Slow Cooker Smothered Beef Tips
This slow cooker smothered beef tips recipe is so delicious, so elegant, and so easy. Tender pieces of beef + a flavorful gravy – yum!
Wow. Talk about an elegantly easy meal. These smothered beef tips are incredible!
Served over the best mashed potatoes in the world, this is a stunning combination. The tender beef + flavorful sauce is whoa-good.
Wonderfully, the slow cooker makes easy work of cooking the beef until it is fall-apart tender. This meal is fit for royalty (but easy enough for your cute, little family).
My family loves this hearty, comforting, delicious meal. It’s right up there with their favorite pot roast, but the flavor is a little different, and this one is just ever so slightly fancier.
A couple weeks ago, I made this meal for my son’s (first ever) small homecoming friend group.
I loved that the prep was done ahead of time, and the beef tips and gravy could hang out in the slow cooker for an hour or so before serving.
It made the actual dinner event super easy! (And also gave me time to crack a few really good mom jokes with his friends.)
What Kind of Beef Roast to Use
Trip tip or sirloin roasts are excellent choices for this recipe.
I haven’t tried this recipe using stew meat, precut beef tips or another type of roast like chuck or arm roast. BUT, you could probably experiment.
FYI: chuck roasts are usually quite a bit fattier and will be greasier as they cook. Stew meat is hit and miss depending on where you buy it. If you use it, look for packages with larger pieces (vs super small beef cuts).
Browning: The Great Debate
I know, I know, a lot of you are cursing my name right now. Browning meat is the bane of many existences.
It sizzles. It splatters. It’s annoying. I get it.
But in this recipe, browning the beef before slow cooking makes a huge difference. In flavor. In the texture of the beef as it slow cooks. The end result will be infinitely better if you brown the beef, I promise.
It only takes a few minutes. You just want a quick sear on a couple sides until it is browned and glorious.
Pop the browned beef in the slow cooker and add the onions to the skillet.
Pro tip! Another advantage of browning the meat is that the skillet is left with all of these beautiful golden sticky bits on the bottom of the pan.
As the onions cook, those browned bits will easily scrape up, and there is no substitute for the flavor they add. Plus, doing things like this add serious rock star points to your home cooking resume.
Pour in the beef broth and bring the mixture to a quick simmer. Add Worcestershire sauce, bay leaves and a pinch of dried thyme.
Add all of this to the beef in the slow cooker, cover, and cook until the beef is fall apart tender!
How to Make Gravy
These slow cooker smothered beef tips are only as good as the gravy. And I’m going to show you how to make the best gravy of your life.
Add equal parts butter and flour to a sauce pan and cook until bubbling. Let this mixture cook, whisking constantly, until it turns golden brown.
Hello. More flavor.
Pour in the cooking liquid from the slow cooker, and simmer until the gravy is thickened. (See the recipe instructions about what to do for too-thin or too-thick gravy.)
Pile in the beef chunks to the rich, flavorful gravy, and get ready for the best meal of your life.
PS Gravy IS life.
While this recipe may not fit into your busy Tuesday night dinner plans, make sure to bookmark it when you want a fancy meal with a low-level effort.
There’s a few more dishes to wash than, say, a one-pot wonder, but it’s worth it the minute you take the first bite (or when the fragrant smells fill up your kitchen from cooking all day).
These slow cooker smothered beef tips have already made a Sunday dinner appearance in our house, and I have a feeling we’ll be seeing them on a regular rotation.
FAQs For Smothered Beef Tips
You could definitely try, but the cooking time would be different as well as the flavor.
Yes! Halve all the ingredients straight across except for maybe using two cups broth (cooking time should remain the same).
I recommend using tri tip or sirloin roasts, but you could try another type of beef roast – just keep in mind that some cuts of beef don’t cook up quite as tender.
There’s a good chance using a cornstarch slurry for the gravy will work in place of the flour/butter roux. I’d suggest bringing the reserved liquid from the slow cooker to a simmer and then adding a cornstarch slurry (try 2 tablespoons cornstarch + 1/4 cup water or broth to start).
I haven’t tried freezing this, but I’m guessing that will work pretty well.
What to Serve With This
One Year Ago: The Best Taco Soup {Stovetop or Slow Cooker}
Two Years Ago: Soft Banana Bread Cookies
Three Years Ago: Sour Cream Banana Bread {One-Bowl!}
Four Years Ago: Simple Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
Five Years Ago: Sesame Chicken Pasta with Thai-Style Peanut Sauce
Six Years Ago: Dinner in a Pumpkin
Seven Years Ago: Overnight Steel Cut Oatmeal
Eight Years Ago: Cinnamon Apple Cider Muffins
Slow Cooker Smothered Beef Tips
Ingredients
Beef:
- 3 pounds tri tip or sirloin beef roast, cut into 1- to 2-inch pieces
- Salt and pepper, for seasoning
- 2-3 tablespoons olive oil, avocado oil or canola/vegetable oil
- 1 cup diced onions
- 2-3 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 3 cups beef broth or beef stock
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 bay leaves
- Pinch dried thyme
Gravy:
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
- Fresh parsley, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Season the beef pieces on all sides with salt and pepper. Heat the oil over medium heat in a skillet until hot and rippling. Add some of the beef in a single layer, not touching, and cook for 30 seconds or so until golden, flip and brown on the other side. Transfer beef to the insert of 6-quart slow cooker. Repeat with remaining beef, adding additional oil, if needed (let it heat up before adding more beef pieces).
