This page brings together five slow cooker beef recipes built around roasts, steaks, ground beef, sandwiches, and burgers. Each one uses the slow cooker to turn simple ingredients into hearty, sauce-forward meals.
The dishes here range from pulled beef and French dip sandwiches to a noodle casserole and steakhouse-style burgers, with method details that help each recipe come together cleanly.
Find your recipe
- Slow Cooker 3-Ingredient Dark Beer Beef Roast
- 4-Ingredient Slow Cooker Swiss Steak
- Ground Beef Stroganoff Casserole
- Slow Cooker 3-Ingredient French Dip Sandwiches
- Slow Cooker 5-Ingredient Steakhouse Burgers
Slow Cooker 3-Ingredient Dark Beer Beef Roast
This roast starts with a beef chuck roast set directly into the slow cooker, fat side up, with no browning required. Dry onion soup mix is pressed over the meat, then dark beer is poured around it so the seasoning stays in place and the liquid reaches partway up the sides. Slow cooking on low turns the roast very tender and easy to pull apart.
After cooking, the beef is transferred to a platter and shredded into large chunks with two forks. The cooking liquid is stirred into a rich, dark gravy, with excess fat skimmed off if desired, then spooned generously over the pulled beef for serving with mashed potatoes, egg noodles, or bread.
Get the full Slow Cooker 3-Ingredient Dark Beer Beef Roast recipe
4-Ingredient Slow Cooker Swiss Steak
This Swiss steak uses tenderized beef round steaks layered in the bottom of the slow cooker, then covered with a sauce of condensed cream of mushroom soup, diced tomatoes with their juices, and dry onion soup mix. The sauce does not need to be perfectly smooth, just mixed well enough to coat the meat. The slow cooker keeps the beef moist while it turns tender.
The steaks are cooked with the lid left closed so the heat and moisture stay trapped. When they are done, the sauce is stirred back together and can be finished with black pepper or a small pinch of salt if needed. It is served hot with plenty of gravy spooned over the top.
Get the full 4-Ingredient Slow Cooker Swiss Steak recipe
Ground Beef Stroganoff Casserole
This casserole begins with ground beef browned in a skillet and drained if needed before going into the slow cooker. Condensed cream of mushroom soup and dry onion soup mix are stirred into the beef, then evaporated milk is added to form a creamy gravy. Uncooked wide egg noodles go in next and are pressed down into the liquid so they can cook evenly.
The casserole cooks until the noodles are tender and the gravy is thick, with the lid kept closed during the early part of cooking to hold in steam. Once finished, it is stirred well, seasoned with salt and black pepper if desired, and left to rest on warm before serving. The result is a full meal in one pot with a stroganoff-style flavor.
Get the full Ground Beef Stroganoff Casserole recipe
Slow Cooker 3-Ingredient French Dip Sandwiches
This French dip recipe places a beef chuck roast in the slow cooker with the fattier side up, then seasons it with two packets of dry onion soup mix. Beef broth is poured around the roast instead of directly over the top, which helps keep the seasoning on the meat while the liquid rises partway up the sides. Slow cooking makes the beef fall-apart tender.
Once the roast is done, it is shredded and returned to the slow cooker so it can soak in the au jus. Any large pieces of fat are discarded, and excess fat can be skimmed from the cooking liquid if desired. The beef sits on warm before being piled onto hoagie rolls and served with small bowls of au jus for dipping.
Get the full Slow Cooker 3-Ingredient French Dip Sandwiches recipe
Slow Cooker 5-Ingredient Steakhouse Burgers
These steakhouse burgers use frozen beef patties arranged over a bed of sliced onion in the slow cooker, with mushrooms scattered around and over the meat. Bottled steak sauce is poured over everything, creating a savory sauce as the patties cook through. The slow cooker is lined with onions first, which helps build flavor under the burgers.
When the patties are tender and cooked through, they are lifted out and served on hamburger buns. The onions and mushrooms are stirred into the sauce left in the pot, then spooned over each burger. Toasted buns can be used if desired, and more steak sauce can be added at serving.
Get the full Slow Cooker 5-Ingredient Steakhouse Burgers recipe
