A delicious way to prepare steak in the cold fall and winter months. Slow Cooker Beef Tips with Gravy is a satisfying, family-friendly meal. With a little help from your slow cooker you can have this delicious meal on your menu any night of the week.
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I thought my relationship with my slow cooker was pretty solid but as time goes by I’ve found myself falling even more deeply in love with this helpful appliance. I try to include one slow cooker meal in my menu planning each week and it always ends up to be such a lifesaver. I encourage you to try it, you won’t be sorry.
It’s been my aim to create a collection of slow cooker recipes that work through all the seasons of the year and include the cuts of meat I use the most. This recipe is my latest addition to this growing list of busy day meal ideas.
When I hit up Costco, a great big package of top sirloin almost always ends up in my shopping cart. We are steak lovers in this house and this cut is particularly lean and there are an endless variety of ways to prepare it. In the summer we most often pop it on the grill but with the colder months on the way, I wanted to share this fabulous slow cooker recipe that works beautifully with this cut.
There’s nothing quite as comforting to me as tender, slow cooked beef with gravy. This dish practically demands that it be served over mashed potatoes but white or brown rice or pasta of any kind would also work very well.
Cook up a quick vegetable side dish and dinner is served.
Start by searing the beef, in batches, in a heavy pan . Cast iron is always my first choice for this task. Season the steak with seasoning salt and fresh ground black pepper while it’s browning. Transfer the seared beef to your slow cooker.
Pour in a couple of cups of low-sodium beef broth, a good tablespoon of Worcestershire, and the sprinkle the beef with Italian seasoning and dry thyme. I actually prefer dry seasonings in this recipe since they are intensely flavorful and I always have them sitting right in my pantry.
Sprinkle a cup of diced onion and a good amount of minced garlic over the top and tuck a bay leaf down into the mixture. Cover the slow cooker and cook on LOW for 6 hours or on HIGH for 4 hours, or until the beef is fork tender. If you cook it too long, the beef will begin to fall apart. Now, there are worse things in life than beef so tender it is falling apart, however the hope is to end with nicely formed beef cubes that are melt-in-your-mouth tender.
Remember, slow cooker times are always approximate and vary with each model.
Combine a couple of tablespoons of cornstarch with an equal amount of water and add the slurry to the slow cooker, stirring it into the sauce. Let the mixture cook for an additional 5 or 10 minutes to thicken into a beautiful, luxurious gravy. Remove the bay leaf and you are ready to serve.
Spoon the beef and gravy over a mound of creamy mashed potatoes, white or brown rice, or buttered noodles.
SLOW COOKER BEEF TIPS WITH GRAVY
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Slow Cooker Beef Tips with Gravy
Ingredients
- 3 pounds top sirloin, cubed
- 3 tablespoon vegetable oil, divided
- 1 teaspoon seasoning salt (I use Lawry's), divided
- fresh ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 cups low-sodium beef broth
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
Instructions
- Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a 12" cast iron or other heavy skillet over MEDIUM-HIGH heat. When nice and hot, add half the beef cubes and season them with 1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste. Allow to sit, undisturbed for a couple of minutes then stir and cook just long enough to sear the beef without cooking it through. Use a slotted spoon to transfer beef to the slow cooker. Add remaining oil to pan and repeat with remaining beef cubes, seasoning salt and pepper.
- Add the beef broth and Worcestershire sauce to the slow cooker and sprinkle the beef with the Italian seasoning and thyme. Sprinkle the diced onions and garlic over the top.Tuck a bay leaf into the mixture.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 5 to 6 hours or on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours, or until beef is fork tender.
- Combine water and cornstarch in a small bowl and add to slow cooker. Stir until sauce has thickened and cook on LOW for an additional 10 minutes. Remove bay leaf and serve.
- Delicious serve over mashed potatoes, rice, or noodles.
Recipe Notes
| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Serving Size | |
| Amount Per Serving | As Served |
| Calories 440kcal Calories from fat 267 | |
| % Daily Value | |
| Total Fat 30g | 46% |
| Saturated Fat 10g | 50% |
| Transfat 0g | |
| Cholesterol 133mg | 44% |
| Sodium 519mg | 22% |
| Carbohydrate 6g | 2% |
| Dietary Fiber 1g | 4% |
| Sugars 1g | |
| Protein 35g | |
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs:
| Calories | 2000 | |
|---|---|---|
| Total Fat | Less than | 65g |
| Sat Fat | Less than | 25g |
| Cholesterol | Less than | 300mg |
| Sodium | Less than | 2,400mg |
| Total Carbohydrate | 300g | |
| Dietary Fiber | 25g | |
I was just looking for a beef tips recipe last week and found one on Pinterest that we did not like at all. Your recipe looks so good! I will try this one next time!
