Slow Cooker Korean Beef

8 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 7 hours
Total Time 7 hours 10 minutes

Slow Cooker Korean Beef with just 10 minutes of prep makes the easiest weeknight meal with so much flavor from the garlic, ginger and sesame oil.

Slow Cooker Korean Beef with just 10 minutes of prep makes the easiest weeknight meal with so much flavor from the garlic, ginger and sesame oil.Slow Cooker Korean Beef is a take on the ever popular Korean Ground Beef I’m sure you all have seen all over Pinterest for years. We’re such huge fans of it that we actually also make it into Korean Ground Beef Egg Rolls which are always a huge hit with everyone. Slow Cooker Korean Beef with just 10 minutes of prep makes the easiest weeknight meal with so much flavor from the garlic, ginger and sesame oil.

It seemed only natural that we explored the world of turning the recipe into a slow cooker version since the flavors have been such a huge hit. Originally I tested the recipe with a large cut of chuck roast and it ended up tasting sort of like Korean pot roast, but once I cut it into chunks and browned them first the results have been amazing! Slow Cooker Korean Beef with just 10 minutes of prep makes the easiest weeknight meal with so much flavor from the garlic, ginger and sesame oil.

Tender small bites of Slow Cooker Korean Beef simmered in a flavorful sauce full of garlic, ginger, sesame oil, brown sugar and soy sauce makes the most delicious meal with such a small amount of prep! Slow Cooker Korean Beef with just 10 minutes of prep makes the easiest weeknight meal with so much flavor from the garlic, ginger and sesame oil.

Tools Used In This Slow Cooker Korean Beef Recipe:
Slow Cooker: Love this slow cooker and how programmable it is, it has been a workhorse for me… until…
My New Slow Cooker: This recipe was made in this slow cooker. For larger roasts I also brown the meat in the insert and not lose a bunch of the flavor by transferring the meat and leaving the browned bits behind. If you’re thinking of a new slow cooker, consider it if your budget is open.
Sesame Oil: The flavor of sesame oil in this dish is unmistakeable and not really able to be substituted. Some Asian grocery stores will try and sell less expensive options that aren’t actually sesame oil, so just be sure the one you’re buying is authentic sesame oil.

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Slow Cooker Korean Beef

Slow Cooker Korean Beef made in the slow cooker with just 10 minutes of prep makes the easiest weeknight meal with so much flavor from the garlic, ginger and sesame oil.
Yield 8 servings
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 7 hours
Total Time 7 hours 10 minutes
Course Main
Cuisine Korean
Author Sabrina Snyder

Ingredients
 

  • 1 tablespoon canola oil
  • 3 pounds chuck roast , cut into 1 inch cubes
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup lite soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 4 cloves garlic , minced
  • 1 tablespoon minced ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon crushed red peppers
  • 2 tablespoons corn starch mixed with 2 tablespoons water
  • diced green onions , for garnish (optional)
  • sesame seeds , for garnish (optional)

Instructions

  • In a cast aluminum slow cooker insert (or another skillet if your slow cooker has a ceramic insert) add the tablespoon of canola oil and brown the beef on high heat.
  • Make sure the pan is hot, you don't need to worry how done the meat is, you're just going for color.
  • Add the beef, brown sugar, lite soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, ginger and crushed red peppers to the slow cooker.
  • Cook on low for 6-7 hours or on high for 3-4 hours.
  • Add in the cornstarch slurry and cook and additional 20-30 minutes while you cook your rice and vegetables to thicken the sauce.
  • Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds if desired

Nutrition

Calories: 461kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 34g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 117mg | Sodium: 957mg | Potassium: 638mg | Sugar: 26g | Vitamin A: 40IU | Vitamin C: 0.5mg | Calcium: 57mg | Iron: 4.1mg
Keyword: crock pot Korean beef, crockpot Korean beef, Slow Cooker Korean Beef

Slow Cooker Korean Beef with just 10 minutes of prep makes the easiest weeknight meal with so much flavor from the garlic, ginger and sesame oil.

Slow Cooker Korean Beef with just 10 minutes of prep makes the easiest weeknight meal with so much flavor from the garlic, ginger and sesame oil.

