Balsamic Slow Cooker Roast Beef

This Slow Cooker Roast Beef is a MUST TRY by readers who call it: โ€œOutstanding!โ€ โ€œWOW! Fantastic doesnโ€™t do it justice,โ€ โ€œMultiple recipe requests!โ€ and โ€œAbsolutely yummo!โ€ Iโ€™ve tested and perfected this recipe to be foolproof, juicy, melt-in-your-mouth tender and FLAVORFUL with a tantalizing balsamic honey sauce that will have you licking the plate!  Follow along for tips, tricks and recipe variations!

REPLACE


 

This Crockpot Roast Beef is Pure Perfection

  • Incredible Flavor Profile: The honey-balsamic glaze perfectly balances sweet, tangy, and savory notes, creating a sauce thatโ€™s rich, complex and CRAVEABLE.
  • Melt-in-Your-Mouth Tenderness: Slow cooking ensures the beef becomes irresistibly tender, soaking up all the flavorful juices.
  • Effortless Preparation: The slow cooker does the hard work, making this recipe both hands-off and stress-free.
  • Versatile Serving Options: Serve it over mashed potatoes, rice, pasta, or even in sandwiches or tacos for endless meal possibilities.
  • Impressive Yet Simple: The recipe delivers a dish that tastes gourmet without requiring advanced cooking skills. It’s perfect for casual family dinner or a special gathering!
  • YEAR-ROUND YUM. The slow cooker doesn’t heat up the house for flavorful sandwiches in the summer, or serve with mashed potatoes in the winter!

showing how to make slow cooker roast beef by reducing sauce in a skillet

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Crock Pot Beef Roast Ingredients

Let’s take a closer look at what you need to make this crockpot roast beef (measurements in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post):

  • Chuck roast: Choose a chuck roast that is fresh, bright in color and contains lots of marbling because marbling = flavor and tenderness.
  • Beef broth: Use reduced sodium beef broth so we can enhance the flavor with beef bouillon, otherwise your beef will be too salty.   
  • Balsamic vinegar: Use quality balsamic vinegar for the best flavor.
  • Soy sauce: Use reduced sodium soy sauce so the roast beef won’t be too salty.
  • Ketchup: This rounds out the flavor profile with its sweet acidity.
  • Honey and Brown sugar: Honey offers floral undertones while brown sugar adds hints of rich molasses. Using both creates a complex flavor profile.
  • Dijon mustard You can also substitute stone ground mustard.
  • Dried minced onion: These are dried onion flakes you find in the spice section.  They add a concentrated onion flavor like you would find in a Lipton Onion Soup packet. 
  • Beef bouillon: Use 1 tablespoon base (like Better Than Bouillon or Zoup!) or three crushed cubes (don’t dissolve in water first).
  • Spices:  We use a plethora of seasonings to add layers of flavor:  garlic powder, dried oregano, dried basil, smoked paprika, red pepper flakes, bay leaf.
  • Liquid smoke: If you have never heard of liquid smoke before, it is awesome!  It gives the Slow Cooker Roast Beef a hint of smoky flavor.  You can find liquid smoke next to the barbecue sauces at your grocery store.

showing how to make slow cooker roast beef by shredding tender chuck roast

HOW DO YOU MAKE SLOW COOKER ROAST BEEF?

This Slow Cooker Roast Beef is very simple to make in 5 parts (full recipe in the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post):

  • Sear the Roast
  • Add the liquid/seasonings
  • Cook the Roast
  • Thicken Sauce
  • Shred and Coat

Here is a step by step breakdown of how to make Slow Cooker Roast Beef:

  1. Sear Roast.  Heat vegetable oil over medium high heat in a large cast iron skillet.  If you don’t have a cast iron skillet, you can use a nonstick skillet, but it should be quality otherwise high heat can ruin the non-stick coating.  Using tongs or two forks, sear the roasts on all sides until deeply browned.
  2. Add Roast to slow cooker.  Add roast to the bottom of a 6 quart slow cooker followed by all your Honey Balsamic Sauce ingredients – a simple dump and run of beef broth, balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, ketchup, honey, brown sugar, Dijon and your bevy of seasonings.   I know the ingredient list is long, but it really is dump and cook!
  3. Cook roast.  Cook on LOW for about 7 hours or until your beef is fall apart tender.   You can never go wrong with making your beef fall apart tender – if it isn’t falling apart when pulled with a fork, you simply need to cook it longer until it does fall apart.
  4. Reduce liquid.  Now for what really makes this Slow Cooker Roast Beef worlds more delicious than the rest.  We remove our tender roast from the slow cooker before shredding and add all of our remaining Honey Balsamic Beef Sauce ingredients to a large saute pan/skillet with sides and simmer 25-30 minutes until its reduces and thickens, causing the flavors to intensify and sweeten. I promise this one extra step will blow. your. mind.  Make sure you use a wide skillet and not a shallow saucepan otherwise this step will take twice as long.
  5. Shred beef.  While your sauce is simmering, shred roast beef then add it back to slow cooker.
  6. Add sauce.  Stir in desired amount of thickened sauce.  You may or may not need to use all of it depending on your quantity of beef.