Thanks, Beckie! I hope it works out for you 🙂
Can you use chicken broth instead
The end result might be a bit strange since what you are creating with the beef broth is a beef gravy. I don’t think I’d substitute in this case.
Valerie, is it gluten free? I noticed you are using cornstarch so I am assuming yes. I thought I would check first.
Hi Cici. The only ingredient in this that I think could be slightly suspect is the Lawry’s Seasoned Salt since it is not labeled a gluten-free product. The ingredients should be okay but you just never know if it is processed in a gluten-free facility so it really depends on your sensitivity. It should be okay but I always caution on the side of safety.
This looks delicious! Will be trying it this weekend…
In South Carolina we call this stew beef!! My momma would put carrots & potatoes with the beef. It is a great stew!!! Southern style!!!!
Awesome recipe!!! Searched the internet for just the right one and yours is it. I will tell you though, I would add some red and green peppers to the mix . I will make it this weekend for son and myself. Thanks so much!
I think the addition of peppers will be wonderful! Enjoy, Doris 🙂 Come back and let me know how it works out for you!
Ooooohhhh yes! I was going to add mushrooms. I will definitely be adding peppers as well!
The printable ingredients or steps state nothing about a bay leaf until the end when it states to remove it.
Thanks for catching that, JKW. The recipe has been updated!
Out of this world good! I made it a couple of days ago. I was snowed in and didn’t have all of the ingredients, so I had to do some substituting, but the entire family–including my (almost) vegetarian wife loved it!
Fantastic, Mickey! I’m so happy you loved it 🙂
This looks delicious! Just wondered if another cut of beef would work – don’t usually buy top sirloin. Thanks!
Hi Janet. I highly recommend the top sirloin for this recipe and haven’t tried it with another cut. If you decide to go with chuck (beef stew meat), be sure you’ve removed as much fat as possible and it may need a longer cooking time to get nice and tender.
I would like to add fresh mushrooms to this. How and when should I do that?
Hi Shanna. It would be wonderful with mushrooms. If I were to add them I’d most likely quarter a package of brown button (cremini) mushrooms and add them along with the onion and garlic. There is really no need to sauté them before adding them to the slow cooker or they might cook down too much.
I appreciate the fact that you take the time to answer every question. I salute that great quality… And, this recipe looks awesome! Gonna cook up a pot of this tomorrow. Thank you.
Thank you, Terry. Enjoy!
Was very good. Added a package of fresh mushroom at the beginning. Added a couple of beef bouillon cubes at the end. Served over Amish style noodles. Hubby added sour cream to his. Whole family including children really enjoyed this recipe.
I’m going to try this as a pie filling , sounds very similar to my mums recipe , only she cooked hers on the stove top , I’m thinking the slow cooker version will be very tender .
Do you take the meat out of the pot before adding the water and cornstarch?
There’s no need to remove the meat. Just stir the cornstarch slurry right into the slow cooker with the meat and sauce and it will work perfectly.
Thanks for yet another great recipe! We had this for dinner tonight and it was delicious.
Yay! Thanks, Linda. We love this one too 🙂 xxxooo
Recipe sounds wonderful. I’m cooking for a crowd of 65. How many does the original recipe serve. Thank you
This recipe should serve 8 comfortably. It would take a whole lot of sirloin and a large number of slow cookers to do this for 65! My recipe card gives you the option to adjust the servings but I don’t think this recipe would be suitable for cooking for that size crowd.
This recipe sounds good especially for company. When I tried to print the recipe, it only printed one sheet of paper and only through the second paragraph of the instructions . I could not get it to print page 2, the rest of the instructions. I ended up writing out the remainder of the recipe.
My tech support is taking a look at the printing issue. Sorry for the inconvenience!
I want to know about those mashed potatoes lol. They look amazing!! 😍
Omg!!! When i make stuff like this it never turns out…this time perfect!!!
That’s exactly what I’m going for here, Shelly! I am SO happy this recipe worked out so well for you. Thanks so much for letting me know 🙂
This looks yummy. Could you make it without searing the beef tips before hand and just adding them raw in the crockpot with the broth and other ingredients.
Hi Liz. Yes, it would work but for some recipes I like to sear meat before adding it to the slow cooker to help it develop a more complex flavor and a more appetizing color.
This is in my crockpot as we speak! Smells great, can’t wait to taste.
Yum! I have it slow cooking in my Dutch oven right now for tonight’s dinner. Thank you for sharing!
Just had this for dinner and my husband said it was “phenomenal” and he is right. Absolutely delicious. Thank You for sharing.