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!
The cornstarch didn’t make it thick at all
It may be that it needed a bit longer to thicken up, but you can always add additional cornstarch slurry, as needed.
My family enjoyed this served over buttery mashed potatoes. I added sautéed fresh mushrooms!
I am from the south, so we season above and beyond what a recipe calls for, “bland” was not an issue for me. This recipe turned out UH-MAZING!! I added mushrooms mid way through and carrots towards the end. This will be my ‘go-to’ from now on. Thanks for posting!
Yes! You should always season to taste with any recipe. Thanks so much for your comment and rating and so happy you enjoyed it. 🙂
Very bland
i first found this recipe in 2020 and have been making it OFTEN ever since, and it’s definitely a staple meal in my household!!! thank you for sharing this recipe!
So happy to hear it’s working out so well for you! Thanks, Grace. 🙂
It smells amazing but tastes like absolutely nothing.
You can always add additional seasoning, to taste. Sorry it didn’t work out for you!
This is one of my husband’s favorites – can I freeze the leftovers without the gravy separating?
Hi Jean. Glad you’re enjoying the recipe. Since the gravy does’t contain any dairy, I think it would fare pretty well when frozen and thawed.
Thoughts on adding sliced mushrooms to this? If so, when to add them to the slow cooker?
Hi BC. Mushrooms cook quickly so I would just add them for the last hour of the cooking time. Don’t add them earlier or they can take on an undesirable texture.
Is it okay to use flour instead of cornstarch?
Cornstarch dissolves easily in water but flour won’t. So if you substitute flour, I’d recommend stirring it into a little softened butter to create a paste before adding it to the sauce. Otherwise, the flour will not blend smoothly and your sauce will be lumpy. Typically you need to double the amount when using flour instead of cornstarch.
I am making this recipe for the first & of course, before reading further, I added the cornstarch & water separately directly into the crock pot. Do you think it will not get thick & if so, what should I do, add more starch?
Dissolving the cornstarch in liquid before adding it just ensures it will incorporate smoothly into the gravy. You can always add additional cornstarch slurry if needed without causing any harm to the recipe. I hope it turned out great for you!
I made this last night and the family loved it! Cooked it for 6 hrs in crock pot and was perfect and very tasty gravy. Will definitely make again.
So glad you loved it, Linda!
Just made this tonight! Really awesome! Thanks for sharing!!!!