Slow Cooker Korean Beef is an easy crock pot dinner recipe that makes tender, sweet and spicy slow cooker beef. Great roast recipe with tons of flavor!
I have a lot of kitchen gadgets, but there aren’t too many that I would really miss if I didn’t have them. My slow cooker is one of the few that I would really miss. I use it year-round, and I may even use it more often when it’s hot out to keep from heating up the house.
Aside from the ease, one of the reasons I love using my slow cooker so much is that I can make so many different recipes with it – like this Slow Cooker Korean Beef recipe.
This delicious Korean beef is amazing! It’s the slow cooker version of my popular Instant Pot Korean beef. It has so much flavor and is so tender!
I use 2 tablespoons Gochujang sauce to give it just a little spice. Feel free to use more, though, as Gochujang sauce is a great mix of sweet and spicy.
Or, you can try my Korean ground beef with similar flavors for a quick weeknight dinner.
How to make slow cooker Korean beef
Here you’ll find step-by-step directions showing how to make this recipe. The full recipe with ingredients is given below.
Step 1: In a medium bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup beef broth and next 9 ingredients (up to roast).
Step 2: Place cubed roast into a slow cooker. A 4 or 5 quart slow cooker works well.
Step 3: Pour sauce over cubed meat.
Step 4: Cover and cook on low heat for 6-8 hours.
Step 5: In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and remaining 1/4 cup broth.
Step 6: Stir cornstarch mixture into the slow cooker.
Step 7: Cover and cook on high heat for an additional 30 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened.
Recipe Tips!
- Cut of beef: It’s important to use a chuck roast like you would use to make pot roast. The fat in the roast helps to keep the meat tender while slow cooking. I don’t recommend using a lean cut of meat, like flank steak, as it won’t give you juicy beef.
- Gochujang sauce: be sure to get gochujang sauce, not paste. The paste is more concentrated and will give you a much spicier result.
- Gochujang substitute: I highly recommend buying a bottle of gochujang sauce. If you can’t gochujang sauce (or just don’t want to purchase it), you can substitute a mixture that consists of a combination of soy sauce, a little Sriracha, and a little additional brown sugar to taste instead.
Serving suggestions
- I top the beef with sliced green onions and a sprinkle of sesame seeds just before serving, and I serve this slow cooker Korean beef with either white rice or brown rice and steamed veggies, like steamed broccoli or snow peas, to soak up all the yummy sauce.
- You could also use the beef to make Korean beef tacos. Just serve the beef in flour tortillas and top with cabbage slaw.
- Or use the beef to make Korean beef bowls, and serve it over rice with julienned carrot and thinly sliced cucumber.
Storage
This beef reheats well, and it makes great leftovers. Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. The beef will keep for up to 4 days when properly stored.
More slow cooker beef recipes!
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Slow Cooker Korean Beef
Equipment
Ingredients
- ¾ cup reduced-sodium beef broth divided
- ½ cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
- ⅓ cup brown sugar packed
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
- 1-2 tablespoons Gochujang sauce
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 3-4 pound boneless beef chuck roast cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1-2 tablespoons cornstarch depending on desired sauce thickness
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup beef broth and next 9 ingredients (up to roast).½ cup reduced-sodium soy sauce, ⅓ cup brown sugar, 5 cloves garlic, 2 tablespoons sesame oil, 2 tablespoons rice vinegar, 2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger, 1-2 tablespoons Gochujang sauce, ½ teaspoon onion powder, ½ teaspoon pepper
- Place cubed roast into a slow cooker. A 4 or 5 quart slow cooker works well.3-4 pound boneless beef chuck roast
- Pour sauce over cubed meat.
- Cover and cook on low heat for 6-8 hours.
- In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and remaining 1/4 cup broth.1-2 tablespoons cornstarch
- Stir cornstarch mixture into the slow cooker.
- Cover and cook on high heat for an additional 30 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened.
Video
Notes
- I find Gochujang sauce near the Sriracha in my local supermarket. If you can’t find it, you can substitute a mixture that consists of a little Sriracha, a dash of additional soy sauce, and a little additional brown sugar to taste instead.
- Nutrition facts are estimates.
Nutrition
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Originally published 8/11/17.
Reader Interactions
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Comments & Reviews
MOG says
Full flavor and the meat was very tender. We absolutely loved this dish. Thank you!
Kate Dean says
Thank you!
Jenn says
Can I add onions to the slow cooker with the beef? I feel like onions would be a great addition to this recipe
Kate Dean says
Absolutely! I usually add onions underneath the beef when cooking them in the slow cooker so that they flavor the beef and so that the beef juices will soften and flavor the onions.
Rocki says
Delicious recipe, but I added too much beef bouillon and it made it too salty for me. I will definitely make it again. It reminded me a lot of Bulgulgi.
Kate Dean says
Thank you! I use reduced-sodium broth, but they also make no salt broth, which can be great when you’re combining it with high sodium ingredients like soy sauce.
Laura says
Can you cook the roast whole without cutting it up into chunks with the same cooking time?
Kate Dean says
I haven’t done that with this recipe. However, when I’ve used a whole roast with other recipes, it does take longer to cook completely through. You also don’t get the sauce cooking into the pieces of meat, so you miss out on some of the flavor. One thing that you can do is to stew meat instead of a full roast. I hope that helps!
John H says
Making this weekend. Instead of brown sugar, would honey or a pure maple syrup work well?
Kate Dean says
Hi! The sugar is just to balance out the sauce, so honey or maple syrup should work just fine.
Madison says
Hi!
Do you use light or dark brown sugar?
Does it matter?
Kate Dean says
Hi! I use either depending on what I have at the moment, and no, it doesn’t make any difference.
John H says
I used pure local honey instead if brown sugar. Turned out lovely. I’ll try using pure maple next time.
Kate Dean says
I’m so glad that it turned out well for you!
Becky says
Can I substitute ground ginger for the freshly grated ginger? Looking forward to making this recipe.
Kate Dean says
Hi! You can use ground ginger in place of fresh ginger. It’s about 1/4-1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger for every 1 tablespoon of fresh.
Kimberly says
Beef was tender and flavor is good, but instructions could be better. Step 1 says mix 1/2 cup beef broth with the next 9 ingredients, one of which is 3/4 cup beef broth, which made my beef too liquidy and the corn starch didn’t work. Also substitutes for rice vinegar would be helpful.
Kate Dean says
I could see where the 3/4 divided may have been confusing. I’ve changed that part in the instructions for clarity. You’re always welcome to ask about substitutions if you have questions!
Kris says
This was SUCH a fantastic recipe!!
I’ve been trying to find different ways to cook chuck roast BESIDES pot roast. And this recipe is IT.
The meat was deliciously tender and just fell apart. The sauce was great. The only thing I did change though, was I used tamari instead of soy sauce to make it gluten free :)
Served over white rice, with stir-fried green beans!
Kate Dean says
Thank you! I’m so glad that you liked it!