Perfect for lazy Sundays this slow cooker roast beef is delicious and so easy to prep and forget.
Beef in slow cooker is cooked with potatoes and carrots, seasoned just right and you can enjoy a couple of movies and come back to slow cooker beef.
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Beef In Slow Cooker
I love beef in slow cooker and its perfect like I mentioned above for lazy Sunday dinners.
I had always cooked slow cooker topside beef and realised that was my slow cooker rookie mistake.
You see slow cooker topside of beef, is what I would call a premium roast beef to cook with and roasts perfectly in the oven or of course, in the air fryer.
BUT in the slow cooker (compared to air fryer rotisserie roast beef) it shrinks a lot, so why spend money on some good topside in the slow cooker, when a cheaper slow cooker beef roast, will achieve the same results?
Instead, what I did is swapped slow cooker topside for an Asda cheap beef roasting joint. This roasting joint would be borderline tough in the air fryer, but so good and much cheaper in the slow cooker.
In fact, for a slow cooker roast beef it cost JUST £12.96 and at the time of writing this, most other places were selling similar for £18-£22.
So let me show you saving money on beef in slow cooker, why this slow cooker roast beef joint is the best and what to prep and cook with your slow cooked roast beef.
Plus, if you are looking for more Sunday dinner shortcuts do check out: our slow cooker turkey crown, slow cooker brisket and potatoes, slow cooker whole chicken and potatoes, slow cooker gammon in water, or how about slow cooker turducken.
Are You New To The Slow Cooker?
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Can You Cook A Beef Joint In A Slow Cooker?
Yes, you can cook a beef joint in a slow cooker, and you will love it. Cooking a beef joint in a slow cooker is easy, you can add the ingredients in the morning and then its ready early afternoon for your Sunday roast dinner.
Can You Slow Cook Topside Beef?
Yes, you can slow cook topside beef, but do you know what? I think it’s a waste of topside beef. You see instead of slow cooked topside, you can use any cut of beef and the slow cooker is brilliant for perfectly cooking it. So go cheap with your slow cooker beef joint.
The best cut of beef for slow cooker is anything that is naturally good for cooking slow, such as chuck/braising, or similar or a cheap cut of beef, like we are using today.
Can You Slow Cook Silverside?
Yes, you can slow cook silverside. I love slow cooker silverside and it’s a slightly cheaper cut of meat than topside and does really well in the slow cooker. You could also swap the beef roasting joint we are using today for silverside.
Do You Have To Brown Beef Roast Before Putting It In A Slow Cooker?
It is not essential to brown a beef roast before slow cooking, but it does add to its lovely flavour.
In this beef joint slow cooker recipe we are browning the beef roast, but when we made a video for it, to save time we didn’t brown it.
So in a nutshell, its 100% personal choice.
Can You Overcook Beef In A Slow Cooker?
Yes, just like in an air fryer, or with a different cooking method you can in fact over cook beef in a slow cooker. The same would also apply to other meats in the slow cooker.
Usually with beef in a slow cooker you can stick to one cook time and its spot on for sliced beef, add an extra hour and it will become pulled beef, then if you add an extra hour to that, then you have dry beef and its in overcooked territory.
Best Way To Cook Beef In Slow Cooker?
The best way to cook beef in the slow cooker is on high for 3-4 hours (depending how you like it) and cooking it with potatoes and some veggies.
The liquids will then add to the flavour of the sides you are cooking, and those sides can also be blended to make a delicious soup from the leftovers, or a hearty gravy.
Slow Cook Roast Beef In Ninja Foodi
I also have a Ninja Foodi and love the slow cooker setting on it. Its slightly slower than a standard slow cooker, so you will need to add about 45 minutes to the cook time, but apart from that you can ninja roast beef like for like.
Or if you want to pressure cook, do follow our instant pot rib of beef, as it’s a similar recipe with cook times.
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Slow Cooker Beef Joint Recipe Ingredients
Beef Joint – A cheap beef roasting joint is ideal for the slow cooker. We used a just essentials Asda beef roasting joint, but any will do the trick. For a weight total ours was just over 1.5kg. Which if on imperial is 3.3lbs.
Potatoes – You can chop up a large baking potato, or go smaller and use some baby potatoes that are halved.
Veggies – Then for veggies which are great for flavouring the slow cooker we added carrots and onions.
