Slow cooker beef tips are the best family favorite comfort food. These fork tender beef tips are smothered in an easy homemade gravy. Try serving them over mashed potatoes, rice, or egg noodles.
Crockpot Beef Tips
Are you craving a delicious, tender, and flavorful dinner that’s easy to make and sure to please the whole family? Look no further than these Crockpot Beef Tips! Smothered in a rich and hearty homemade gravy, this dish is perfect served over mashed potatoes, rice, or egg noodles.
I love making beef tips and gravy with steak seasoning. It has the perfect blend of spices, with onion, garlic, salt, and pepper. It seasons the beef so well and gives the gravy such a fantastic taste!
Browning the meat first adds so much flavor to the meat and gravy. Slow cooking the meat then creates beef tips that are perfectly fork tender that just melt in your mouth.
This recipe makes a thick creamy gravy without cream of mushroom soup! There’s plenty of extra gravy, so you’ll have some leftover gravy to smother your mashed potatoes with. You’ll be licking your plate to get just a bit more!
I love beef tips and have lots of recipes featuring them. While you’re here, be sure to check out our beef tips and gravy recipe, our beef tips and rice recipe, and our beef tips and noodles recipe!
Ingredients
Beef Tips: I used beef tenderloin roast cut into 1” cubes for this recipe. I think it makes the best tender and juicy beef tips. You can also use stew meat or other cuts of beef suitable for slow cooking.
Vegetable Oil: This is used to brown the beef before slow cooking. You can substitute this with your favorite cooking oil if you prefer.
Steak Seasoning: This adds flavor to the beef tips, enhancing the overall taste of the dish. You can use your favorite store-bought blend or create your own.
Butter: Butter adds richness to the gravy and is my favorite fat to use for the roux (which thickens the gravy).
Garlic and Onion: These aromatic ingredients add tons of savory flavor and a subtle sweetness to the dish.
Flour: Flour is used to create the roux, which thickens the gravy.
Beef Broth: This forms the base of the gravy and adds a rich and beefy flavor.
Milk: Whole milk is used to give the gravy a creamy texture without making it too heavy. It makes a thicker gravy than 2% or skim milk would, so I wouldn’t recommend substituting it for another milk.
How To Cook Beef Tips In A Crockpot
Combine the cubed beef, vegetable oil, and steak seasoning in a medium mixing bowl and mix to evenly coat. (See the recipe card below for the full printable instructions.)
Heat a large nonstick skillet and add the seasoned beef cubes. Cook, flipping a few times, until almost all sides are browned (it’s okay if there’s some pink remaining, you don’t want to overcook it). Transfer the browned beef tips to the slow cooker.
Return the pan to the stove and add the butter. Once the butter has melted add the onions.
Saute until the onions are translucent, then add in the minced garlic and cook until aromatic. Sprinkle the flour over the butter and onions.
Mix together to create a roux. Cook the roux, stirring occasionally, until it’s golden (this cooks off the raw flour taste and gives the gravy a deeper flavor). While whisking quickly and continuously, slowly pour the beef broth into the roux. Whisk until the broth and flour are incorporated, then whisk the milk into the pan.
Once there are no lumps remaining, turn the heat up and bring to a simmer. Simmer until the gravy has thickened, then remove the skillet from the heat. Pour the gravy into the slow cooker over the beef tips and stir together.
Cover the pot with the fitted lid and cook on LOW until the beef is fork tender. Remove the lid from the Crock Pot and stir the beef tips and gravy together. Let it rest with the heat off and lid removed until it has thickened slightly, then serve over mashed potatoes or egg noodles. Enjoy! See the recipe card below for the full written instructions, including ingredient amounts, cooking times, and helpful tips, etc.
Is Stew Meat The Same As Beef Tips?
Beef tips and stew meat are similar, as they are both cuts of cubed beef that are suitable for slow cooking. However, beef tips are typically cut from the tenderloin roast, while stew meat can come from various cuts of beef, such as the chuck or round. Both can be used in this recipe, but using beef tips from the tenderloin will result in a more tender and juicy dish.
