20 Beef Slow-Cooker Recipes You'll Love

By The editors of MidwestLiving.com
Updated August 25, 2020

Make tender pot roasts, delicious ribs, hot sandwiches and hearty stews with our beef slow-cooker ideas.

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Slow-Cooker German-Style Beef Roast

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Red wine, chopped dill pickles and zesty mustard create a German-style meal.

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Short Ribs over Cheesy Polenta

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Cooked this way, short ribs give you a delicious, dressed-up dish with hardly any work. A hint of licorice from fennel accents the recipe.

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Fireside Beef Stew with Root Vegetables

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Cranberry juice makes a surprise appearance in this slow-cooker main dish. The juice adds a little sweetness to the winter veggie-packed soup.

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4 of 21

Slow-Cooker Meatball Sandwiches

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Cook homemade meatballs in a spicy tomato sauce, then top with mozzarella cheese before serving on a toasted hoagie bun. If you're in a hurry, substitute an 18-ounce package of frozen cooked meatballs for the homemade ones.

5 of 21

Burgundy Beef Stew

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Either a good Pinot Noir or Burgundy works well in this slow-cooked beef main-dish recipe.

6 of 21

Spicy Beef Sloppy Joes

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Medium to hot salsa adds a touch of heat to this favorite meal. Simmer the meat and veggie mixture for up to eight hours for a classic sandwich filling-and set some aside for Spicy Beef Taco Salad the next day.

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7 of 21

Slow-Cooker Pot Roast Stew

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Butternut squash, apples and onions cook with boneless beef chuck pot roast. Serve over hot cooked couscous.

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Italian Beef Sandwiches

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Chuck roasts come out so tender from a slow cooker, and this cheaper cut of meat is easy on the budget. For dinner, spoon the beef onto hoagie buns and top with provolone, onions and peppers, then pop it under the broiler to melt the cheese.

9 of 21

Brisket in Onion-Ale BBQ Sauce

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Beef, chili sauce and brown sugar flavor tender beef brisket in this slow-cooker recipe.

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10 of 21

Slow-Cooked Minestrone

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Ground beef turns this vegetable soup recipe into a satisfying meal. Top the slow-cooked main-dish soup with fresh-grated Parmesan cheese.

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Cappuccino Pot Roast

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A cup of strong coffee gives this beef chuck roast a punch of flavor. If you have a single-serving coffeemaker, this is the time to use it.

12 of 21

Beer-Braised Beef Short Ribs

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Beef short ribs turn tender after cooking for 11 hours in your slow cooker.

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Italian Pot Roast

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Simmer pot roast, carrots and fennel in a tomato sauce, then serve over hot cooked penne pasta.

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Beef and Sweet Potato Stew

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Sweet potatoes, cumin, cinnamon, and dried apricots or plums add a North African flavor to this lower-sodium version of slow-cooker beef stew.

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Classic French Dips

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Slow-cook beef brisket or boneless beef bottom round roast with onions, bell peppers and beef broth to juicy tenderness. Serve on baguette-style bread, and pass juices from the slow cooker for dipping.

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Saucy Brisket

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Our slow-cooker recipe provides instructions not only for a beef brisket dinner with noodles or potatoes, but also for a next-day meal of chutney-beef panini sandwiches.

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Texas Beef with Butternut Squash

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Lightly spiced beef chuck roast combines perfectly with soft butternut squash in the slow cooker. A surprising ingredient is unsweetened cocoa powder, which gives the dish a rich flavor. Serve with crusty French bread to soak up the sauce.

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Cajun Pot Roast

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Cajun seasoning turns up the heat on this slow-cooker pot roast, simmered with corn, sweet peppers, onion and diced tomatoes.

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19 of 21

Beef Goulash

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Beef, carrot, onion and sweet pepper cook in a tomato sauce seasoned with paprika and caraway seeds. Serve with hot cooked noodles, and top with sour cream or yogurt.

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Beef Lo Mein

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Packaged ingredients such as stir-fry sauce, canned water chestnuts and frozen veggies mean this slow-cooker meal goes together quickly. Add cashews for extra crunch, and serve over lo mein noodles.

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Orange-Spiced Corned Beef

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Dried fruit, orange juice, molasses and spices dress up corned beef with lively new flavor in this slow-cooker recipe.

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By The editors of MidwestLiving.com