Slow Cooker Beef Brisket is an easy dinner with only 4 ingredients! Comes out fork tender and includes our recipe for homemade BBQ sauce!
If you enjoy this easy crockpot recipe, you’re going to love trying one of our other 150 Slow Cooker Recipes, like the flavorful Beef Brisket with Caramelized Onions, the tasty Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup, as well as sweet and decadent Slow Cooker Lava Cake.
This Slow Cooker Beef Brisket recipe is perfect for the holidays. Who doesn’t like easy prep? And cleaning a crockpot is a breeze! Five pounds of beef will yield approximately 8 – 10 servings depending on how you slice it. Slow cooking makes the beef so tender and flavorful it will simply fall apart when served.
If you’re not a fan of onions or Worcestershire sauce (like in the Classic Brisket with Caramelized Onions), no worries, this brisket recipe tastes amazing with garlic, black pepper and just 1 tablespoon of kosher salt as a dry rub. Your slow cooker will bring out plenty of flavor and it’s hands off, so holiday cooking will feel so much easier!
Since we are keeping this recipe simple for holiday preparations, included below are more options for a BBQ Brisket that you can enjoy all year long, especially in the summer! Once it’s ready, serve it up with Easy Coleslaw and some incredible Homemade Dinner Rolls for a delicious mini BBQ Beef sandwiches!
How to Make Slow Cooker Beef Brisket
We love how easy this recipe is! With just 4 in ingredients and a crockpot, you’ll be having one of the best beef brisket meals you’ve ever had! Check it out!
- Step One: Prep the brisket and pat it dry.
- Step Two: Season it all over.
- Step Three: Add the brisket fat side up to the baking dish and cook on low for 8-10 hours.
- Step Four: Let the meat rest for about a half hour before slicing it up. Enjoy!
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Frequently Asked Questions
Beef brisket comes from the breast of the cow and is best when slow-cooked. Beef brisket is one of the least tender cuts of beef but when braised, smoked or slowly roasted in a Crock Pot, it’s rendered soft and satisfying with incredible flavor.
Since we are using just salt and pepper and garlic here for a classic holiday preparation, you can add any spice rub you’d like to make this brisket more BBQ friendly. See below for a homemade recipe!
You can use the beef broth that forms in the crockpot from the beef as a gravy base for Easy Mashed Potatoes. Add one cup water to the liquid and whisk a tablespoon of a thickener, like corn starch, stirring until the corn starch is dissolved. It will thicken up in just a minute.
Brisket comes from the the breast, the lower part of the cow. Chuck roast comes from the upper section of the cow.
According to the USDA Website, Beef Brisket is fully cooked and safe to eat at 145 degrees F. Make sure to rest red meat for 30 minutes after reaching a safe internal temperature.
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Key Ingredients in Slow Cooker Beef Brisket
Simple ingredients and a slow cooking time yields amazing flavor with this recipe. Check it out!
- Beef: We’re using a 5 pound beef brisket.
- Seasoning: A simple simple seasoning of salt and pepper are all we are using, along with 4 garlic cloves.
Can I make Slow Cooker Beef Brisket Ahead?
Yes! This recipe is the perfect make-ahead meal! Due to it’s long cooking tie, you can prepare it the day before and it will be ready to go when you are!
Instant Pot Slow Cooker Beef Brisket
Slow Cooker Brisket can also be cooked in an Instant Pot. Add the brisket to your Instant Pot and season per the recipe instructions. Pressure Cook at High Pressure for 75 minute and Natural Release for 15 minutes. Remove the lid carefully, place onto a roasting rack and broil for 30 seconds to 1 minute if you want a crispier top.
Here’s an easy BBQ Rub Seasoning Mix Recipe used on the crazy popular Crockpot BBQ Beef Sandwich Recipe.
Homemade BBQ Sauce
If you prefer beef brisket with sauce, this is the sauce used when the family wants BBQ Pulled Chicken for dinner.
