This Slow Cooker Roast Beef (a.k.a Crockpot Roast Beef) will be become your favourite Sunday Roast – incredibly tender slow cooked beef in a rich gravy. 10/10 for flavour and almost zero effort! Perfect for serving a crowd so why not make it this weekend? This recipe is gluten free and even slimming friendly… Happy days 🙂
You will also love my Chunky Beef Casserole
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Sometimes a recipe comes along that
- Is incredibly tasty and beloved by everyone
- Is SUPER EASY and almost cooks itself
This Slow Cooker Beef Roast is THAT recipe 🙂 It is ridiculously easy, it feeds a crowd and it will knock your socks off – the perfect Sunday Roast to share with family and friends!
Simply pop the meat and veggies in your slow cooker in the morning and you have the best dinner waiting for you by supper time. Take a look at the recipe video and step by step photos to see how its done.
What makes this recipe such a winner?
- The PERFECT pot roast: If you are intimidated by roast beef because it is tricky to get just right then this is the beef recipe for you. Technically it is not a roast but a beef pot roast since it is cooked in a slow cooker.
- It is almost hands off, practically a ‘dump and go’ recipe. After some initial prep, the meat simply cooks slowly for several hours until it becomes fall apart tender.
- Finally a beef roast that comes with gravy built in! The flavor-packed broth in which the beef cooks in becomes the totally addicting gravy you will want to bathe in (or maybe that’s just me)
- You can also cook potatoes and other veggies at the same time – one less job to do!
Which Cut is best for Beef Roast?
More good news my friends! You can use any beef joint that’s suitable for roasting or pot roasting, including some budget friendly options such as brisket and topside. I ordered my beef joint from Amazon Fresh and it is such good quality!
Make sure your joint will fit in your Slow Cooker – as you will see from the recipe video my joint was rather mahoosive! You can cut it in half if necessary.
I have made this recipe so many times and according to my family the BESTEST ever version was made with topside beef – I will leave the final choice up to you. If you are watching your weight make sure to pick a leaner joint and trim any visible fat before cooking.
YOU WILL ALSO NEED
Apart from your beef joint you will need the following ingredients
- Beef stock (broth) – I usually use Knorr Stockpots but you can use a stock cube or your favourite broth, preferably a low sodium one. Check this is gluten free if that is a concern
- Balsamic vinegar and soy sauce (or Tamari for GF version)
- Worcestershire sauce
- A little tomato purée
- Onion and garlic
- Bay leaves
- Carrots – these add flavour to the gravy and you can serve them on the side, win-win!
- Potatoes – these are optional. I actually prefer crispy roast potatoes with my roast beef so I usually cook these separately in the oven or an Air Fryer
- Cornflour (cornstarch) to thicken the gravy
- Not an ingredient, obvs, but you will also need a Slow Cooker – this is the one I am currently loving, it comes with a searing function and it’s so budget friendly!
HOW TO MAKE SLOW COOKER BEEF
Take a look at this step by step tutorial – please note you will find the full recipe, including ingredients in the recipe card at the end of this post.
STEP 1. Pat the beef dry with kitchen paper and season well with salt and pepper.
STEP 2. Spray a large skillet or shallow casserole dish with olive oil spray and sear the beef on all sides. This can take up to 10-15 minutes but adds so much flavour. You want to trigger the Maillard reaction – in layman’s terms you want to brown the beef until nicely coloured.
STEP 3. Set the beef aside and deglaze the pan with white wine (or red wine or beef stock), scraping any browned bits into the stock with the back of a wooden spoon.
STEP 4. Add the onions and carrots and stir until they get a bit of colour and and almost all of the liquid is gone.
STEP 5. Add beef stock (broth), soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, tomato purée, minced garlic, salt and bay leaves. Stir to combine.
STEP 6. Add the beef and then the vegetables, pushing them down into the liquid. Top with extra hot beef stock to come up halfway up the side of your joint.
STEP 7. Cover the slow cooker and cook for 8 hours on LOW or 6 hours on HIGH. If you can, flip the beef joint over about halfway through the cooking. Not the end of the world if you forget!
STEP 8. Use a slotted spoon to remove the vegetables from the slow cooker. Check the beef – it should be incredibly tender. If your beef is a little tough, even after cooking for 8 hours, slice then add back in the pot for another hour. Remove from the crockpot and set aside, covered with foil while the gravy is simmering. Slice against the grain just before you are ready to serve.
THE MOST DELICIOUS BEEF GRAVY
This gravy OMG it is soooo delicious it really makes this recipe sing! All you have to do…
STEP 1. Strain all the liquid from the slow cooker into a saucepan discarding any solids.
STEP 2. Stir in the cornflour slurry and bring the gravy to a rolling simmer. Reduce to a low simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes or until reduced. Taste and season if needed.
SERVING SUGGESTIONS
Slice the beef against the grain and arrange on a platter with the carrots (and potatoes if you have added any). Topside is best for slicing while brisket will fall apart more.
Drizzle with some of the gravy and garnish with fresh chopped parsley. Serve the roast allowing everyone to pour extra gravy on top – SO YUMMY!
If you are not cooking the potatoes in with the roast then these scalloped potatoes would be lovely served on the side – though, alas, not diet friendly!
TIPS FOR BEST-EVER SLOW COOKER BEEF
– Brown the beef before cooking. This triggers the Maillard reaction which adds tons of flavour to your pot roast. If you are really short of time you can ‘dump and go’ skipping this step but for the best flavour sear the meat first.
