Slow-Cooker Beef & Broccoli

In the world of Chinese-American classics, you can’t beat beef and broccoli. Because I turn to this weeknight staple so often, I'm always searching for new ways to make it at home. My new favorite way to make this dish a set-it-and-forget-it meal? Using my slow-cooker. In this easy, hands-off version, we’re cooking thinly-sliced steak low and slow in a rich broth until it’s fall-apart delicious, and then throwing in the broccoli near the end so it cooks just long enough to become tender. After that, all you need is a pot of rice, and dinner is served!

What People Are Saying:
"I cannot believe how good this recipe is! The beef is so tender, the flavours are perfect. Add the jasmine rice and it's amazing. I added the broccoli at the very end and let it steam for about 10 minutes. My god! I cannot wait to make this again." -ccherneskeyyxe

How To Make Slow-Cooker Beef & Broccoli

INGREDIENTS

• Sirloin Steak: We recommend sirloin for this recipe, but you could sub in flank, hanger, or even chuck steak if you wanted. Whatever you use, the most important thing is to cut your steak thinly against the grain before cooking it. This helps tenderize the steak. If you’re having trouble getting thin slices, try freezing the steak; this will help you get those thin even cuts.
• Sauce: While more traditional versions may include oyster and dark soy sauces, here we’re opting for beef broth, regular soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, sesame oil, and sriracha. These ingredients are easy to find (you probably have most of them in your pantry already!) and still come together to create a rich, flavorful sauce that satisfies all your beef and broccoli cravings.
• Garlic & Green Onions: The classic combination of garlic and green onion is going to give this dish even more flavor and aroma. Plus the fresh green onion adds a bit of extra texture and bite to the dish.
• Cornstarch: In this recipe I’m using a cornstarch slurry (cornstarch dissolved in a little broth separate from the crockpot) to thicken the broth and turn it into a rich gravy. If you don’t have cornstarch on hand, you can substitute flour, but you’ll need to use about twice as much flour as you would cornstarch to get the same thickening power (so for this recipe that would be ¼ cup). I’d still recommend dissolving the flour separately in a little of the broth before stirring it into the slow-cooker, so you don’t get lumps.
• Broccoli: Tender, flavorful broccoli is one of the big superstars of this dish. The fresh, green flavors of the florets work perfectly against the rich and savory sauce and beef, keeping this famous dish from being overpowering.
• Jasmine Rice: In my opinion, jasmine rice is the way to go with beef & broccoli, but any long-grain rice will work as well.

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS

As this is a slow-cooker recipe, much of the total cook time is passive, meaning you’ll have plenty of time to cross items off your to-do list while the steak cooks. That being said, your first step will be to add the sirloin into the slow-cooker and cover it in the sauce mixture of beef broth, soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, Sriracha, garlic, and green onions. Give this mixture a mix to incorporate everything together.

Then replace the lid to the slow-cooker and set it to cook on low for about 3 ½ to 4 hours, until the beef is tender and cooked through.

Once the beef has cooked, spoon out a few tablespoons of the aromatic broth into a bowl and whisk in the cornstarch until there are no clumps and the cornstarch is completely dissolved. Then pour this slurry back into the slow-cooker and stir the beef and broth mixture until completely combined. Add in your broccoli florets, replace the slow-cooker lid, and cook for another 20 minutes until the broccoli is cooked through and tender and the sauce has thickened considerably.

Dish the beef and broccoli out into individual bowls on top of cooked jasmine rice, and top to serve with sesame seeds and fresh green onions.

The full list of ingredients and instructions can be found in the recipe below.

Recipe Tips

• Make sure your cornstarch dissolves completely. If the cornstarch isn’t fully dissolved before you stir the slurry back into the rest of the broth in the slow cooker, it’s not going to magically dissolve when it hits that hot broth. If you have cornstarch clumps floating in your slow cooker, any thickening power the cornstarch has will be trapped within those clumps– it’s not going to thicken anything like that!
• Boil your broth to activate the cornstarch. Once you’ve stirred the (fully dissolved cornstarch) slurry into the sauce, you must bring the broth to a full boil to activate the cornstarch’s thickening power. If you don’t boil the broth, the cornstarch won’t be able to do anything.

Storage

Any leftover slow-cooker beef and broccoli will last for 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator when stored properly in an airtight container.