant Pot or pressure cooker (40 minutes pressure cook with a 10 to 15 minute natural release). The chef also mentions that the stew will cook on the hob in about 3 hours. In all cases, finish the dish in the oven with the cheesy scone topping at 200 degrees Celsius for 25 minutes.
What goes well with it?
The source plates it with pickled red cabbage. The sharpness cuts through the rich gravy and the scone topping.
Extraction notes (transparency): Source states quantities only for: braising steak (1 kg), Worcestershire sauce (approximately 2 tablespoons), bay leaves (a couple, taken as 2), Oxo cube (1), cornflour for slurry (1 tablespoon to 2 tablespoons water), and oven temperature and time (200 degrees Celsius, 25 minutes). All other ingredient quantities are not stated in the transcript (onion, carrot, celery, garlic, plain flour for dusting, oil for browning, dried thyme, tomato paste, beef stock, gravy powder, frozen peas, salt, pepper). Tomato paste is mentioned in the intro but not shown going in; included with null quantity for completeness. The source does not provide a recipe for the cheesy scone topping itself, only that it is placed on top and baked; reviewers will need to supply or link a separate cheese scone recipe. Slow cooker times are inferred from the source's hob equivalent ("about three hours") and standard braising-steak conversions; flagged for review.