Slow Cooker Beef and Broccoli
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A Chinese take-out favorite that can be made right in the slow cooker – no sauteing, no stirring, no frying. It doesn’t get easier than that!
Featured Comment
I’m all about making my favorite Chinese take-out dishes right at home. And when you can make it right in the slow cooker that basically cooks itself, well, that’s just an all-around win in my book.
reasons to make slow cooker beef and broccoli
- Dump-and-go slow cooker recipe. There is absolutely no sautéing, no frying, no oil splatter of any kind. It’s the best kind of set-and-forget crockpot recipe, especially for those busy days.
- Cheaper, healthier and tastier than takeout. Beef and broccoli is a classic Chinese takeout dish that can be made at home using better quality beef and fresh vegetables, tailoring the sauce to taste. Not to mention, it is so much more cost-effective with its short ingredient list using pantry staples.
- Melt-in-your-mouth tender beef. The crockpot allows for incredibly tender beef, cooking low and slow.
tips and tricks for success
- Use reduced sodium soy sauce. Reduced sodium has less sodium and less salt without compromising flavor.
- Increase the cook time as needed. For more pulled-pork-tender goodness, increase the cook time to 3-4 hours.
- Add the broccoli at the very end. To avoid soft, mushy broccoli, stir in the broccoli during the end of cooking time to maintain its crisp-tender texture.
- Make a cornstarch slurry. Adding cornstarch directly into the slow cooker can cause lumps. Always use a mixture of cornstarch and cold liquid (aka cornstarch slurry) to thicken the sauce, yielding a smoother, gravy-like consistency.
- Serve with your favorite grains. White rice, brown rice, cauliflower rice, quinoa or farro are all great options.
- Freeze as needed. Beef and broccoli is freezer-friendly! Label, date and freeze up to 2 months.
pro tip
Add more veggies.
This slow cooker beef and broccoli recipe is very flexible and forgiving. Add in carrots, bell peppers, snow peas or baby corn along with the broccoli during the last 30 minutes of cook time for a more heartier, well-rounded meal.
what to serve with slow cooker beef and broccoli
Tools For This Recipe
6-qt slow cooker
Slow Cooker Beef and Broccoli: Frequently Asked Questions
A cornstarch slurry is a mixture of cornstarch and cold liquid (such as water or stock) used as a thickening agent. To avoid over thickening, always add the cornstarch slurry towards the end of cooking time.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Yes! Let cool completely; portion into plastic freezer bags in individual servings, squeezing out any excess air before sealing. To reheat, thaw overnight in the fridge, reheating over low heat, stirring occasionally, until heated through.
Slow Cooker Beef and Broccoli
Ingredients
- 1 cup beef broth
- ¼ cup reduced sodium soy sauce
- ¼ cup oyster sauce
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 pounds boneless beef chuck roast, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 heads broccoli, cut into florets
Equipment
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together beef broth, soy sauce, oyster sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil and garlic.
- Place beef into a 6-qt slow cooker. Add sauce mixture and gently toss to combine. Cover and cook on low heat for 90 minutes.
- In a small bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup water and cornstarch.
- Stir in cornstarch mixture and broccoli into the slow cooker. Cover and cook on high heat for an additional 30 minutes.
- Serve immediately.
Video
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Slow cookers are the bomb. This looks a million times better than any of the take-out recipes I’ve tried to make at home, haha! Love the responses too. No doubt it’s amazing! 🙂
Dude…. :), I’ve been looking for a recipe for this in the crock pot! Awesome! Can’t wait to try it. This may seem like a dumb question, but do you purchase your beef pre-sliced or will stew meat work? As you can tell, I’m really inexperienced when it comes to meat.
I do not recommend using stew meat. You should go to your local grocery store and ask for a boneless beef chuck roast. From there, you should slice them up across the grain. Hope that helps!
Try popping the meat in the freezer for 15-20 min to firm it up a bit first, makes it easier to slice.
Haha, I like Jason’s response – I’m convinced! Looks so delicious and I had never thought of making Chinese food in slow cooker! What a brilliant idea!
Throwing everything into the slow cooker makes life so much easier!
Wonderful to look at, easy to prepare and can’t wait to eat! 🙂
Looks delicious! Are you sure it only cooks for 90 minutes?????
Yes, Sharon – as indicated in the post, this is really based on personal preference. If you would prefer a more shredded-tender-texture, I recommend cooking for 3-4 hours.
I am very allergic to anything that lives in water. Can I just omit the oyster sauce?
Here is a great forum discussing possible oyster sauce substitutes – hope that helps!
This looks delicious!
I have been following your blog for a few months now and I LOVE it! The recipes are easy to make AND they aren’t full of weird ingredients. Every recipe I’ve tried has been a complete success! THANK YOU! I also love that you include pictures but not 8,000 of them – yours is the perfect balance!
I just started following your blog and love your recipes, can’t wait to try this one. I made the shrimp cobb salad last week and it was excellent. I love your reicpe variety, thanks!
Fabulous! I reckon beef and broccoli is one of the most underrated dishes in Asian take-away restaurants, as the sauce (though humble) holds so much flavour! Making it in the slow-cooker is an amazing idea! I might just have to give this a shot 😀 Thanks for the recipe! x
dude… I am all over this one. So pinning for latet.
Hi there, only recently found your blog and very yummy easy to make recipes….. thanks for sharing them…. I am a stitcher and so I love easy to make meals that taste delicious too
Hugz
Made this tonight and it was AMAZING!!! I did cook for 4 full hours on high in my crockpot. Soooo easy, soooo good! The meat was so tender- it truly tasted just like a Chinese restaurant! Only question I have- is there a more lean cut of beef that can be substituted for the chuck? Or is the reason it is so tender because of the chuck roast? Delicious, thanks for the recipe- even my super picky eater-child enjoyed it! 5/5!
I find that the chuck roast is one of the best meats for the slow cooker.
If you can find a mock tender roast it should work. It is a very lean chuck roast. It is good for crock pot because it needs moist cooking or it turned out tough and dry. For this recipe I just cut it into thin slices and put it in the pot