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Yield: 6
Ready In: 8 hours 45 minutes
I can never get enough of comfort food recipes I can let cook in my slow cooker all day! I love coming home to the delicious aroma of his family favorite classic waiting in the slow cooker: My Crockpot Beef Tips and Gravy is one of my favorite easy weeknight dinners, and it doubles as an elegant enough meal to serve to company for a nice Sunday dinner.
Recommended Equipment:
- wooden cooking spoon
Ingredients
FOR THE MEAT
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1.5 pounds beef tips (an inexpensive cut like beef stewng meat or chuck roast is perfect)
- salt & pepper
FOR THE GRAVY
- 1 yellow onion (choopped)
- 2 cloves garlic (sliced)
- 1 pound mushrooms (sliced)
- ½ teaspoon ground paprika
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- ⅓ cup red wine (OR beef stock)
- 3 cups beef stock
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1-2 teaspoons salt or less (depending on what kind of stock you’re using)
- Black pepper to taste
TO THICKEN
- 1 tablespoon tablespoon cornstarch + cool water (or up to 4 tablespoons plus cool water, as needed)
Instructions
- 1: Brown beef: Add oil to large skillet over medium-high heat, then add beef (work in 2 batches if necessary; do not overcrow the pan). Season beef with salt and pepper and sprinlkle with flour; then cook until browned on all sides. Remove to a 5-6 quart slow cooker.
- 2. Cook mushrooms: Add onion, garlic and mushrooms to the hot skillet over medium heat. Cook until softened, about 4-5 minutes. Season with gorund paprika, parsley and thyme; then add wine (or extra broth), beef broth and Worcestershire sauce, scraping any browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Bring to a boil, then take off the heat and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- 3. Slow Cook: Carefully transfer mushroom and beef broth mix to meat in the slow cooker. Stir well, then cover with a lid and cook on LOW for 8 hours or on HIGH for 4 hours.
- 4. Thicken: Once cooking time is up, open the slow cooker and stir. Stir in a cornstarch slurry, then cook with the lid OPEN for 5-10 minutes or untul thickened. Serve immediately.
Step by Step Recipe Video
Nora’s Tips
Step Photos:
brown the beef tips & cook the mushrooms — transfer to the slow cooker — thicken the gravy before serving
Ingredient Notes:
Best beef cut: Since this is cooked in the slow cooker for a long time, there’s no need to use a prime cut. On the contrary, it would be a shame to cook an expensive cut of meat for such a long time! Simply use beef stew meat, it’s budget friendly and will be fork-tender from the slow and low cooking. If you want to use a different cut, I recommend using a chuck roast you cut into pieces yourself. Mushrooms: You can skip the mushrooms if you don’t like them; the gravy will have less flavor but will still be delicious. Gravy Seasoning: You can use a packet of gravy mix in place of the herbs and spices called for in the recipe – you will need less cornstarch to thicken the gravy in the end.Cooking Tips:
What if my gravy doesn’t thicken? Sometimes it’s hard to gauge how much cornstarch slurry you need to thicken the gravy (it depends on ho much juices your meat releases, how much your gravy thickened from the flour alone etc). First, make sure you only use a couple of tablespoons of cool water to stir up your cornstarch slurry. Do not add the cornstarch dry to the gravy, or it will only clump up but not thicken your juices. If your gravy hasn’t thickened after 5-10 minutes, add more cornstarch slurry. Don’t skip browning the meat Browning the beef before slow cooking it adds so much extra flavor! It also helps give the beef chunks and nice color and caramelizes the meat. It’s absolutely worth the extra time and skillet to wash!CAN THIS DISH BE MADE AHEAD AND FROZEN?
Ok so the internet is divided on this, but I’m a stickler when it comes to food hygiene and food safety when freezing/reheating. And I do not reheat mushrooms, ever. You can make ahead and freeze this beef tips and gravy recipe if you skip the mushrooms. To make ahead and eat later: Transfer the finished dish (cooker without mushrooms!) to a shallow container to cool quickly to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate up to 3 days. To reheat, bring to a simmer over medium heat and simmer for 5 minutes or until piping hot all the way through. You can also reheat it in the microwave, just make sure to stir from time to time to make sure it reheats evenly.Nutrition
Calories: 317kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 27g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 78mg | Sodium: 391mg | Potassium: 928mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 97IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 43mg | Iron: 4mg
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Emily says
This was amazing! We used beef broth in place of the wine, but did everything else exactly as it says in the recipe. I cannot believe how delicious this was. We served it over mashed potatoes and there were no leftovers!
Nora says
That sounds delicious, Emily! Glad you enjoyed the recipe.
PamC says
Excellent taste and so easy to prepare.
Nora says
I’m so glad!
Nicole says
Sorry If I missed this somehow, but did you specify what type of red wine should be used? Thanks!
Nora says
Nicole, I do usually specify this in recipes now, but I didn’t in the past. I recommend a dry red wine for cooking, a Cabernet Sauvignon or Pinot Noir would work well here. Hope this helps!
Kellie says
Oh my goodness, this was so good! Rave reviews from my whole family. I made it exactly as the recipe stated, including the wine, and served over mashed potatoes. Everyone went back for seconds. This will be going in the regular rotation! Thanks for sharing!
Kellie says
This was so good! My entire family loved it! I served it over mashed potatoes – my college aged daughter wants the recipe so she can try to make it on her own. This is going in my regular rotation!
Carah says
Wow this recipe is a keeper!!!
I feel like this is my masterpiece of dishes!
Nora Rusev says
I’m so glad to hear this, Carah! Thank you for making and enjoying my beef tips recipe so much – and thank you for coming back to leave a review, too. Much appreciated!
Betty says
perfectly delicious, with so much gravy!! served with mashed potatoes, noodles (no comment we like our carbs lol) and green beans – so yum
Nora Rusev says
Sounds good to me with the carbs 😉 Thanks for coming back to leave a review, Betty! I appreciate it.
Pam says
came out perfect, thank u!
Nora Rusev says
I’m glad to hear it, Pam!
Brenda R says
cut up my own chuck roast, used garlic powder instead of fresh bc that’s what I had, needed 2 tablespoons cornstarch to thicken to our taste, otherwise followed recipe to a tee and was perfect
Nora Rusev says
Thank you so much for sharing your alterations, Brenda. And I’m glad you enjoyed the meal!
Lorelai Anderson says
Made with wine as recommended, only used 1/2 pound mushrooms because husband isn’t a fan. Easy to make and meat came out tender with a good gravy, looked like the photos. I recommend!
Nora Rusev says
Lorelai, I’m so glad to hear this. Thank you so much for making my recipe, and for coming back to leave a review – I appreciate it very much.
LaBa says
OMG my grandma made these for me and my brothers all the time and I just made this recipe for my family and it taste likes grandma’s. THANK U!!!
Nora Rusev says
I’m so happy to hear this! Thank YOU for trusting in my recipe, and for leaving such a heartfelt comment.