How Do You Make Beef Tips Tender?
The key to tender beef tips is slow cooking at a low temperature. This allows the connective tissues in the meat to break down, resulting in fork tender beef. In this recipe, I cook the beef tips in a Crockpot on LOW for 5-6 hours, ensuring the meat becomes melt-in-your-mouth tender.
Do You Have To Brown Beef Before Slow Cooking?
Browning the beef before slow cooking is not absolutely necessary, but it does add an extra layer of flavor to the dish. By searing the beef, you create a caramelized crust that enhances the overall taste of the dish. I recommend browning the beef tips in this recipe for the best flavor.
How Do You Keep Beef From Getting Tough In A Slow Cooker?
To prevent beef from becoming tough in a slow cooker, it’s essential to cook it at a low temperature for an extended period of time. This allows the connective tissues in the meat to break down, resulting in tender beef. In addition, avoid overcooking the beef, because that can cause it to become dry and tough.
Keep In Touch
I’d love to hear what you thought of this recipe in the comments or on Instagram! @KeyToMyLime #KeyToMyLime
Dinner Recipes
If you like this recipe, be sure to check out all of our beef tips recipes! Some reader favorites are:
- Instant Pot Beef Tips
- Beef Tips and Gravy
- No Peek Beef Tips
- Beef Tips and Rice
- Beef Tips and Noodles
- Instant Pot Frozen Roast
BEST Crockpot Beef Tips Recipe
Slow cooker beef tips are the best family favorite comfort food. These fork tender beef tips are smothered in an easy homemade gravy.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds beef tenderloin roast (cut into 1” cubes, or stew meat)*
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons steak seasoning
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 medium yellow onion (diced, about 1 cup)
- 2 medium cloves garlic (minced)
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups beef broth
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk**
Instructions
- To a medium mixing bowl, add the cubed beef, vegetable oil, and steak seasoning. Thoroughly mix together, then set aside.
- Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, then add in the seasoned beef cubes. Cook for about 6 minutes, flipping every 90 seconds until almost all sides have been browned (it's ok if there’s some pink remaining, you don't want to overcook it). Turn the heat down to medium, then transfer the beef tips to the bottom on a 6 quart slow cooker.
- Return the pan back to medium heat and add the butter. Once the butter has melted, add the onions and cook until translucent (about 4-5 minutes). Add in the minced garlic and cook until aromatic (about 1 minute).
- Sprinkle the flour over the butter and onions, then mix together to create a roux. Cook the roux, stirring occasionally for about 4 minutes, or until it becomes darker in color (this cooks off the flour taste and gives the gravy a nice dark color and deeper flavor).
- Next, while whisking quickly and continuously, slowly pour the beef broth into the roux. Whisk until the broth and flour are incorporated, then whisk the milk into the pan. Once there are no lumps remaining, turn the heat up and bring to a simmer.
- Simmer for about 4 minutes to thicken the gravy, then remove the skillet from the heat. Pour the gravy into the slow cooker over the beef tips and stir together. Cover the pot with the fitted lid and cook on LOW for 5-6 hours, or until the beef is fork tender.
- Remove the lid from the Crock Pot and stir the beef tips and gravy together. Let it rest with the heat off and lid removed for 5 minutes, then serve over mashed potatoes or egg noodles. Enjoy!
Notes
*You could add another 1/2 pound of beef to this recipe if you want to feed more people. There is enough gravy to add another serving.
**I wouldn’t recommend using any milk other than whole milk. Skim milk and reduced fat milk have a higher water content, which makes the sauce more likely to break.
Nutrition Information:
Serving Size:
1/4Amount Per Serving: Calories: 724Total Fat: 40.3gCarbohydrates: 15.4gFiber: 0.7gSugar: 5.8gProtein: 75.1g
Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.
Enjoy the rich and hearty flavors of this simple, delicious, and satisfying Crockpot Beef Tips recipe.
