The 26 Best Slow Cooker Beef Recipes To Make For Dinner
Raise your hand if you like having hot, fresh, hearty dinners without having to spend a lot of cash, or stand over your stove for hours. No, this isn't a trick: It's the beauty of slow cooker recipes. Spend a few minutes prepping some ingredients, let the appliance do all the work, and you can tell everyone you're a master chef. (The truth stays between you and your slow cooker.)
While Mashed has plenty of delicious slow cooker recipes for any meal, cuisine, or occasion, we get extra excited about our beef Crock Pot recipes. There's finger-licking pot roast, meatballs that are easier than you think, and short ribs that always taste better when cooked low and slow. A batch of beef and barley soup will warm up everyone on chilly winter days, and your next Taco Tuesday will be a lot more exciting thanks to flavorful birria de res or barbacoa fillings.
There are so many great, beefy meals to be made. Save yourself time and effort, and enjoy the glorious smells that will fill up your kitchen with this roundup of our best slow cooker beef recipes to add to your dinner rotation.
1. Slow Cooker Pot Roast
When it comes to an all-American family dinner, it doesn't get more classic than a pot roast. It starts with seared chuck roast and caramelized veggies, which cook down in a gravy made from beef stock and red wine. It's got all the right deep savory notes, with the perfect hint of sweetness. Might we suggest piling that pot roast over a heaping pile of mashed potatoes with gravy on top, of course, for a perfect meal that will stick to your belly and soothe your soul.
Recipe: Slow Cooker Pot Roast
2. Slow Cooker Swedish Meatballs
No matter who you need to please, you can't go wrong with meatballs. Tired of Italian? If you like IKEA's Swedish meatballs, you'll be glad to know you can whip up the very same dish the Swedish institution serves in-store. Our slow cooker version guarantees a juicy meatball with the perfect bite, swimming in a creamy gravy. It's less expensive than a trip to IKEA — and you'll have it all whipped up in the slow cooker in less than 15 minutes.
Recipe: Slow Cooker Swedish Meatball
3. Slow Cooker Chili Colorado
If there is one dish that's begging to be made in the slow cooker, it's chili. Hours of low, slow heat breaks down the meat and spices and blends them together into a flavorful, spicy dish. Our Tex-Mex style red chili is made from whole chilis that are rehydrated, cooked down into a paste, and then simmered with chunks of beef. The results: fall-apart-tender meat smothered in a thick, spicy gravy full of bold flavors. The only hard part will be choosing the toppings to dress it up with.
Recipe: Slow Cooker Chili Colorado
4. Mississippi Roast
Originating in the Magnolia state, this recipe for Mississippi roast is made with just six ingredients that come together into something that is as unique as it is finger-licking delicious. A chuck roast rubbed with oil gets browned, and then goes right into the slow cooker along with a packet of store-bought ranch dressing mix, a packet of au jus gravy mix, a few pats of butter, and bright, tangy pepperoncini peppers. It may sound like an odd combo, but trust us, it works. Serve Mississippi roast on rolls or over cooked rice.
Recipe: Mississippi Roast
5. 4-Ingredient Slow Cooker Fajitas
Fajitas are a year-round favorite: You need just a few ingredients, minimal prep work, and no assembly (except for your own plate, of course). Make them even easier with this recipe for 4-ingredient slow cooker fajitas. A skirt steak, sliced bell peppers and onion, and a packet of taco seasoning — that's all you need, and the slow cooker does it all. For an extra flavorful char at the end, pop the steak under broiler for five minutes at the end.
Recipe: 4-Ingredient Slow Cooker Fajitas
6. Slow Cooker Mozzarella-Stuffed Meatballs
If you need a recipe that's hearty, comforting, and bound to impress, then you've got to give these slow cooker mozzarella stuffed meatballs a try. This recipe is filled with shortcuts that make it way easier than it looks. Juicy beef and melty, gooey cheese fills each and every bite, all drenched in a sweet, rich tomato sauce that will taste like you spent all day in the kitchen. Instead, you'll spend 30 minutes or less and the slow cooker will make the Italian-inspired magic happen.
7. Slow Cooker Beef Barley Soup
Soups and stews taste the best when they've had time to slowly simmer. The meat and vegetables become tender and the broth is rich and flavorful. If you don't have the time to stand over a pot of soup on your stove all day, make a batch in your slow cooker instead. Beef barley is a classic, comforting choice, full of cubed potatoes, carrots, onion, and chunks of beef. Barley grains give the soup texture and heartiness.
