Last Updated on March 18, 2024
We love our slow cookers for so many reasons — one of the major ones is that it can help break down tougher cuts of meat, transforming them into succulent dishes with big, bold flavors, all with very little effort.
Low and slow cooking methods are perfect for tenderizing cuts like chuck roast, and when you utilize a slow cooker, you can start it in the morning and come home to a fragrant, already-cooked meal. These dishes will help you fall in love with your slow cooker all over again.
Slow Cooker Barbacoa Beef Tacos
You don’t have to wait for a Tuesday to whip up these flavorful slow cooker Barbacoa beef tacos. Simple pantry spices like cumin, oregano and smoked paprika work their magic on chuck roast in the slow cooker, and the result is falling-apart-luscious shredded meat you can stuff into your tortillas of choice. Serve your favorite toppings — sliced radishes, salsa, chopped cilantro, lime, picked onions, avocado — in bowls and let everyone build their own tacos.
Yankee Pot Roast
This Yankee pot roast recipe is a classic, chuck roast cooked low and slow with root vegetables like carrots and potatoes. With pearl onions, crushed tomatoes, beef stock and garlic, it’s a guaranteed crowd pleaser, and even better the next day. Add a splash of red wine for even more flavor, if you feel like it.
Gochujang-Braised Pulled Beef Sandwiches
Korean food has been trending, and we are here for it, especially with these gochujang-braised pulled beef sandwiches. Along with the gochujang (Korean chili paste), toss chuck roast, ginger, garlic, soy sauce and a few other ingredients into your slow cooker, and get ready for savory-sweet-spicy sandwiches perfect for dinner or a late afternoon weekend hang.
Gluten-Free Irish Beef Stew
Gluten-free dark beer is key to this Irish beef stew, which features eye round roast, bacon, onions, carrots, red potatoes, and turnips. Though it’s very easy to prepare, the end result is a deeply flavored stew that pairs beautifully with (gluten free) Irish soda bread.
Chinese 5-Spice Chuck Roast
Love pot roast, but looking for something a little different? This Chinese 5-spice beef chuck roast is it, with fragrant Chinese 5-spice blend (star anise, clove, Chinese cinnamon, Sichuan pepper and fennel seeds). Complementing the spice blend are other Asian-inspired ingredients, such as mirin, tamari, fresh ginger, shiitake mushrooms and bok choy. Serve it with rice, and sprinkle with scallions, if you like.
Hearty Beef and Wild Rice Soup
This hearty beef and wild rice soup is the perfect thing to prep in the morning, set and forget — and then you’ll come home later to an already-made dinner. Just throw steak tips, wild rice blend, broth, canned tomatoes, chopped carrots, celery, and onion, and a couple of herbs in the cooker, cover it, turn it to low, and go. The enticing aroma of this classic soup will welcome you home.
Slow Cooker Molasses Smoked Brisket
With smoked paprika in the spice rub and liquid smoke in the braising liquid, you’ll swear this slow cooker molasses smoked brisket spent hours in a smoker. Now you can enjoy tender, juicy smoked brisket any time, no matter the weather, and no smoker needed.
Ancient Grains Beef Stew
With root vegetables and two hearty grains — bulgur and pearled barley — this ancient grains beef stew will warm you on a chilly night. In every spoonful, you get steak tips plus potatoes, carrots and onions, with depth from red wine, Dijon mustard and tomato paste. Serve it with sour cream, labneh or Greek yogurt on the side.
