Melt in your mouth tender beef and broccoli is an easy Chinese takeout at home recipe. With only ten minutes of preperation then simmer in your crock pot you have a great dinner the whole family will love.
Introduction
Beef and broccoli is a popular dish we all love in every Chinese restaurant. But it is super easy to make at home with these simple step-by-step photo instructions.
Google will give you lots of examples, most of which are nearly identical, but this Food.com Crock Pot Beef and Broccoli recipe will do as the inspiration piece.
A few minor adjustments for more sauce, taste, and options.
My Rating
A very nice middle of the road four.
🐄🥦Ingredients for Beef and Broccoli
Beef
The beef needs to have some marbling but is otherwise reasonably lean. Sirloin steak, chuck roast, or flank steak are good choices. Stew meat can be used if smaller cubes and will not be needed to be sliced.
The most important thing for the meat is to cut your beef thinly across the grain—⅛ inch or a bit more is a good thickness. Your beef needs to be nicely trimmed so you don't have to pick out uneatable things.
Broccoli
Frozen broccoli florets will work fine. Frozen broccoli in the old days always came in a one-pound bag. Not any more. Most are 12 to 14 oz. But, with this dish, anywhere from 12 to 16 oz is just fine. There is no need to thaw the frozen broccoli before adding it to the crock pot.
Fresh broccoli will work for this recipe, also. When cleaned and cut up, one medium to a large bunch of broccoli will produce approximately 3 cups.
Sauce Ingredients
This recipe uses a minimum number of ingredients for great flavor. The primary tastes are soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, and crushed red pepper flakes.
There is plenty of sodium in the soy sauce, so no salt is added. Low sodium soy sauce and beef broth are recommended to keep the sodium level reasonable.
Additional Ingredients
This is a great recipe to add other ingredients like a can of drained water chestnuts or some snap peas. Add them at the same time as the broccoli.
👨🍳How to Make Beef and Broccoli in a Crock Pot
- Trim 1 to 1 ½ pound sirloin or other roast and slice across the grain.
- In a larger crock pot, stir together the sauce ingredients.
- Add the beef to the crock pot and cook on low for 5 hours.
- At 5-hour, stir in the cornstarch slurry and the broccoli. Other ingredients may be added at this point.
- Increase the crock pot to high and cook until the vegetables are tender—about 1 hour.
- Serve over rice and garnish as you wish.
♨️The Crock Pot
This recipe fits in a 4-quart or larger crock pot. It might do ok in a 3 ½ quart, but that is marginal. Use at least 6 ½ quarts or a bigger slow cooker for a double batch.
Crock pots can vary some, so the endpoint is when the vegetables are tender and not the time.
❓FAQs
One of the main ingredients, soy sauce, is made with soy and crushed wheat. So it is loaded with gluten.
Japanese tamari is a perfect substitute for soy sauce. It is usually made with only fermented soy, but some traditional versions may have a small amount of wheat, so check the label.
Usually over white rice, but cauliflower rice works well. Top with rice noodles, sliced green onion, or toasted sesame seeds.
Store airtight in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. It can also be frozen for 3-4 months.
📖Chinese Recipes
Sesame Pork Ribs in the Crock Pot
Crock Pot Honey Garlic Chicken Breast
This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.
🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
No special sauces are needed.
Trim 1 to 1 ½ pound beef chuck roast or sirloin. Slice into ⅛ inch slices across the grain.
In a larger crock pot (4 quarts or larger), add one 14 ounces can of low sodium beef broth, ½ cup low sodium soy sauce, ⅓ cup brown sugar, 1 tablespoon sesame oil, ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, and 4 cloves crushed or minced garlic—mix well.
Add the beef to the crock pot and cook for 5 hours on low.
At the 5-hour mark, mix two tablespoons of cornstarch with ¼ cup cold water in a small bowl until smooth. Pour the cornstarch mixture into the crock pot and mix well.
Add about 2-3 cups of broccoli. You can add other vegetables at this point, also.
Increase crock pot to high and cook until the broccoli is tender before ending—about one hour but extend the cooking time if needed.
Serve over rice and garnish as you wish.
📖Recipe
Crock Pot Beef and Broccoli
Ingredients
- 1 to 1 ½ pound beef roast - chuck or sirloin
- 14 oz beef broth - low sodium
- ½ cup soy sauce - low sodium
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper - to taste
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 tablespoons corn starch
- 2-3 cups broccoli - frozen or fresh
- 8 oz sliced water chestnuts - optional
Instructions
- Trim 1 to 1 ½ pound beef chuck roast or sirloin. Slice into ⅛ inch slices across the grain.
- In a larger crock pot (4 quarts or larger), add one 14 ounces can of low sodium beef broth, ½ cup low sodium soy sauce, ⅓ cup brown sugar, 1 tablespoon sesame oil, ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, and 4 cloves crushed or minced garlic—mix well. Add the beef to the crock pot and cook for 5 hours on low.
- Add the beef to the crock pot and cook on low for 5 hours.
- At the 5-hour mark, mix two tablespoons of cornstarch with ¼ cup cold water in a small bowl until smooth. Pour the cornstarch mixture into the crock pot and mix well.
- Add about 2-3 cups of broccoli. You can add other vegetables at this point, also.
