Slow Cooker Beef and Broccoli–tender pieces of beef are served alongside broccoli and a savory and slightly sweet Asian sauce for a homemade version of your favorite Chinese takeout dish.
Get the INSTANT POT version of the recipe here
Slow Cooker Beef and Broccoli
One of my favorite things to order at a Chinese restaurant is beef and broccoli. The salty sweet sauce and the bright green broccoli steaming on a plate is so good. I’ve made an EASY version of beef and broccoli that you can make at home in your slow cooker.
This recipe has a couple “levels” to it. You can go with the super quick and easy route of not browning the meat. Or if you have a little more time you can add flavor by browning the meat. It’s up to you and how much effort you want to put into dinner today.
Beef: I have used beef stew meat when I’ve made this but I actually prefer buying a chuck roast and cutting it into strips. That way I know all the beef is from the same cut of beef and will cook evenly. I like cutting my chuck roast into strips when it is partially frozen. It’s easier to manipulate when it’s just a little frozen.
Broccoli: I used a bag of frozen broccoli when I made this recipe. The reason? It’s already cut up and ready to go. You can use fresh broccoli, if you prefer. But you’ll have to lightly steam the broccoli before adding it into the slow cooker.
Soy sauce: I prefer to use a low sodium soy sauce or a Tamari when I make this slow cooker beef and broccoli. Regular soy sauce seems too salty to me.
What to serve it with? When I made this slow cooker beef and broccoli I decided to serve it with cooked ramen noodles (unseasoned) instead of rice. The kids really liked that. Really you could do either.
More recipes you’ll love…
Instant Pot Yellow Curry and Jasmine Rice
Slow Cooker Yellow Chicken Curry
Instant Pot Chicken Broccoli Rice Bowl
Instant Pot Korean Beef and Brown Rice or Slow Cooker Cheater Korean Beef
Instant Pot or Slow Cooker Cashew Chicken
What Slow Cooker Did You Use?
For slow cooker beef and broccoli I used my 6 quart oval Kitchenaid slow cooker.* I love this slow cooker (you can see me talking about it in a video here). It cooks low and evenly. I love the medium heat choice because most slow cookers that I’ve seen only have the option of cooking on low or high. If you’re going to buy just one slow cooker, this is the one that I recommend.
Print
Slow Cooker Beef and Broccoli
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 1/2 hours
- Total Time: 46 minute
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 2 tsp canola oil
- 1 1/2 lbs beef chuck roast, cut into strips
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1 1/2 Tbsp sesame oil
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce or tamari
- 2 Tbsp cornstarch
- 2 Tbsp water
- 1 lb bag frozen broccoli
Instructions
- Heat up a pan over medium high heat and add in the canola oil. Brown one side of each of the strips of beef for one minute. Add them into the slow cooker. Quickly saute the garlic in the pan for one minute. Add it to the slow cooker.
- Stir the broth, sesame oil, brown sugar and soy sauce into the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.
- In a small bowl stir together the cornstarch and water. Stir the mixture into the slow cooker. Turn the slow cooker to high. Let the sauce thicken without the lid for about 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, add broccoli to a colander and run hot water over it. When sauce is thickened, stir in the broccoli. Let it heat through.
- Serve broccoli, beef and sauce over noodles or rice. Garnish with sesame seeds.
Notes
Beef: I have used beef stew meat when I’ve made this but I actually prefer buying a chuck roast and cutting it into strips. That way I know all the beef is from the same cut of beef and will cook evenly. I like cutting my chuck roast into strips when it is partially frozen. It’s easier to manipulate when it’s just a little frozen.
Broccoli: I used a bag of frozen broccoli when I made this recipe. The reason? It’s already cut up and ready to go. You can use fresh broccoli, if you prefer. But you’ll have to lightly steam the broccoli before adding it into the slow cooker.
Soy sauce: I prefer to use a low sodium soy sauce or a Tamari when I make this slow cooker beef and broccoli. Regular soy sauce seems too salty to me.
What to serve it with? When I made this slow cooker beef and broccoli I decided to serve it with cooked ramen noodles (unseasoned) instead of rice. The kids really liked that. Really you could do either.
- Category: Beef
- Method: Slow Cooker
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I am just making this and wondered why the slow cooker version doesn’t include the brown sugar? Before I saw the slow cooker version, I followed the instant pot recipe, but still put it in my slow cooker. It looks and smells amazing! I can’t wait for dinner.
Thanks for the heads up! That is a typo. I just added it in.
I made this now in both the Instant Pot and the slow cooker. They both turned out lovely! I always tweak any recipe to my liking, so I tweaked this one also. For the slow cooker version, I had twice as much in ingredients, so I made the adjustments accordingly. I also added ground ginger and red pepper flakes as well as some splashes of Sriacha sauce. I served it on Instant Pot Fried Rice and everyone loved it. What I like about Karen’s recipes is that they are simple and can easily appeal to all the variables – women, children men..young, old. Her recipes are fine as they are, or easy to make it ‘your own’ with your own touches.
The reviewer of the one star review did not have to be unkind. She could have just as easily reported that it didn’t turn out, and she didn’t care for it, in a more diplomatic and kind way. I however, thought it came out really nice, and made very small additions.
I think you will really enjoy this recipe for how tasty, fast, and simple it is to make;, as well as how easy it is to adjust the seasonings, etc. I think it’s a good one to keep in the rotation.
★★★★
Thanks so much Gail!!
How long did you cook it in the instant pot?
How do you cut the chuck roast into strips. My meat all got shredded.
Did you cut it before it was cooked?
Hi
Anyway salt content can be given or nutrition content of these recipes?
Everything about this recipe looked great – the simplicity, the ingredients, the idea of eating it with ramen noodles – but it tastes and looks like dog food. I followed the recipe to a T, so naturally, I’m very disappointed.. I was looking forward to giving my husband a grown-up ramen noodle dish. Now I think he’ll look foward to dumping it in the trash after tasting it.
★
Will this work without browning the beef? I am looking at freezer meals that hubby can just dump into sc.
Also, if sc doesn’t have “mid”, can we cook on low for longer time?
Thanks
yes it will work. You can cook on low for sure!
Can I cook on high instead of low for 8 hrs? If so, how many hours?
3-4 hours on high should be great!
This is probably a stupid question – but how do you blanch Broccoli?
nope not at all. I should have explained. Just thrown the broccoli in some boiling water for a couple minutes. It shouldn't get totally cooked just partially cooked.