– Deglaze the pan – pour wine or stock into the hot pan after you have set the beef aside. Use the back of the spoon to scrape any browned bits into the stock.
– If you haven’t time to prep the meat in the morning, do the prep work the night before. Add all the ingredients in your slow cooker and allow to cool then store in the fridge overnight (in the slow cooker pot if fridge space allows, otherwise in a suitable container). The next day turn your cooker on and forget about it for at least 8-9 hours. The roast might take longer to cook if cooked straight from the fridge.
– Leftovers will keep for up to 4 days in the fridge and are excellent in sandwiches or pasta bakes (<––– this Stroganoff pasta bake is amazing!). If you have any leftover gravy you can freeze it – pour cooled gravy into an ice cube tray and freeze until solid. Pop the cubes out into a freezer bag and use within 3 months.
Is this recipe Slimming Friendly?
This beef roast is great for those following popular weight loss plans like Weight Watchers and Slimming World. Simply remove any fat before cooking or even after…it will solidify in the fridge and is easy to skim off.
Make sure to fill your plate with loads of vegetables like steamed broccoli, green beans or steamed spinach.
There’s 9 Weight Watchers SmartPoints *according to an online calculator, under 400 calories per serving and practically syn-free (1 synsin the gravy due to cornflour).
LOOKING FOR MORE SLIMMING WORLD RECIPES? Browse all my delicious syn-free or low-syn recipes HERE.
JOIN MY SLIMMING RECIPES GROUP I have created a dedicated Facebook group for slimming recipe ideas, tips and support. Would love to see you there!
MORE BEEF RECIPES TO TRY
Braised Beef
Classic Beef Bourguignon
One–pot Vietnamese Beef Stew
Chunky Beef Casserole
This Slimming World Beef Stew is completely SYN FREE, gluten free and suitable for freezing too! 10 SmartPoints on Weight Watchers.
Slow Cooker Roast Beef
Ingredients
- Olive oil cooking spray or 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1.4 kg | 3 pounds beef joint such as brisket or topside
- Salt and pepper to season
- 60 ml | 1/4 cup white wine (or stock) to deglaze pan
- 2 onions , roughly chopped
- 4 carrots , halved (add more if you like)
- 6 potatoes , peeled and halved (optional)
- 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 3 tbsp soy sauce (or Tamari for GF version)
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tbsp tomato purée
- 3 garlic cloves , minced
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 500 ml | 2 cups hot beef stock (broth) – more if needed
- 2 Bay leaves
- 1 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch) diluted in 1 tbsp cold water
- Salt and pepper to season
- 2 tbsp flat leaf parsley , chopped to garnish
Instructions
- Pat the beef dry with kitchen paper and season well with salt and pepper.
- Spray a large pan or casserole dish with olive oil spray and sear the beef on all sides until nicely coloured. This can take up to 10-15 minutes but adds so much flavour so don’t skip!
- Set the beef aside and deglaze the pan with white wine (or red wine or beef stock), scraping any browned bits into the stock with the back of a wooden spoon.
- Add the onions and carrots and stir until they get a bit of colour and and almost all of the liquid is gone.
- Add beef stock (broth), soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, tomato puree, minced garlic, salt and bay leaves. Stir to combine.
- Add the beef and then the vegetables, pushing them down into the liquid. Check the levels of the stock, it should come up halfway up the side of your joint. Top with extra hot beef stock if necessary.
- Cover the slow cooker and cook for 8 hours on LOW or 6 hours on HIGH. If you can, flip the beef joint over about halfway through the cooking. Not the end of the world if you forget!
- Check the beef – it should be incredibly tender. Remove from the crockpot and set aside, covered with foil.
- Use a slotted spoon to remove the vegetables from the slow cooker. Strain all the liquid into a saucepan discarding any solids.
- Stir in the cornflour slurry and bring the gravy to a simmer for 10-15 minutes or until reduced. Taste and season if needed.
- Slice the beef against the grain and arrange on a platter with the carrots (and potatoes if you have added any). Drizzle with some of the gravy and garnish with fresh chopped parsley.
- Serve the roast allowing everyone to pour extra gravy on top – SO YUMMY!
Video
Notes
- Remove the meat from the fridge and pat the topside of beef dry as much as possible. Season really well with salt and freshly ground pepper.
- Brown the beef before cooking. This triggers the Maillard reaction which adds tons of flavour to your pot roast. If you are really short of time you can ‘dump and go’ skipping this step but for the best flavour sear the meat first.
- Deglaze the pan – pour wine or stock into the hot pan after you have set the beef aside. Use the back of the spoon to scrape any browned bits into the stock.
- If your beef is a little tough, even after cooking for 8 hours, slice then add back in the pot for another hour.
- If you haven’t time to prep the meat in the morning, do the prep work the night before. Add all the ingredients in your slow cooker and allow to cool then store in the fridge overnight (in the slow cooker if fridge space allows, otherwise in a suitable container). The next day turn your cooker on and forget about it for at least 8-9 hours. The roast might take longer to cook if cooked straight from the fridge.
Hazel Armstrong says
Lovely easy way to cook a roast – the carrots particularly were amazing! Have so many left overs though (even after making the suggested Beef Stroganoff pasta bake), should have bought a smaller bit of meat cause we’ll be having roast beef sandwiches for the rest of the week.
Leigh toller says
Waiting for the finished result 💤😀