Here’s How You Make it

Wondering how to make broccoli beef in your crockpot? It’s easy! I’ll walk you through it. Not only is this delicious, it’s super simple to throw together in the slow cooker, go on about your day, and come back a few hours later to dig in.

After I’ve chopped, cut, and measured all the ingredients, I bring them all over to the slow cooker to put in and forget about it for a good 4-5 hours.

First, grease the inside of the slow cooker, then add the steak, broth, soy sauce, brown sugar, oil, garlic and chili flakes if you are using it. Add the lid and cook on high for 2-3 hours or low for 4-5 hours.

Make a slurry from cornstarch and water right before you’re ready to serve this beef recipe. Then, add the slurry to the slow cooker and stir it into the sauce. Put the lid back on and let the sauce cook up and thicken for another 20-25 minutes.

Now for the broccoli. While you’re waiting for the sauce to thicken, microwave your florets (or steam on the stovetop) and add the broccoli to the beef right before serving, mixing in well to coat the broccoli in the delicious sauce.

Time to serve this delicious dish, sit back and watch the smiles form on everyone’s faces as they enjoy this better-than-takeout Slow Cooker Broccoli Beef.

slow cooker broccoli beef and a spoon in a bowl.

Expert Tips and Tricks

While this broccoli beef dish is great the way it is, there are plenty of ways to tweak it to your tastes:

Add 1-2 teaspoons of red pepper flakes to the beef and sauce before setting the cooking time.

For even more heat, top with Sriracha after plating the dish.

Use a combination of broccoli and cauliflower for your vegetables. Or, add in more Asian veggies like snow peas, water chestnuts, or thick-cut carrots.

For a super fast shortcut to cooking the vegetables, use frozen broccoli that cooks right in the bag. Follow the directions on the bag for best results.

Purchase already-cut flank steak at your grocery store or ask the butcher. You might find it labeled “fajita steak” or something to that effect. You can just add that right into the slow cooker, no cutting required!

If you are cutting your own flank steak, be sure to cut across the grain. This ensures the muscle fibers are cut as short as possible, thus making the meat as tender (i.e. not chewy) as possible.

If you have trouble cutting your steak, you can freeze it first for up to an hour to make it easier to slice into.

I like to garnish this with sliced green onions or cilantro. This gives the dish a little more bite at the end.

What Cut of Beef do Chinese Restaurants Use?

Chinese restaurants usually use a topside of beef. Something like flank steak, that’s low in fat and can be sliced easily. This ensures the beef cooks up nice and tender and just makes for the best stir-fries and other Asian beef dishes like this one.

You can also use skirt steak, hanger steak, or even brisket if that’s all you have/can find. Happy eating!

close up of a spoon with a scoop of slow cooker broccoli beef on it in a bowl.

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Did you try this crockpot broccoli beef recipe? YAY! Please rate the recipe below!

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