This luscious Slow Cooker Beef Tips with Gravy recipe is a delicious way to prepare steak in the cold fall and winter months. Spoon these tender beef tips over a mound of creamy mashed potatoes for 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.
There’s nothing quite as comforting to me as tender, slow cooked beef tips 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.
Table of contents
Ingredient Notes
- Beef: When I hit up Costco, a great big package of top sirloin frequently ends up in my shopping cart. This cut is particularly lean, has great beefy flavor, and works beautifully in this slow cooker recipe. For a fast stove to oven method check out my post on How to Cook Sirloin Steak.
- Oil: A little vegetable oil for searing the cubes of beef.
- Seasoning: Lawry’s Seasoned Salt, freshly ground black pepper, Italian seasoning, dried thyme, and a bay leaf. I prefer dried seasonings in this recipe. I always have them stocked plus they are intensely flavorful and hold up better than fresh herbs when slow cooked.
- Broth: Low-sodium beef broth.
- Worcestershire sauce
- Diced onion and minced garlic
- Cornstarch slurry: A mixture of cornstarch and water is used to thicken the gravy.
How to Make Slow Cooker Beef Tips with Gravy
- 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 seasoned salt and pepper while it’s browning. Transfer the seared beef to your slow cooker.
- Pour in the broth, Worcestershire sauce, and the sprinkle the beef with the Italian seasoning and thyme.
- Sprinkle the onion and 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.
Remember, slow cooker times are always approximate and vary with each model. 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.
- 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.
Serving Suggestions
Potatoes, Rice, or Noodles: Spoon these Slow Cooker Beef Tips with Gravy over a mound of Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes or Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes. They’re also delicious served over simply cooked white or brown rice or buttered noodles.
Bread: Where there is gravy, there shall be bread! A pan of warm Cheddar Dinner Rolls or my easy-peasy Cheater Garlic Bread would be delicious with this meal.
Veggies: Round out your meal with Sheet Pan Roasted Vegetables, Pesto Green Beans, or a Butter Lettuce Salad with Grapes and Gorgonzola.
Check out my entire collection of side dish recipes and salad recipes for more menu inspiration!
More Sirloin Steak Recipes You’ll Love
- Beef Stroganoff
- Philly Cheesesteak with Peppers and Onions
- How to Cook Sirloin Steak (Stove to Oven Method)
- Instant Pot Beef Burgundy
- Grilled Teriyaki Steak
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Slow Cooker Beef Tips with Gravy
Video
Ingredients
- 3 pounds top sirloin steak, cubed
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
- 1 teaspoon Lawry's Seasoned Salt, divided
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 cups low-sodium beef broth
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire
- 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-inch cast iron or other heavy skillet over MEDIUM-HIGH heat. When nice and hot, add half the beef cubes and season them with ½ teaspoon seasoned salt and 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, seasoned 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 and tuck a bay leaf into the mixture.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 7 hours or on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours, or until the 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 the bay leaf and serve.
- Delicious serve over mashed potatoes, rice, or noodles.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated using generic ingredients, and is an estimate not a guarantee. For more accurate results, please refer to the labels on your ingredients at home.
Like this? Please rate & comment below!
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
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.
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 .
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 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!
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.
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.
Hi Janet, I used stew meat and cooked on HIGH for 6 hours then added the cornstarch/water mixture. It was delicious!
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 🙂
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!
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!
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!!!!
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.
I had only chicken broth cubes available and I used those. Taste is still good
Hi, can you and make beef tips with gravy and freeze it.
Thanks Malinda.
Thanks for the recipe Valerie, it was delicious! I added some finely chopped celery along with the onions. It was a super hit with the family and will make it again. Will try it over a baked potato next time.
Hello, just wondering if the nutrition is just for the beef tips and how big the serving size was.
Love this recipe!