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23 Crockpot Beef Recipes to Try for Dinner Tonight

Let the slow cooker handle it

crockpot beef recipes: cheater's beef bourguignon
Photo: Liz Andrew/Styling: Erin McDowell

It's no wonder why the slow cooker is your official weeknight dinner hero. It turns tough meats into tender slices of heaven and imparts loads of flavor into every meal, all with minimal effort from the chef. Instead of leaning on your usual chicken dish, consider one of these 23 Crockpot beef recipes.

They're low-lift, high in protein and essentially foolproof, even for newbie cooks. Like most recipes cooked with this handy appliance, they require some forethought and patience to come together (it's called a slow cooker, after all). But I promise they're all worth the wait, whether you go with slow cooker Bolognese, French dip sandwiches or deep-dish pizza.

30 Ground Beef Crockpot Recipes for Lazy Cooks


1. Slow Cooker Bolognese

  • Time Commitment: 6 hours and 45 minutes
  • Why I Love It: slow cooker recipe, special occasion-worthy, beginner-friendly
  • Serves: 4

"This recipe for slow cooker Bolognese is a set-it-and-forget-it number that tastes rich and hearty without much effort on your end," former PureWow senior food editor Katherine Gillen writes. Believe it or not, you'll only need nine ingredients (not including EVOO, salt and pepper) to prepare it.

2. Cheater’s Slow Cooker Beef Bourguignon

  • Time Commitment: 8 hours and 20 minutes
  • Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, make ahead, high protein
  • Serves: 6

Imagine eating this on a chilly fall night—swoon. "Throw it in the pot, go about your day and come back to magically tender results that would make any French chef proud," recipe developer Erin McDowell writes. "Bonus points if you serve it over mashed potatoes."

3. Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches

  • Time Commitment: 6 hours and 10 minutes
  • Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, high protein, slow cooker recipe
  • Serves: 6

"Sure, you could throw some turkey on whole-wheat bread in about five minutes," McDowell says, "but these tender, melt-in-your-mouth slow-cooker French dips are far from your average sandwich." Dunk it real good (in the herby, oniony jus, that is).

4. Slow Cooker Korean Short Rib Tacos

  • Time Commitment: 8 hours and 25 minutes
  • Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy, dairy free
  • Serves: 6

There's way more to work with than ground beef, friends. And the slow cooker makes more intimidating cuts (like short ribs) more approachable for newbies. "Gochujang adds extra oomph to the ribs, and bright and briny dill pickle spears balance everything out," McDowell writes.

5. Slow Cooker Deep-Dish Pizza

  • Time Commitment: 4 hours and 25 minutes
  • Why I Love It: kid-friendly, beginner-friendly,
  • Serves: 4

"I've fallen in love with deep-dish pizza, and, luckily, you don't have to travel to Chicago to get it," McDowell notes. "In fact, you don't even need an oven. Just a slow cooker—and a little bit of patience." The recipe calls for ground Italian sausage, but you can easily substitute ground beef.

6. Slow Cooker Sloppy Joes

  • Time Commitment: 3 hours and 10 minutes
  • Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, kid-friendly, beginner-friendly
  • Serves: 6

"These slow cooker sloppy joes are made with ground beef, tomato sauce, brown sugar and spices, all cooked to savory perfection," recipe creator Sara Welch writes. "You can add other ingredients such as bell peppers, herbs, bacon or sriracha. It's also popular to add a slice of cheese to your sloppy joe sandwich; I typically use cheddar."

7. Slow Cooker Beef Brisket with BBQ Sauce

  • Time Commitment: 10 hours and 15 minutes
  • Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, make ahead, special occasion-worthy
  • Serves: 8 to 10

Make this for one summer soirée and your guests will request it all season long. The brisket is cooked low and slow until tender, then finished in the oven until crusty and caramelized, thanks to being basted in from-scratch barbecue sauce as it cooks.

8. Slow Cooker Texas-Style Chili

  • Time Commitment: 8 hours and 15 minutes
  • Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, kid-friendly, beginner-friendly
  • Serves: 5 to 6

"This chili is rich and hearty, simple and uncluttered," recipe creator Lindsay Ostrom asserts. "No beans, no veggie chunks—just saucy chunks of juicy, tender beef that shred apart with the lightest pull of a fork." Finish your plate with plenty of scallions, sour cream, cheddar cheese and corn chips or cornbread for soaking up every last drop.

9. Mom’s Slow Cooker Beef Stew

  • Time Commitment: 7 hours and 20 minutes
  • Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, high protein, slow cooker recipe
  • Serves: 6

"Traditional beef stew is basically tender beef simmered in beef broth with potatoes, fresh herbs and a variety of veggies, like carrots, celery and onion," recipe creator Monique Volz explains. "I'm jazzing this beef stew recipe up with dry red wine and Worcestershire sauce for extra delicious flavor."

10. Slow Cooker Beef and Broccoli

  • Time Commitment: 3 hours and 10 minutes
  • Why I Love It: slow cooker recipe, high protein, beginner-friendly
  • Serves: 4

Your go-to takeout spot will miss you (tonight, anyway). The trick to this Chinese-American favorite is tenderizing the meat with cornstarch before beginning, then cooking it low and slow until meltingly soft. The more you know.