- Increase crock pot to high and cook until the broccoli is tender before ending—about one hour but extend the cooking time if needed.
- Serve over rice and garnish as you wish.
My Private Notes
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips
- You can use the beef you want, but I suggest a sirloin or chuck beef roast.
- Trim the beef well and cut across the grain about ⅛ inch thick. No more than ¼ inch, please.
- Use low sodium products since the sodium will get out of control here. Add more salt only if you need it.
- The crock pot size is bigger than it seems to need due to the volume of the broccoli when added. A 4 quart or larger crock pot works well, but it may fit in a 3 ½ quart size. A double recipe will squeeze into a 6 ½ quart size.
- Add other vegetables with the broccoli if you like. Drained sliced water chestnuts or snow peas are suggested.
- Top with rice noodles, toasted sesame seeds, or sliced green onions.
- Crock pots can vary some, so be sure the broccoli is tender before ending the cooking.
- Good refrigerated for 3-4 days or freeze for 3-4 months.
To adjust the recipe size:
You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.
Nutrition Estimate
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Originally Published April 18, 2016. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
Gail
I want to free this recipe but how would you recook it and for how long
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Gail,
Freeze airtight for 3-4 months—I use freezer bags. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat in a microwave. The time will vary by the amount you are reheating but usually 1-2 minutes.
I'm not a fan of frozen rice—it has a poor texture usually. I would freeze without rice and just make some Minute Rice for the leftovers.
Dan
Jeana
I was wondering if cashew nuts would taste good in this crockpot?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Jeana,
Welcome to the blog.
Cashews will be great in this recipe. If you add them early, they can become very soft. Raw cashews may need to cook a bit.
So when and how many you add is more a taste thing. If you have raw or want softer then 2-4 hours to cook. If you use roasted nuts and want some crunch, then I would add them for the last hour.
Dan
Jen B
I am a very novice cook and have been learning from your site, with some good success I might add, so thank you. For the beef in this recipe, sadly I don’t know what a beef roast or sirloin roast is - and I’ve never seen the meat labeled as such. (And as for English roast, 🤷♀️ no clue either) Is a sirloin roast the same as a sirloin steak?
Chicken & Broccoli is a favorite at our house. I didn’t see a chicken & broccoli recipe in your repertoire when I looked. How would I go about adapting it to chicken?
Thanks in advance. Jen B
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
Hi Jen,
Welcome to the blog.
Most cuts of beef will do for this recipe. You may not find "English Cut Roast" but you should be able to find a sirloin roast of some type. It may say top or tip sirloin. You could use a piece of sirloin steak.
You can even use the pre-cut "stew meat" which you can get in small amounts. If you get the stew meat, you may want to cut up a bit more.
I hope that helps. If your store is still staffing the meat department, you can ask them.
Don't be afraid to ask me again if it is still confusing to you.
Dan
ELIZABETH PEARCE
RE; CROCKPOT BEEF AND BROCCOLI We also live in a motorhome and don't have access to a 6 qt. crockpot. Glad I saw the comment regarding that from another RVer. What cut of beef did you use for this recipe? I appreciate this website. Thank you.
Elizabeth Pearce
Texas
Karen
Any substitute for the sesame oil? We are fulltime RV'ers so cupboard space is at a premium; just don't use sesame oil frequently enough to justify the space. By the way, we love your recipes! Most of the time we have the necessary ingredients without any special purchases. Thank you so much!
DrDan
You could sub in any nut oil... peanut for example. But to me this recipe has enough fat from the beef so I don't need oil/fat but it was there for some taste. However that is only a small component so I would just leave it out. If you have toasted sesame seeds toss some on at the end.
I try to keep my recipes to "everyday" things. I don't like to hunt down a special ingredient and I'm sure my readers don't. Outside of a few Pensey spice things, I try to keep it to your average American pantry.
Thanks for the note
DrDan
Peter E Beckles
I used arrowroot instead of corn starch but it didn't seem to thicken the sauce adequately.
I used fresh broccoli and one cubed potato instead of water chestnuts.
Does the fact that the broccoli [in your recipe] was frozen affect cooking time?
The complaints I got were that the potato was too soft and the broccoli was not crisp enough.
All agreed though that the flavour was great
DrDan
Hi Peter, Sorry for the delay. I have arrowroot but have not used it in a crock pot yet. The corn starch works fairly well here. Frozen broccoli is partially cooked so it just needs to get back to temp. It did drop the temp way down for about 45 minutes. The model recipe used cooked broccoli and put it in at 30 minutes left. I added 30 minutes for the frozen factor and that seems just right. Since most crock pots are running close to boiling that far into cooking, the 1 hour seems to have been too much for your fresh broccoli and potatoes.
Peter Beckles
Isn't the website about cooking for 2? I don't have a 6 qt CrockPot.
Can this recipe be managed in a 3-1/2 qt CrockPot or do I have to reduce the quantities proportionally?
But I do agree with you about "... more meat and “gravy” for my rice."
DrDan
Yep it is a web site about cooking for two but recipes are frequently for more than two servings. I have a discussion about this in the menu "about the blog" section. You can cut it down but the lowest "common denominator" is the can of broth. I use it or toss it.
Yes I believe it would fit in a 3 1/2 qt. It might be above the 75% I like to stay under at the end with the broccoli.
Dan