McCormick Slow Cookers Seasoning Mix, Hearty Beef Stew

McCormick Slow Cookers Seasoning Mix, Hearty Beef Stew (1.50 oz) is a single-use powdered packet you’ll find in the soup/gravy and seasoning aisle, shelved alongside other slow-cooker mixes, canned broths, and boxed gravy mixes. It’s marketed as a shortcut to a classic American comfort dish: toss cubed beef, root vegetables and water into a slow cooker, add this packet, and let it simmer into a beefy stew. Shoppers pull it for weeknight dinners, busy-family meal planning, or when they want the aroma and nostalgia of simmered stew without hours of effort. The brand positioning is mainstream and convenience-focused — McCormick leans on trusted name recognition and homestyle comfort, targeting busy parents, home cooks who like shortcuts, and those nostalgic for traditional comfort food. The label carries familiar “natural flavor” language but no organic or non-GMO certification; packaging emphasizes ease-of-use rather than wellness claims. Nutrition highlights a low-calorie contribution per serving but a high sodium count (about 570 mg), and ingredient cues (corn starch, hydrolyzed soy protein, rendered beef fat, caramel color, yeast extract) point to industrial formulation rather than whole-food simplicity. In plain terms, it’s a highly processed seasoning mix that uses concentrated flavors and texturizers to recreate a slow-simmered broth. Sensory notes: the dry mix yields a brown, savory, slightly glossy broth thickened by cornstarch, with pronounced umami from hydrolyzed proteins and yeast extract and aromatic hints of paprika, thyme, garlic and onion. The ritual is straightforward — tear, dump, stir, and slow-cook — packaged in a lightweight foil/paper packet meant for one pot and one evening of comfort food.