Slow Cooker Korean Beef with just 10 minutes of prep makes the easiest weeknight meal with so much flavor from the garlic, ginger and sesame oil.

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. If you enjoyed the recipe and would like to publish it on your own site, please re-write it in your own words, and link back to my site and recipe page. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. Simply delicious. My family said it was the best beef I ever made. I started a little late and ran out of time, so I transferred to the stove and cooked on low for the last 30 minutes – still turned out perfectly.

    1. Quick thinking on your part! Great Job. So glad your family enjoyed the Korean Beef and thanks so much for the 5 star rating!

  2. Do you think I could do this without sesame oil? Would it change the flavor too much? We’re allergic Sesame 🙁 what could we do in place of sesame?

  3. This recipe is the bomb! Added shredded meat chunks to lettuce wraps with rice, gochuchon, green onion and sesame seeds.

    A couple changes I made- used 1/2 c of sugar and it turned out amazing. Browned and slow cooked the roast as a whole, did not cube it. Cooked on low for 6/6.5 hours and it was falling apart tender. Once it was done, shredded, added back to the sauce- no need to thicken sauce with corn starch/arrowroot.

    Sooo gooood! Thank you for sharing this recipe.

  4. The beef was fall-apart tender after 5 hours on low and the sauce was delicious especially the combo of ginger and sesame oil. Dumped in a batch of roasted broccoli and green beans after the meat was done cooking and served with jasmine rice, wonderful meal.

  5. I made Sabrina’s Korean BBQ for Mother’s Day 2020, and it was out-of-this-world good. I used a 3-pound USDA Prime rump roast which I cubed and browned as called for in the recipe. Adding low salt beef broth–1 cup–and whisking three tablespoons of corn starch and water thickened the sauce nicely. The meat was beautifully tender and the aroma fabulous. The flavor was just a bit of heat with a sweet, tangy overtone. TWO THUMBS UP!!

    1. I’ve not tested it but I’m sure you could find a recipe online with similiar ingredients using an Instant Pot to use as a guideline.

  6. This was so good. Even my picky 8 year old who normally takes only a nibble on beef had seconds. Everyone asked me to make this a part of our regular rotation. I was concerned that it would be too sweet with whole cup of sugar, but it was perfect.

    1. You can use it but it’s not going to be as tender. Also, adding the beef bone broth will thin out the sauce and adjust the flavor. If you decide to try, I’d love to know how it turns out for you.

  7. SOOOOO good. Made this today in my Crock Pot Express Cooker and it was super easy. Browned meat on saute setting, added sauce ingredients and switched to slow cooker (6.5 hours on low was perfect for me), added slurry then back to saute to thicken. This recipe is a keeper for sure! Sauce is perfect balance of sweet and heat.

  8. Spectaular! I made this last night and it was a home run! Smelled delicious. I sis not cube beef. I just put roast in Crock-Pot, poured the sauce over it, shredded the beef in the drippings and served it with rice. Yum! And easy!

  9. I cooked this tonight and it was amazing. So flavorful and incredibly tender. I loved it, thank you! I didn’t get as much sauce from it as my husband likes. Would you suggest using more soy sauce?

    1. Nope, I would add a cup of beef stock, and then at the end you can thicken with an extra amount of the cornstarch/water slurry (1 tbsp of each whisked together). More soy sauce would be very salty. Also, add an extra 50% of the garlic and ginger to keep the flavors bold 🙂

    1. Standard practice is to use 1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger for each tablespoon of fresh grated ginger as a substitute. 🙂 But minced fresh ginger is awesome so if you can use it the flavors will be much brighter and fresher.

  10. This sounds & looks amazing! And you can’t beat how quick the prep is for this recipe! 🙂

  11. Nice take on a delicious dish. Love utilizing my slow cooker beyond roasts and soups.

  12. I love Korean ground beef…one of my favorites! And now I’ve got to try this slow-cooker Korean beef-it looks fantastic!

  13. I bet the house smells amazing all day long when this is cooking! This looks like something my whole family will enjoy, a definite must-try.