When I read this recipe, and saw that I could make Crock Pot beef and broccoli that would taste like the restaurant-style version, I was excited. I love Chinese food, and beef and broccoli is one of my favorite dishes.
Now that we have kids who suck up our disposable income on things like shoes and toothpaste (boring!), we don’t get take-out as often as I would like, so I’m always on the prowl for at home dishes that compare to the tasty restaurant meals we used to take for granted.
While my household didn’t think this could have passed for take-out, I loved this slow cooker beef and broccoli, and I was glad that I tripled (yes, tripled) the recipe. The flavor was great, the ingredients were simple, and the whole family liked it, even if the kids preferred the meat to the broccoli.
My kids used to eat broccoli. They used to chow it down with enthusiasm while I smugly patted myself on the back for raising children who loved vegetables. Obviously I am a stupid, stupid woman. The kids aren’t terribly picky now, but I could really do without the arbitrary food aversions and declarations of “I don’t like (fill in the delicious food that they liked yesterday) anymore.” They’ve been off broccoli for months now, but I love it so I keep making it. Screw those guys, more for me!
After countless failed attempts at restaurant copy-cat recipes, I’m beginning to believe that the reason things don’t taste as good at home is because the true deliciousness of eating out is that someone else is doing all the work. No prep or clean-up? YUM.
Crock Pot Beef and Broccoli
Crock Pot Thursday: Beef and Broccoli
Ingredients
- 1 lb boneless, beef chuck roast, sliced into strips
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 tbsp water
- 3 tbsp cornstarch
- frozen broccoli florets (approximately 2 cups, or however many floats your boat)
- white rice, cooked
Instructions
- In the slow cooker, whisk together beef broth, soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, and garlic.
- Add the beef slices to the liquid and toss to coat.
- Cover and cook on low, 6 hours.
- After the 6 hours, combine water and cornstarch, and stir until smooth. Pour into slow cooker and mix well.
- Add the broccoli, toss to coat, and cook on low for an additional 30 minutes to thicken up the sauce.
- Serve hot over white rice.
Notes
Kim
I doubled the recipe, I didn't think 1 lb of beef would be enough for my crew. It tasted great. Next time, I will cook shorter (in my new pot!) because my beef ended up falling apart at 4.5 hours. Next time I will try 3-3.5 hrs before adding the broccoli and corn starch for another half hour. I'll also double the broccoli because it's just so good in this dish. We all REALLY enjoyed this one, and with some minor tweaks, I think it will be even better.
Sarah
This was good. We made this with no modifications and used frozen broccoli. Our sauce was a little runny and next time I'll thicken it up a bit more. Doubling is also a must... I didn't do this and definitely learned my lesson!
Linda
Everyone loved this--I even fooled some people that it was take-out. I used fresh, steamed broccoli, and tripled the recipe. I also put in some carrots and cauliflower (just a bit). It was a bit runny the first night, but the leftovers were just right for thickness. We loved the flavors!!
Stephanie
My 10 month old was so excited about this Crock Pot Thursday dinner that after his first bite he tried to dive into the bowl. I feel like he may of eaten an entire adult serving. All 3 of us loved it. A definite winner! Just like Linda, I used steamed broccoli and put in some carrots and cauliflower. I served it over white rice. Definitely making this again!
Me
We thought this was too runny, even after adding more cornstarch than the recipe called for. I ended up ladling out the liquid, and reducing it in a saucepan. The flavors were awesome though, and we'll be making it again soon. Next time I'll add some sliced onions, and maybe some other veggies, and I'll allow for more time to reduce the sauce. This dish was even better on day two.
I used my 6.5-Quart Crock-Pot Programmable Touchscreen Slow Cooker to make this Crock Pot Beef and Broccoli.
Follow me on Pinterest for tons of excellent Crock Pot beef recipes!
Okay, lady, I’m sitting here making my grocery and meal list for the week, and I’ve come to you! This will be our dinner on Thursday, so tell me: what should I do differently in order to thicken the sauce in the crock pot? Thank you kindly!
Here’s what I would do: take the sauce out when the dish is done, put it in a saucepan, and cook it for about 10 minutes so the sauce thickens. You could add a little cornstarch to a few tablespoons of cold water, mix it well, and add it to the sauce to thicken it more. Let me know how it turns out!
This was sooooo good. The only thing I will do differently is not cook the broccoli at all before putting it in. I steamed it so it was not quite done and put it in. It was a mushy mess. I think 30 minutes in the crock pot as its only cooking time will work for us because we like our veggies crunchy. Thanks for the recipe!
Also like Kim, I’ll reduce the cooking time for the meat. Ours fell apart a little too much.
This was delicious! The meat was tender after 4 hours in my crockpot so I finished the recipe at that point. Definitely will double next time.