11. Pot Roast Gyros

  • Time Commitment: 3 hours and 15 minutes
  • Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy, make ahead
  • Serves: 6

Chuck roast is a surprisingly satisfying stand-in for the traditional beef-and-lamb mixture. While you can cook the meat in a Dutch oven, using a slow cooker will help you avoid babysitting your dinner. Make a few of the components ahead, like pickled red onions and tzatziki (or better yet, use store-bought), to ensure lighting-fast assembly at dinnertime.

12. Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff Stew

  • Time Commitment: 8 hours and 30 minutes
  • Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, make ahead, high protein
  • Serves: 6 to 8

This Crockpot beef recipe is smothered in a creamy, savory, buttery garlic-mushroom gravy. "Use economical stewing cuts that need to be cooked for a long time to become tender, such as beef cheeks, chuck, boneless beef ribs, gravy beef or beef labeled as stewing beef," recipe creator Nagi Maehashi suggests.

13. Fall-Off-the-Bone Slow Cooker Short Ribs

  • Time Commitment: 8 hours and 10 minutes
  • Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, high protein, special occasion-worthy
  • Serves: 6

Can you believe this meaty masterpiece is only nine ingredients away, including salt, pepper and olive oil? It's as simple as searing the ribs, adding them to the slow cooker with carrots and broth and letting the appliance work its magic.

14. Crockpot Cheeseburgers

  • Time Commitment: 4 hours
  • Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, kid-friendly, beginner-friendly
  • Serves: 6 to 8

Think of these handhelds as sauceless sloppy joes. The beef is seasoned with onions, ketchup and mustard for burger-inspired flavor, then it's topped with sharp cheddar and toppings of your choice. (I'm a mayo-and-pickles girl myself.)

15. Slow Cooked Beef Ribs in BBQ Sauce

  • Time Commitment: 4 hours and 15 minutes
  • Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, special occasion-worthy
  • Serves: 6

"Beef ribs are slow braised in a silky, shiny homemade barbecue sauce until the meat is [falling] apart and ridiculously juicy inside, and the outside is bronzed and sticky," Maehashi raves. If you don't want to spring for mustard powder in the dry rub, substitute Dijon or yellow mustard.

16. Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Tacos

  • Time Commitment: 4 hours and 30 minutes
  • Why I Love It: high protein, beginner-friendly, slow cooker recipe
  • Serves: 3 to 4

"In the past whenever I've tried making shredded beef, the seasonings have always seemed too bland," recipe creator Ali Martin says. "But sure enough, this recipe—rockin' the chipotle peppers, cumin, smoked paprika, garlic and more—made for some totally flavorful tacos! And for leftovers later in the week, it starred again in some quesadillas and sandwiches as well."

17. Slow Cooker Sesame Ginger Beef with Snap Peas

  • Time Commitment: 5 hours and 15 minutes
  • Why I Love It: beginner-friendly, high protein slow cooker recipe
  • Serves: 6 to 8

"Set it and forget it" is music to my ears. This recipe offers stir fry energy without requiring any stir frying or sautéing. You can also make it in advance and freeze it for up to three months, so you'll have an easy Crockpot beef recipe on deck for dinner in a pinch.

18. Slow Cooker Korean Beef

  • Time Commitment: 8 hours and 40 minutes
  • Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, slow cooker recipe, high protein
  • Serves: 6

"Chuck roast is ideal for a slow cooker recipe like this due to its high connective tissue and fat," recipe creator Chungah Rhee explains. "This will yield tender, juicy meat, allowing the flavors to fully develop during its long cook time." Eat it with rice, noodles or stuffed inside tacos, all topped with kimchi.

19. Slow Cooker Beef Taco Nacho Chili

  • Time Commitment: 4 hours and 15 minutes
  • Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, kid-friendly, beginner-friendly
  • Serves: 5

Enough Sunday dinner to feed the whole family, and no one will clock your ingenious shortcut: a can of nacho-inspired soup. Canned black beans, canned chiles and frozen corn make this gem a breeze to prepare.

20. Crockpot Beef Chili

  • Time Commitment: 6 hours and 15 minutes
  • Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser,
  • Serves: 8

This play on traditional chili is sweetened with maple syrup and seasoned with bay leaf for a unique flavor profile. If you'd prefer beans in this Crockpot beef recipe, add two cans of kidney or black beans when the chili is about an hour from being finished.

21. Slow Cooker Mongolian Beef

  • Time Commitment: 4 hours and 10 minutes
  • Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, high protein, beginner-friendly
  • Serves: 6

Love me tender with this eight-ingredient dinner recipe that will satisfy your takeout craving for a fraction of the price. Did I mention the prep will only take you about ten minutes? The slow cooker will handle the rest, so go ahead and curl up on the couch while you wait.

22. Slow Cooker Philly Cheesesteaks

  • Time Commitment: 6 hours and 10 minutes
  • Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, beginner-friendly, kid-friendly
  • Serves: 6

Feel free to add mushrooms to the onions and peppers, or substitute Cheez Whiz for provolone. "Beer makes the broth taste incredible, if you want to add a half-cup of your favorite brand," recipe creator Alyssa Rivers recommends.

23. Slow Cooker Beef Stew

  • Time Commitment: 8 hours and 50 minutes
  • Why I Love It: crowd-pleaser, make ahead, special occasion-worthy
  • Serves: 8

This is a far cry from the cafeteria-style beef stew you've had before. Dried thyme, rosemary and—wait for it—caraway seeds give it a unique overall taste, while fresh parsley added right before serving brightens the dish up.


taryn pire

Food Editor

  • Spearheads PureWow's food vertical
  • Manages PureWow's recipe vertical and newsletter
  • Studied English and writing at Ithaca College