Slow cooker roast beef

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Now I know, I know, is it really a roast beef IF it’s not been cooked in the oven? Slow cooker pot roast, slow cooker beef joint, whatever you want to call it, this is the recipe for you!

This slow cooker roast beef with parsnips and carrots is ALWAYS a hit with my family. By cooking a larger beef joint there is plenty of leftovers for roast beef and horseradish sandwiches.

Using the slow cooker allows me to make a roast dinner with ease, and with very minimal effort. Parsnips and carrots work best with this recipe, however, you really can cook just about any vegetables you enjoy soft in the bottom of the pot and they will be absolutely delicious.

What I love to do, once the beef is cooked, is let it rest under tin foil for 30-40 minutes and then whip up Ninja Foodi roast potatoes (check out my 5 tricks for crispy roast potatoes too!),, air fryer sage and onion stuffing, air fryer pigs in blankets, yorkshire puddings and turn all of the lovely beef stock into a delicious beef gravy. It makes for the tastiest roast dinner, with a LOT less time standing over a hot oven!

If you fancy making something a little different with your beef, or beef leftovers, then be sure to check out my slow cooker beef recipes.

Ingredients for slow cooker beef roast recipe:

Garlic (3 cloves or 1 teaspoon of garlic granules)

Thyme (1 teaspoon dried or 1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme)

Salt & pepper

Bay leaf

15ml olive oil

10g plain flour

300g Parsnips

300g Carrots

Beef joint – anything from 500g upwards will work but make sure it can fit in your slow cooker! I used a 1.1KG joint for the photographs you see on this recipe

400ml beef stock (I like to use low sodium)

Method for slow cooker pot roast:

This step is optional. Sprinkle your beef joint with salt & pepper and plain flour. Use the olive oil to lightly brown all of the edges to seal the joint for several minutes.

I find that sealing the joint first gives it additional flavour and helps to keep it from drying out.

I use the brown setting on my slow cooker but if you don’t have a slow cooker with this function then you can either brown in a frying pan or skip this step altogether. Once browned set the beef joint to one side on a plate.

Peel, wash and prepare your carrots and parsnips. I like to slice my vegetables lengthways and then in half at least. For thicker carrots and parsnips I may cut into 8 pieces instead of 4.

Add the garlic, thyme, and a bay leaf to the slow cooker pot.

Place your vegetables into the slow cooker / crock pot.

Place your beef joint into the slow cooker pot on top of the vegetables.

Add your beef stock.

Set it on high for 4-6 hours or low for 8-10 hours. You can cook this for 12 hours, or perhaps even longer if you are out for the day. It’ll just leave the beef extra tender.

I cooked this beef in a Ninja Foodi, and I left it on high for 5 hours. This was perfect. I then rested the joint afterwards for around 40 minutes in tin foil, before finally carving it. As you can see it slices beautifully and I really believe that resting helps with this step.

Enjoy!

See below for tips, roast dinner accompaniments and a recipe card!

Can you use this slow cooker roast beef for sandwiches?

Absolutely! This is the perfect meat to make up in advance for sandwiches. Also, you could freeze the sandwiches once prepared. I double wrap sandwiches in the freezer to avoid soggy bread.

Can you make slow cooker roast beef with onion soup mix?

Yes you can! Just use the mix up instead of stock for a tasty alternative dish that’s even more flavoursome and convenient.

Do you need to seal the beef first?

No! You can pop this straight in to the slow cooker if you want to. I find that browning the meat, just briefly searing the outside, gives a little extra flavour and helps it to be extra tasty.

If you’re short on time, or effort, then just skip this step and get the beef straight in to the slow cooker pot on top of your vegetables.

Want to make gravy with the meat juices?

Once the beef has cooked just rest it under tin foil and then you can use all of the lovely slow cooked juices to make a tasty beef gravy. It will also form the basis of a delicious slow cooker beef stew or pie recipe.

Want to make your own red wine gravy?

Add a splash right near the end and give it a reduce down in a pan! It’ll be packed full of flavour! If you’re not someone who has red wine at home, but you want to add some extra flavour, then you could use a splash of ale, balsamic vinegar or even just gravy granules.

Which beef joint is the best for slow cooker roast?

I have used silverside for this recipe. This is a nice lean cut that works really well for a slow cooker roast. I also love to use brisket too. You could use skirt, shin, oxtail or chuck with great results too.

What vegetables work well with beef?

Just about any root vegetable works really well with this dish. My favourite is carrots and parsnips but I also love to add leeks and even potatoes directly into the pot! Sometimes I’ll cook up either air fryer carrots and parsnips or root vegetable mash to serve alongside.

As long as you’re cooking on high for at least 4 hours everything should be lovely and tender, though do keep the potatoes quite small if you’re going to add these.

Is this slow cooker roast beef sliceable?

Yes! As you can see, by resting it for 30-40 minutes first, I was able to slice this up absolutely lovely. The slices were perfect to give each person 1-2 for a portion, and then we had lots of leftovers for roast beef rolls or roast beef sandwiches.

ALL of the slow cooker recipes on this website have been cooked using a Ninja Foodi OL750UK, or the previous model, but you can use ANY slow cooker, as timings should be very similar.

How to cook slow cooker roast beef in its own gravy:

Note: All calorie information is for demonstration purposes only and is based on the specific uncooked ingredients that I used when creating the recipe.

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