Slow Cooker Korean Beef is such an easy meal that results in the most delicious, melt-in-your-mouth beef! The sweet and spicy sauce requires just 10 minutes of prep time and infuses the meat while it cooks. It’s the perfect weeknight dinner and makes even better leftovers!
Serve it straight from the crock-pot over fluffy rice or cauliflower rice. Add some steamed veggies, and you have a complete meal ready to enjoy. So good and so simple!
What is Slow Cooker Korean Beef?
Slow Cooker Korean Beef is a tender, flavorful dish where beef simmers in a rich, sweet-savory sauce made with soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and sesame oil.
Inspired by traditional Korean flavors, this slow-cooked version enhances the depth of taste while making the beef melt-in-your-mouth tender.
Today, we’re making a simplified version of this incredibly flavorful dish that lets the slow cooker do all of the work. This is truly one of the easiest recipes ever. Just mix up the sauce, add everything to the slow cooker, and go about your day.
Key Ingredients
The best cut of beef for this recipe is chuck roast – the same cut you’d use to make pot roast. The fat marbling in a chuck roast is what makes the beef so tender. A leaner cut just won’t be quite as tender and juicy. You can also make this recipe with flank steak.
Cornstarch is also key because it’s what thickens the broth. If you don’t have rice vinegar on hand, balsamic vinegar works well here, too.
Note: To make it gluten-free, replace soy sauce with tamari sauce.
Homemade Korean Beef In Four Easy Steps
First: Add the first nine ingredients from the list into a bowl and whisk until you have a well-combined sauce.
Second: Place the beef on a cutting board and cube it. Transfer the beef to the slow cooker and pour the sauce over, coating evenly.
Third: Put the lid on your slow cooker and let it go until the beef is tender enough to fall apart. You can cook it on low for 7-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours.
Fourth: Make a cornstarch slurry by mixing 2 tbsp of cornstarch with 2 tbsp of water. Stir it into the sauce so it thickens up, and let it cook for the last 30 minutes until the meat is fork-tender.
Tip for the Best Korean Beef
Cube your chuck roast and mix up the sauce the night before. In the morning, toss it all into the slow cooker and let it do its thing, giving you juicy beef by dinner time!
Switch Up The Recipe
Add veggies: Toss in some broccoli, mushrooms, carrots, or snow peas during the last 30 minutes to an hour of cooking.
More garnish: You can absolutely go crazy with the garnishes here. Fresh herbs, sliced radishes and cucumbers, or crispy fried onions would all be great.
Make it spicy: If you’re into spicy food, add as much siracha as you like! You can also use red pepper flakes or chili oil to add some heat.
Swift Protein: You can use ground beef, but it cooks much faster, so no slow cooker needed. Just brown it, add the sauce, and simmer until thickened.
Serving Suggestions
I typically serve this over white or brown rice with an easy side like air fryer broccoli, slaw or steamed cauliflower. Add some green onions and sesame seeds on top and I promise it’s just as good (and even better) than takeout.
I also enjoy serving this Korean beef with flour tortillas or lettuce wraps. It makes tasty Korean beef tacos for Tuesday night.
How to Store and Reheat
You can keep Korean beef in the fridge for up to 4 days or the freezer for up to 3 months. Just be sure to store it in a good airtight container to keep it nice and fresh.
Slow cooker Korean beef also reheats beautifully. I like to warm it on the stovetop, but the microwave works just as well.
Slow Cooker Beef Recipes
Slow Cooker Pepper Steak
4 hrs 7 mins
Healthier Slow Cooker Beef Stew Recipe
5 hrs 20 mins
Healthy Slow Cooker Beef Stew
5 hrs 10 mins
Slow Cooker Barbacoa
5 hrs 10 mins
Slow Cooker Korean Beef
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup beef broth
- ½ cup reduced sodium soy sauce
- ½ cup brown sugar packed
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 1 teaspoon Sriracha
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 3.5 lb boneless beef chuck roast cut into 1-inch cubes
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 3 green onions thinly sliced
- Sesame seeds for seasoning
Instructions
- Prepare the Sauce: In a medium bowl, whisk together the beef broth, soy sauce, brown sugar, minced garlic, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, grated ginger, Sriracha, and onion powder until well combined.
- Add Ingredients to the Slow Cooker: Place the cubed beef chuck roast into the slow cooker. Pour the prepared sauce over the beef, ensuring all the pieces are evenly coated.
- Cook: Cover and cook on low heat for 7–8 hours or high heat for 3–4 hours, until the beef is tender and easily pulls apart.
- Thicken the Sauce: In a small bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water to make a slurry. Stir this mixture into the slow cooker during the last 30 minutes of cooking to thicken the sauce.
- Serve: Serve hot over rice or steamed broccoli. Garnish with green onions and a sprinkle of sesame seeds. Enjoy!
Notes
- I like to use reduced-sodium soy sauce and add salt to taste.
- Fresh garlic and ginger are best in this recipe. But, if you don’t have them on hand you can use garlic powder and ground ginger instead.
- Cut the beef into similar-sized cubes so they all cook at the same time. If you buy pre-cubed meat then you may need to cut the larger pieces in half.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did You Make This?
Follow @primaverakitchen on Instagram, snap a photo, and tag it #primaverakitchen. We’d love to see your recreation.
can i make this with ground beef?? would be using for korean tacos using scallion pancakes. if so would you change the recipe at all.?
Yes, you can definitely make this with ground beef! The flavors will still be delicious, but since ground beef cooks much faster than a beef roast, you won’t need a slow cooker. I recommend browning the ground beef in a skillet over medium heat, then adding the sauce ingredients and letting it simmer for about 5-10 minutes until it thickens and coats the beef. It sounds like a great idea for Korean tacos with scallion pancakes—such a fun twist! Let me know how it turns out!
So tasty could eat it everyday !!
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️