Liquid – Then for liquid for the slow cooker we added some of our instant pot beef stock cubes and then they defrost as your beef roast cooks.
Seasonings – Then you will need your seasonings. Firstly, I recommend smothering the top of your slow cooker beef roasting joint with tomato puree. Then seasoning with salt, pepper, dried thyme and bouquet garni.
Can You Recommend A Slow Cooker?
I often get asked which slow cooker I recommend and which one I use. In 95% of our slow cooker recipes, we use the Ninja Foodi and its slow cooker setting. Because the Ninja Foodi is an all in one cooking pot we can sauté, air fry, slow cook, and even dehydrate and make yoghurt, all from the same cooking pot.
Plus, we recommend you head over to our slow cooker recipes category as we have more than 100 tried and tested slow cooker recipes and have been using slow cookers for 18 years. Or more specifically check out all our ninja foodi recipes.
How To Cook Beef Joint In Slow Cooker?
- Optional. This is of course an optional first step as we all have a different opinion on this. Brown your beef roasting joint in the slow cooker on the hob with some extra virgin olive oil and salt and pepper, until brown on all sides to your liking. Then turn the beef back over.
- Prep. Peel and dice your potatoes, carrots and onions and spread it out around the beef joint. Season the beef and the veggies with the dried seasonings and smoother tomato puree over the top of the beef. Then place the frozen beef stock around the veggies.
- Cook. Then place the lid on the slow cooker and slow cook roast beef for 4 hours on high or 6.5 hours on low. Stir the veggies halfway through to stop them sticking.
And I am sure you can see now how easy cooking beef in slow cooker is and how you can be doing the same.
Listen To Slow Cooker Topside Beef
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How Long To Cook Beef Joint In Slow Cooker?
The recommended joint of beef in slow cooker is 4 hours on high, or 3 hours on high if you want more of a medium to your beef roasting joint.
More Slow Cooker Roast Dinner Recipes!
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- Check out all our 100+ slow cooker beginner recipes!
This joint of beef in slow cooker is an updated post and was originally featured on Recipe This in 2021.
Your roast beef in slow cooker is below, note you can print it out with or without photos, adjust servings, or click between metric and imperial depending on where you are in the world.
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Slow Cooker Roast Beef
Ingredients
- 1.5 kg Beef Roasting Joint
- 1 Medium Onion
- 5 Medium Potatoes
- 3 Medium Carrots
- 3 Small Instant Pot Beef Stock Cubes frozen
- 1 Tbsp Tomato Puree
- 1 Tbsp Dried Thyme
- 2 Tsp Bouquet Garni
- Salt & Pepper
- 1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil optional
Kitchen Gadgets
- Crockpot Slow Cooker
Instructions
- Let’s cook beef in slow cooker. Optional – start by browning your beef roasting joint with olive oil and salt and pepper. Brown on all sides. Note we have a slow cooker that lets you use the cooking pot on the stove. (we have this slow cooker)
- Next peel your potatoes, carrots, and onion. Dice your carrots and onion and then chop your potatoes into the size of roast potatoes.
- Decorate the potatoes, carrots, and onion around the beef joint. Then season the potatoes, carrots, and onion, with half the seasonings and place the beef stock cubes (still frozen) over them. Then add the tomato puree over the beef joint (and the remaining seasonings) smothering the tomato puree over the top.
- Then place the lid on the slow cooker, and slow cook on high for 4 hours or for a more medium roast beef opt for 3 hours. Halfway through mix with a silicone spoon the potatoes and carrots and onions to mix them into the defrosted stock and to stop them from sticking.
- When the slow cooker is done, remove the roast beef and allow it to rest before serving with the potatoes and carrots.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Can’t make it now? Then save it for later!
Slow cooker roast beef lovely. I have always wondered how to cook something like this and your timings and seasonings were the best i have come across. Delightful!
Topside beef. Great timings thanks for the recipe the timings are just how we like it and yorkshire puddings just go so well with the beef.
Perfectly cooked roast beef. Tried a different recipe and t was so under cooked it was not funny. So i was scared to try another recipe and so glad i came across your recipe it was delicious and i made those Yorkshire pudding things. Fantastic.
Our Christmas lunch this year! Mmmmmmm. The gravy is so delicious it’s almost like soup 🤩🤩🤩