Recipe: Slow Cooker Beef Barley Soup
8. French Dip
Though this is a sandwich recipe, the slow cooker makes the two most important parts of a French dip: the tender pieces of beef and the au jus dip. Pick up a sirloin tip roast and let it cook with beef stock, onions, and seasonings for a few hours until tender. The beef is then ready to slice and pile onto soft rolls, with Swiss cheese broiled on top. Serve the French dip sandwiches with small dishes of au jus. French fries are an especially tasty side dish.
Recipe: French Dip
9. Slow Cooker Beef Tips And Noodles
This is a fantastic dish to make in your slow cooker: chunks of tender beef in a rich gravy spooned over twisty egg noodles. Use sirloin tips, or if you can't find these at your store, use stew beef or a chuck roast sliced into pieces. The beef is seared on the stovetop to create flavorful browning on the surface, then gets transferred to the slow cooker with stock and herbs. The recipe makes six generous servings, and leftovers are just as tasty when warmed up.
10. Slow Cooker Taco Soup
All the best things about tacos come together in a filling and warming soup. The recipe includes taco-seasoned ground beef, tomatoes, beans, and corn, and it's easy to customize: Add more veggies like diced bell peppers, or diced chili peppers for extra spice. The soup is ready in four hours when cooked on the high setting, and you can keep it warm right in the slow cooker. Serve bowls of taco soup with tortilla chips, shredded cheese, and sour cream.
Recipe: Slow Cooker Taco Soup
11. Cube Steak
Make this recipe for a country-style breakfast or dinner and serve it with warm biscuits to mop up the peppery gravy. The beef used here is a cube steak, a tough cut of meat that the butcher pounds into thin cutlets, making them perfect for quick pan-frying. The cube steaks are coated with seasoned flour, then browned on the stove before slowing cooking in a Crock Pot. Make the gravy right in the slow cooker just before serving.
Recipe: Cube Steak
12. Slow Cooker Beef And Broccoli
While it's easy to settle for take-out beef and broccoli, it's so worth the effort to make this copycat version at home. Strips of flank steak soak up flavor from a blend of soy sauce, oyster sauce, brown sugar, onions, and more while they simmer to perfect tenderness. Making this dish in the slow cooker means you're free to cook rice, steam a few dumplings, or prepare lo mein noodles to go with the beef and broccoli. The recipe makes enough to serve four and even more when served with side dishes.
Recipe: Slow Cooker Beef And Broccoli
13. Slow Cooker Chili
This is one of the easiest chili recipes you'll find. Pantry staples like black beans, diced tomatoes, and spices go straight into the slow cooker. The only thing you have to do is brown ground beef with chopped onion, a step that takes only about 10 minutes. After that, the chili simmers away all day. The recipe is a great choice to make during the day while you work — when you and your family get home, dinner's hot, ready, and waiting.
Recipe: Slow Cooker Chili
14. Crock Pot Beef On Weck
These sandwiches get their name from the kummelweck rolls they're traditionally served on: chewy rolls baked with caraway seeds. If you can't find any kummelweck rolls in your store or local bakery, this recipe has an easy way to make a shortcut version using easy-to-find Kaiser rolls. Top the rolls with sliced beef round that you've braised in a slow cooker with stout beer and onion soup mix. A little horseradish on the rolls is so delicious with the seasoned beef.
Recipe: Crock Pot Beef On Weck
15. BBQ Brisket Sandwich
It probably comes as no surprise that achieving a tender brisket takes some time, but it's so worth it. "Low and slow" is the formula to follow, whether you're smoking a brisket or cooking it in a slow cooker like this recipe. Keeping the meat at a consistent, low temperature for several hours creates a fall-apart texture and lots of flavor. This recipe from Kristen Carli infuses the meat with savory barbecue flavor. Slice the finished brisket to make sandwiches with coleslaw and soft Hawaiian rolls.
Recipe: BBQ Brisket Sandwich
16. Spicy Beef Noodle Soup
With plenty of tender beef short rib, noodles, and broth in every bowl, the soup makes a filling meal to serve for lunch or dinner. The short ribs are seasoned and browned before going into the slow cooker, along with coconut milk, beef stock, chili paste, and garlic. After a day of slowly simmering, the soup is ready: Just ladle it over ramen noodles and add fresh scallions, herbs, and lime wedges.
Recipe: Spicy Beef Noodle Soup
17. Slow Cooker Cabbage Rolls
Stuffed cabbage rolls is an old-fashioned dish that home cooks have been making for a long time, and that's because they're so delicious. Softened cabbage leaves are wrapped around a filling of seasoned, cooked beef and pork (use all beef, if you prefer) and rice and then layered in a slow cooker with tomatoes and seasonings. Make assembling the rolls a project to do with the family. The recipe makes enough to feed eight and is a great choice for a weekend dinner.
