Slow Cooker Beef and Broccoli

Published April 4, 2014. Updated August 21, 2019

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This Slow Cooker Beef and Broccoli requires just 10 minutes of hands-on prep, and the slow cooker does the rest of the work for you. An easy Chinese recipe perfect for busy weeknights! 

Slow Cooker Beef and Broccoli with white rice and chopsticks

Slow Cooker Beef and Broccoli

This is the easiest Beef and Broccoli recipe! It’s made in the slow cooker, so you end with deliciously tender and flavor-soaked beef. A recipe the whole family will enjoy!

This slow cooker beef recipe is one you will want to have on hand for those hectic days when you don’t have a lot of time to make dinner. The prep work is only about 10 minutes, and the slow cooker does the rest of the work. What you’re left with is flavorful, tender beef and broccoli smothered in a delicious Asian-style sauce.

You could even make the rice the night before to have it ready for the following day. I recommend serving this with the basic long grain white rice or my favorite kind of rice, short grain brown rice.

Beef and Broccoli Ingredients

For this slow cooker beef and broccoli recipe, you’ll need:

  • Beef chuck
  • Yellow onion
  • Low-sodium beef broth
  • Soy sauce
  • Sesame oil
  • Dark brown sugar
  • Garlic
  • Salt and pepper
  • Cornstarch
  • Broccoli
  • Sesame seeds, for garnish

Slow Cooker Beef and Broccoli in white bowl with rice and chopsticks

How to Make Beef and Broccoli in the Slow Cooker

  • Add the sliced beef and onions to a slow cooker.
  • Stir together sauce ingredients, then pour over the beef and onions.
  • Cook mixture on low heat for 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours, or until beef is cooked through.
  • Stir together some of the beef broth from the slow cooker with the cornstarch. Pour back into the slow cooker.
  • Add in the broccoli pieces and continue cooking until softened.
  • Serve slow cooker beef and broccoli with white rice, if desired.

Can I Cook This Recipe on High for Less Time?

I wouldn’t recommend doing that, as it might make the meat tough. Beef needs to be cooked low and slow to become super tender.

Can I Omit the Sugar in This Recipe?

Feel free to scale back on the sugar to suit your tastes. However, I’d add some sugar to this recipe to balance out all the flavors. The sugar helps make this slow cooker beef and broccoli taste like what you get at a good Chinese restaurant!

close up of Slow Cooker Beef and Broccoli with white rice

Tips for the Best Beef and Broccoli

  • If you use regular beef broth instead of low-sodium, you likely won’t want to add any additional salt.
  • For the best flavor and texture, use fresh broccoli and not frozen.
  • Slice the beef thinly so it becomes super tender in the slow cooker.

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4.64 from 11 votes

Slow Cooker Beef and Broccoli

This Slow Cooker Beef and Broccoli requires just 10 minutes of hands-on prep, and the slow cooker does the rest of the work for you. An easy Chinese recipe perfect for busy weeknights! 
Servings: 4 servings
Prep10 minutes
Cook3 hours 50 minutes

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Add beef and onion portions to a slow cooker. In a mixing bowl whisk together beef broth, soy sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar and garlic. Season mixture with salt and pepper to taste.
  • Pour mixture over beef and onions in slow cooker. Cover with lid and cook on low heat 2 1/2 - 3 1/2 hours, until meat has cooked through.
  • Ladle out 1/4 cup of the broth from slow cooker and pour into a bowl. Add cornstarch and whisk until smooth then return broth mixture to slow cooker and gently stir.
  • Add in broccoli pieces (if you want vibrantly green broccoli you can steam it instead then add it at the end) and cover slow cooker with lid, then increase to high heat and cook 20 minutes longer, or until broccoli is tender and sauce has thickened slightly.
  • Remove onion pieces. Serve warm over white or brown rice sprinkled with optional sesame seeds.

Notes

  • *I used low-sodium broth (as well as the low-sodium soy sauce) so I have better control over the amount of salt that goes in. You can use regular beef broth, you just might not need to add salt, and same if using the consommé.
  • Recipe Source: adapted from BS Recipes via Table for Two
Nutrition Facts
Slow Cooker Beef and Broccoli
Amount Per Serving
Calories 478 Calories from Fat 207
% Daily Value*
Fat 23g35%
Saturated Fat 9g56%
Cholesterol 117mg39%
Sodium 1339mg58%
Potassium 1011mg29%
Carbohydrates 31g10%
Fiber 2g8%
Sugar 20g22%
Protein 37g74%
Vitamin A 445IU9%
Vitamin C 62.6mg76%
Calcium 89mg9%
Iron 4.8mg27%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition values are estimates only. See full disclaimer here.

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102 Comments

  • Nancy

    Made this tonight. First time cooking any kind of asian dish so I was nervous but it came out so good! Tastes like restaurant quality beef and broccoli. I cooked it on med high setting for 2 hours (my slow cooker has 4 settings, I used the one that said 6 hours). Then switched it to the highest setting for the last 20 mins once I added cornstarch and broccoli. Thanks for sharing this yummy recipe!

  • Nina

    The sauce is delicious! I love the flavor so much I use it as a stirfry sauce when I make lo mein. I just leave out the cornstarch and add some crushed red pepper & let it simmer in a saucepan while I make the veggies & noodles. It’s better than the restaurant. This will be a regular at my house. Thanks! :)

  • Darlene

    The best beef & broccoli EVER. Just stumbled across this website and realized it’s the recipe a lady at work gave me she got off the internet. Have made this multiple times. So easy and delicious. We prefer it over mashed potatoes than rice.

  • Leslie

    Does the recipe require the sugar or can you make without? I am cooking it for dinner tonight. Is it ok to use rib eye?

    • Jaclyn

      Jaclyn Bell

      Sorry I just noticed your comment, I haven’t tried it with rib eye but there are other recipes out there similar that use it. And I’d keep some sugar, you could reduce it but for flavor I’d add some.

  • Ashley

    Love this recipe! It’s so easy to make, only a few dirty dishes, and most importantly so yummy! I’ve given this recipe to multiple people and even brought this meal to a friend who had recently had a baby and they all love it!

    • Jaclyn

      Jaclyn Bell

      I think that would be fine, I might even add in some ginger to add a little more flavor just since chicken breasts don’t seem to be quite as flavorful as beef.