Slow Cooker Beef and Broccoli
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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
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
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!
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.
More Easy Chinese Recipes You’ll Love:
- Very Veggie Fried Rice
- Orange Chicken
- General Tso’s Chicken
- Chicken and Vegetable Stir-Fry
- Chicken Chow Mein
- Orange Garlic Shrimp
- Chicken and Broccoli Stir-Fry
Follow Cooking Classy
Slow Cooker Beef and Broccoli
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs beef chuck (roast or chuck steak), sliced into thin 1 1/2-inch long strips
- 1/2 yellow onion , sliced into 2 portions
- 1 cup low-sodium beef broth or beef consommé*
- 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp sesame oil
- 1/3 cup slightly packed dark-brown sugar
- 3 cloves garlic , minced
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper , to taste
- 2 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch
- 3 cups broccoli florets , diced into bite size pieces (from about 12 oz broccoli crowns)
- Sesame seeds , for garnish (optional)
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