moist slow cooker roast beef without vegetables in a crockpot

Beef Roast Crock Pot Tips

  • Cut of meat. I highly recommend chuck roast due to its marbling.  If you select a lean cut of beef, it will not be nearly as tender.  As the connective tissue in chuck roast cooks, it melts, so its virtually self basting.
  • Searing the roast. Searing the roast creates a protective caramelized outer layer and helps to keep the roast moist.
  • Cooking for long enough. If your roast isn’t tender, it simply needs to cook longer in order for the proteins to break down further.  Even 30 more minutes of  slow cooking can make the difference between tough and tender.  So, if your Slow Cooker Roast Beef isn’t tender, you just need to cook it longer.

Serving Crock Pot Roast Beef

You can serve this Slow Cooker Roast Beef with mashed potatoes, rice or it is fabulous on rolls to create roast beef sandwiches.

As far as sides, it is fabulous with Million Dollar Macaroni and Cheese, Roasted Parmesan Asparagus, Honey Roasted Carrots, Wedge Salad or Fruit Salad

up close of slow cooker roast beef for sandwiches

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best Slow Cooker Roast Beef on a white plate

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REPLACE

Slow Cooker Honey Balsamic Roast Beef (Video!)

Slow Cooker Roast Beef dripping with flavor and so easy made in your crockpot! This roast beef is wonderfully savory, mildly sweet and tangy, fall apart tender (literally!), crazy juicy, ย packed with flavor and smothered in the most delectable honey balsamic sauce you will be licking your plate!ย  Are you drooling yet? This easy Slow Cooker Roast Beef recipe won’t heat up your house this summer and is great for crowds. ย It makes an ideal make ahead filling for sandwiches or it’s stand alone delicious with rice and potatoes.ย  It can also be made ahead of time and reheated the day of and freezes beautifully!ย  ย Any way you serve it, this Slow Cooker Roast Beef recipe is destined to become your new go-to beef! ย  ย  ย 
Servings: 8 -10 servings
Total Time: 7 hours 10 minutes
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 7 hours

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Ingredients

Instructions

  • Heat vegetable over medium high heat in a large cast iron skillet. Using two forks or tongs to hold roast, sear on all sides until lightly browned. Add to slow cooker and top with all remaining ingredients.
  • Cook on LOW for 7 hours or until fall apart tender.
  • Remove roast to a cutting board and add all remaining slow cooker liquid to a large sautรฉ pan/skillet with sides (NOT a small saucepan). Simmer 25-30 minutes OR until thickened. It will thicken very quickly the last few minutes so watch closely towards the end.
  • Meanwhile, shred roast beef and add back to slow cooker. Stir in desired amount of thickened sauce.
  • Serve as sandwich filling or with rice, potatoes, etc.

Notes

STORAGE

Slow Cooker Roast Beef Should be cooled to room temperature, then you can remove the pot from the slow cooker and put the whole insert (lid on) in the refrigerator.ย  Alternately, you can also transfer your roast beef to an airtight container. ย Plan on consuming within 3-4 daysย  or freeze for later.

MAKE AHEAD

  • I often will cook my Slow Cooker Roast Beef until tender, then remove the removable ceramic insert and refrigerate the roast beef in the juices without shredding.
  • The next day, skim off all the hardened fat then cook on LOW in the slow cooker for 1-2 hours until warmed through then proceed with thickening the sauce.

HOW TO REHEAT

  • Crockpot: To reheat your Slow Cooker Roast Beef from the refrigerator, place your ceramic crockpot insert back into your crockpot from the refrigerator, add a some water and heat on low for 1-2 hours.
  • Stove: Alternatively, you can reheat large batches on the stove over medium low heat with a few tablespoons of water, stirring occasionally until the beef is heated through.
  • Microwave: For smaller batches or individual servings, you can use the microwave.ย  Transfer stew to a microwave-safe dish, cover with a microwave-safe lid or paper towel. ย Microwave for 1 minutes, stir, then continue to microwave for 30-second intervals, if needed.

HOW TO FREEZEย 

  1. Cool: Allow Crockpot Roast Beef to cool completely before freezing to preserve the integrity of the ingredients.
  2. Package:ย ย Transfer roast beef to an airtight freezer safe container or freezer bag.ย  You can even use sandwich size plastic bags for individual portion sizes.ย  Squeeze out any excess air to prevent freezer burn and label
  3. Freeze. Freeze for up to 3 months.
  4. Defrost/Reheat. When ready to use, thaw overnight in the refrigerator then reheat in the microwave, crockpot or stove according to aforementioned instructions.

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89 Comments

  1. Meg says

    I skipped the brown sugar because I was out. It was still a bit sweet so added Sriracha. So yummy!!

    • Jen says

      Hi Meg! I’m glad you thought it was still yummy despite it being a little too sweet. Thanks!

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