Easy Crockpot Beef Tips and Gravy

Beef tips and gravy in the crockpot is about as easy as slow cooker dinners get: 1-inch chunks of chuck, an onion, broth, and Worcestershire, cooked on low until the beef gives up and the liquid becomes gravy.

There is no searing, no gravy packet, and no canned soup.

The gravy is nothing more than the cooking liquid thickened with a cornstarch slurry in the last 20 minutes, and because that liquid has had 6 hours of beef and onion in it, it tastes like beef instead of a packet.

Start to finish it is about 7 hours, with 10 minutes of cutting and stirring at the front and 5 minutes of whisking at the end.

Why You’ll Love It

• Nine ingredients counting the cornstarch, ten with the mushrooms
• No browning the meat and no dirty skillet
• 10 minutes of prep, then 6 to 7 hours unattended
• Gravy made from the cooking liquid, not a mix
• Serves 6 over mashed potatoes, noodles, or rice

Ingredients

For the Beef

2 pounds boneless beef chuck roast, cut into 1-inch pieces (or 2 pounds sirloin tips)

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1 medium yellow onion, diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

8 ounces cremini mushrooms, quartered (optional)

2 cups low-sodium beef broth

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

For the Gravy

3 tablespoons cornstarch

3 tablespoons cold water

Salt and black pepper, to taste

Steps

1. Trim the thick white fat off the chuck roast with an 8-inch chef’s knife and cut the meat into 1-inch pieces. Keep them close to the same size so they finish at the same time, and leave the thin marbling alone, since that fat is what keeps the beef moist over a long cook.

2. Put the beef in a 6-quart slow cooker and toss it with the salt, pepper, and thyme until every piece is coated.

3. Scatter the onion, garlic, and mushrooms over the beef, then pour in the broth and Worcestershire. Stir once so the onion is mixed through, not sitting in a layer on top. The liquid will come about halfway up the meat, which is enough, because the beef and mushrooms release a lot more as they cook.

4. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 7 hours. Leave the lid on. The beef is ready when a piece breaks apart under light pressure from a fork and the onion has gone translucent and soft. If the pieces still feel springy at 6 hours, give them the full 7. Chuck that is chewy is chuck that is not done yet.

5. Whisk the cornstarch and cold water together in a small bowl with a small whisk until smooth. Do this in a separate bowl every time, because cornstarch added straight to hot liquid seizes into lumps that never dissolve.

6. Stir the slurry into the slow cooker, turn the setting to high, and cover. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring once halfway, until the gravy is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon and leave a clear line when you drag a finger through it.

7. Taste the gravy and add salt and pepper. Low-sodium broth leaves room to season here, and most batches want another 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

8. Serve the beef and gravy over mashed potatoes, buttered egg noodles, or rice, with a spoonful of extra gravy on top.

Helpful Tips & Substitutions

The gravy color comes from the Worcestershire, not from browning, so do not skip it or cut it down. Without seared meat the liquid would come out pale and gray, and the 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire are what make it look and taste like gravy.

Chuck roast cut at home is the better buy over pre-cut stew meat, which is usually a mix of trimmings from leaner cuts and comes out uneven, with some pieces tender and some dry. Sirloin tips are the leaner choice and finish closer to 5 to 6 hours, so start checking early.

Searing is optional and the recipe is written without it. If you want to add it, brown the seasoned beef in 1 tablespoon of oil in a 12-inch cast iron skillet in two batches, about 2 minutes per side, and you will get a deeper, roasted flavor and darker gravy. It adds 15 minutes and a pan to wash.

If the gravy is thinner than you want after 20 minutes on high, mix 1 more tablespoon of cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of cold water and stir it in for another 10 minutes. If it is too thick, stir in broth 1/4 cup at a time.

Mushrooms are optional but worth it, since they release liquid and savory flavor into the gravy and soak it back up. Quarter them so they hold some texture over 7 hours. Sliced mushrooms disappear.

A 10.5-ounce can of cream of mushroom soup in place of 1 cup of the broth gives you the creamy diner-style version. It is not what this recipe is built for, but it works, and you can cut the cornstarch to 2 tablespoons if you go that way.

High for 3 to 4 hours gets you cooked beef, but chuck collagen needs time above 160°F (71°C) to melt into gelatin, and a faster cook leaves the pieces tighter and chewier. Low is the right setting for this cut.

Use thawed beef only. Frozen chunks hold the pot below 140°F (60°C) for hours, which is long enough for bacteria to multiply before the cook ever gets going.

Serving Ideas

Mashed potatoes are the classic base. Push them through a potato ricer or mash them loose with extra butter and warm milk so the gravy sinks in rather than sitting on top.

Wide egg noodles are the faster option: boil them while the gravy thickens, toss with 1 tablespoon of butter, and spoon the beef over.

Add a green vegetable that can stand up to gravy, like roasted broccoli or green beans with a squeeze of lemon.

If you want the potatoes from the slow cooker too, 10 Crockpot Potato Sides for Weeknight Dinners has versions that can run alongside this in a second cooker.

For more ways to cook cubed beef the same way, 10 Crockpot Steak and Beef Tip Dinners covers the range from stroganoff to pepper steak.

When you want the vegetables cooked in the same pot instead of on the side, the Hearty Crockpot Beef Stew with Root Vegetables is the same cut with potatoes, carrots, and parsnips cooked in the liquid.

Leftovers go onto toasted bread as a hot open-faced sandwich, or into a baking dish under a sheet of puff pastry for a 25-minute pot pie.

Make-Ahead & Storage

The night before, cut the beef, dice the onion, and mince the garlic, then store the beef in one container and the vegetables in another. In the morning, dump both into the cooker with the seasoning and liquid.

This also works as a freezer meal: put the raw beef, onion, garlic, mushrooms, seasoning, and Worcestershire in a gallon freezer bag without the broth and freeze flat for up to 3 months. Thaw it completely in the fridge for 24 hours, then cook as written with the broth added fresh.

Cooked leftovers keep 4 days in the fridge in an airtight container. Keep the beef in the gravy, which protects it from drying out, and store the potatoes or noodles separately so they do not soak it up overnight.

Beef and gravy freeze well for 3 months. Cornstarch gravy can separate a little when thawed, so reheat it gently and whisk it back together.

To reheat, warm the beef and gravy in a saucepan over medium-low heat with a splash of broth, stirring until it loosens and steams. In the microwave, use 50 percent power in 90-second bursts and stir between each one.

The gravy thickens as it chills, so a tablespoon or two of broth at reheating time brings it back to the texture it had on night one.