Recipe: Slow Cooker Cabbage Rolls
18. Slow Cooker Birria De Res Tacos
If your taco routine rarely ventures beyond ground beef and packaged hard taco shells, it's time to try something more imaginative and way more delicious. Birria is a slow-simmered stew traditionally made with goat meat, but that can also be made with beef. Our recipe combines chuck roast and bone-in short ribs with dried chiles, onions, and spices like cinnamon, cumin, and chili powder. The meat cooks all day in a slow cooker until tender, then gets griddled inside soft tortillas with cheese.
Recipe: Slow Cooker Birria De Res Tacos
19. Chili Con Carne
A slow-simmered chili is such a versatile dish: Make it for a lazy weekend lunch, for dinner, for friends who come over to watch the game, or to bring to a potluck. The chili is made with ground beef, onion, tomatoes, kidney beans, and plenty of spice. In the slow cooker, the flavors develop beautifully in the chili as it becomes rich and thick. Serve chili con carne with sour cream, cilantro, and corn bread.
Recipe: Chili Con Carne
20. Shredded Beef Enchiladas
Like so many of the best recipes, these enchiladas begin with a slow cooker. It's an invaluable tool that transforms tough cuts of beef into tender and flavorful dishes. Chuck roast soaks up the flavor of taco seasoning and beef stock as it simmers all day, and when finished is completely fork-tender. From there just fold the shredded beef into tortillas and bake them under a blanket of diced tomatoes and cheese. This recipe makes 6 servings, which is a good thing: Leftover enchiladas can be reheated and enjoyed the next day.
Recipe: Shredded Beef Enchiladas
21. Slow Cooker Mongolian Beef
Use a slow cooker to create this favorite Chinese takeout item at home: The flavors are fresh and there's plenty of sauce to spoon over sides like cooked white rice, stir-fried vegetables, or egg noodles. The cut of beef used here is a sirloin steak sliced into one-inch chunks. Add these to the pot with carrots, onion, ginger, and garlic. Beef stock and soy sauce transform into rich gravy as the meat simmers.
Recipe: Slow Cooker Mongolian Beef
22. Barbacoa
To make the shredded meat dish barbacoa in the traditional, Mexican way, you would need a large pit in the ground for roasting. Thankfully, the slow cooker can turn out a tasty barbacoa with much less fuss. Though the dish was originally made with goat meat, our recipe uses a combination of chuck roast and short rib. They simmer to perfect tenderness in a sauce of chipotle pepper, lime juice, stock, and spices like cumin and clove. Use the shredded meat to fill tacos and burritos or simply serve it over rice.
Recipe: Barbacoa
23. Slow Cooker Pepper Steak
It only takes five minutes to get everything into the slow cooker for this delectable dish. Let it all simmer during the day while you're at work or school, and come home to a hot and flavorful meal. The recipe combines steak strips with bell peppers and sliced onions in a sauce made with honey, ginger, and soy sauce. Enjoy it over cooked rice, lo mein noodles, or ramen noodles.
Recipe: Slow Cooker Pepper Steak
24. Beef Sinigang
A favorite dish of the Philippines, sinigang is a type of stew with a distinctive "sour and savory" flavor. Our version is made with chuck roast cuts of beef that become meltingly tender as they simmer in the slow cooker in a broth made with tamarind-based soup mix and potatoes. Bok choy and shredded cabbage are added to the dish near the end of the cooking time. It's a hearty enough stew to serve on its own, or rice can be added as a side. The recipe makes 10 servings.
Recipe: Beef Sinigang
25. Slow Cooker Korean Short Ribs
What can you serve with fall-apart short ribs that have simmered all day in the slow cooker? Recipe developer Ting Dalton recommends spooning the meat and sauce over cooked rice or egg noodles; roasted or mashed potatoes would also be incredible with this sumptuous meat dish. Flavorings for the bone-in ribs and sliced vegetables include garlic, ginger, and gochujang paste. The recipe makes enough to serve six, and also freezes well for future family or individual meals.
Recipe: Slow Cooker Korean Short Ribs
26. Slow Cooker Smothered Steak
Make a dish at home that's so beautiful and delicious it could easily be on the menu at your favorite restaurant. And because it's prepared in the slow cooker, the recipe can be enjoyed any night of the week with your family or friends. Sirloin steaks are simmered with sautéed onions and mushrooms in a sauce of beef stock, Worcestershire sauce, and herbs. That rich gravy is perfect to pair with mashed or roasted potatoes, rice, egg noodles, or slices of crusty bread.
Recipe: Slow Cooker Smothered Steak