Our barbecue sauce is rich and loaded with flavor. This classic style, tomato-based barbecue sauce has the perfect combination of tangy-sweet with a hint of heat that is perfect for brisket. Drizzle the sauce on the brisket after it has been sliced. It is probably best to just put a bottle of sauce on the table and let everyone add as much as they want.
- ½ teaspoons Kosher salt
- ¼ coarse ground black pepper
- ¼ cup dark brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon dry mustard
- 1 ½ cups ketchup
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
Add all ingredients in a bowl and stir until completely combined. Store leftovers in airtight container, like a mason jar or sauce bottle, for up to 1 month in the refrigerator.
Homemade BBQ Rub Seasoning Recipe:
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
Mix all the ingredients together and store in an airtight container in a cool location.
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How to Store Slow Cooker Beef Brisket
- Serve: Slow Cooker Brisket is best when allowed to rest around 30 minutes before slicing. Do not allow the brisket to set out longer than 2 hours.
- Store: Refrigerate any leftover brisket in shallow airtight containers or wrap tightly with heavy-duty aluminum foil or plastic wrap. Properly stored, cooked brisket will last for 3 to 4 days.
- Freeze: Lay the brisket slices in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment or wax paper and freeze until solid. Once frozen, move brisket slices to a freezer bag or container for up to 3 months.
Ingredients
- 5 pounds beef brisket , fat trimmed
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- 4 cloves garlic , minced
Instructions
- Trim the fat off the brisket, leaving about ¼ inch.
- Pat the brisket dry with paper towels.
- Season the brisket with the salt and pepper and rub the garlic all over it.
- Add the brisket fat side up into the slow cooker for 8 hours on low heat.
- To finish, place brisket in the oven on broil for 1 minute.
- Serve thinly sliced, against the grain.
Nutrition
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Photos used in a previous version of this post.
Do not cut with the grain, you’ll just end up with long chewy stringy pieces of meat. Cut across the grain, meat will be tender with short fibers of meat.
Sooooo …. really let rest for 30 minutes? Won’t it be cold at that point or is there a secret to keeping it hot to serve after the 30 minutes? Gonna try this weekend. Thank.
Trust me, it’ll be worth it.
Just made this today. The flavor was delicious, but it wasn’t tender at all. It cut more like a steak, and was even somewhat chewy. I followed all the directions exactly, except I had a smaller brisket (about 2½ lbs) than the recipe called for, so I cut the seasonings in half. Then I cooked it for the 8 hrs on low. Do you have any idea why it wasn’t tender, and what I can do next time to get a better result? Thanks in advance! ?
Oh no, I’m glad the flavor was still good. Sounds like your slow cooker might not have gotten hot enough and the brisket needed to be cooked longer. Is it a newer slow cooker?
Just remembered to come back and see if I got a reply! Lol
No, my crock pot is pretty old, actually. Probably 20 years or more. One of the older style round ones. No bells and whistles, just high, low, and off. I do cook in it quite a bit, though. Usually things seem to cook pretty well. Your “Sweet and Tangy Pot Roast” turns out perfectly every time. (DELICIOUS!) However I do recall making your crock pot green been casserole recipe for Thanksgiving last year, and at the end of the time it was nowhere near done. I quickly transferred it to the oven to try to finish it off. I did try the brisket once more after posting this question, and cooked it an additional hour. Was still tough, but flavor was really good…. Just like before. I want pull apart brisket so badly! Lol
Where is the onions and Worcester sauce?
I didn’t use any for this recipe but you could definitely customize it more to your liking.
That looks really tender ad love how easy it is, as well as easy to adapt the flavors.
Thanks, Caroline. I appreciate the 5 stars.
I love slow cooker recipes because they are so easy to make!! Thank you for this recipe!
You’re welcome! I have a true love affair with my slow cookers too.
We love this. The meet is so juicy and tender, and the crusty top from the broiler gives a nice contrast to the juicy meat.
Thanks for coming back to let me know, Anita! I’m so glad you enjoyed it.
This is fall-apart wonderful and so flavorful! Thanks!
You’re welcome, Sally! Thanks for the 5 stars.
I love the rub. It came out juicy and tender. Great recipe.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Lizet!