- Once the beef has all been browned and transferred to the slow cooker, add the onions to the skillet set over medium heat. If the skillet is dry, add a teaspoon or so of oil.
- Cook the onions for 3-4 minutes, until translucent. Scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Pour in the beef broth or stock and Worcestershire sauce and bring to a simmer, scraping up bottom of pan.
- Pour mixture into the slow cooker with the beef. Add the bay leaves and thyme. Cover and cook on low for 8-9 hours or 4-5 hours on high until beef is tender.
- Transfer the beef to a dish and cover to keep warm. At this point you can strain the liquid in the slow cooker to remove any solids/onions or use as is for the gravy. You should have about 3-4 cups of liquid.
- For the gravy, in a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. add the flour and whisk to combine. Cook, stirring constantly, for 1-2 minutes until bubbling (it’s ok if it browns slightly). Add the reserved liquid from the slow cooker about one cup at a time, whisking vigorously to avoid lumps.
- Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened. Stir in the red wine vinegar and season to taste with additional salt and pepper, to taste. If the mixture is too thin, stir together equal parts softened butter and flour until smooth and quickly whisk into simmering gravy. If the mixture is too thick, thin with additional beef broth.
- Add the beef pieces back to the slow cooker or to a serving dish and pour the gravy over the top. Serve over mashed potatoes with fresh parsley (optional).
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
Thank you so much for this delicious recipe! My husband, daughter, and I all loved it! Definitely a keeper!
Has anyone tried this in an instant pot?
I had some stew meat in the freezer that needed to be used, so I tried this beef tips recipe with it. Delicious! Huge hit with the whole family. Even with a tougher cut of meat like the stew meat, this turned out super tender. Definitely will be making this one again!
In case anyone else wants to make this gluten free, I just run the flour with sweet rice flour. Same measurements. It works beautifully.
Not sure how the word run got there . I just exchange sweet rice flour for the regular flour.
Oh my gosh!!!! I was craving grandmas Sunday roast with mashed potatoes and gravy. This filled the craving perfectly. And so easy. Wow. Could this bring back the tradition of Sunday roast!!! I sure hope so. That the leftovers were as good as the first day!!!! Thank you Mel
Has anyone tried making this with boneless chuck roast? Thanks!
Don’t waste your time looking at other recipes. Make this. You won’t regret it!
We had it for our Christmas Eve dinner. Cooked on high and still came out super tender.
I’ve made this 3 or 4 times over the past few years and I just need to say that it’s amazing! I use a 3-4 lb roast and follow the directions as written. Tonight I served with jasmine rice and roasted broccoli. Delicious!
Great recipe!! Searing the tips -awesome flavor punch!! Adding the onions in pan after searing delish!!!
I haven’t found a recipe of Mels that I didn’t like. I have made these with tritip and short ribs. I like the tritip best.
Followed this recipe exactly and it was amazing. You should make it now.
Made this tonight. Best recipe I have found in all my years (66). Will be my go to from now on. Thank you for posting. I did use Dutch oven instead of crockpot due to time. 2 hours later had very tender tips, great gravy. Pull meat from pot, mixed butter and flour and microwaved for 10 sec intervals until paste was more pourable, whisk in pot while boiling, returned tips and
put in red wine vinegar, cooked a couple more minutes on low- done.
Great flavor. Will make again! Mashed potatoes were also on point!
We just had this tonight. It is delicious. Voted as a do over by both my husband and I.
Love this. I think next time I will up the flour/butter because my gravy was perfect at 2 1/2 cups of the cooking juice. I didn’t have quite enough mashed potatoes for the leftovers when I used 5 so that needs more too. We’ve also made this and served over egg noodles which was great too.
I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve made this recipe! We love it! I add just a little bit more thyme & Worcestershire than called for, and it come out perfect every time!
This recipe was easy to follow, and delivered on it’s promise. Delicious, rich beef gravy and tender bites of roast beef. I couldn’t find “tip” or “sirloin” roast, so I used chuck roast and cut it in larger chunks. I also found that with the crockpot on low it was done in about 6 hours. I fear that if I had cooked it 8-9 hours the meat would have been mush. But the flavor was incredible. I will definitely make again.
We had this tonight with a tri tip roast and loved it! The little bit of vinegar at the end is genius. Thank you for sharing another great recipe!
This was amazing! We had it for our Easter dinner last night and I cannot tell you how much the whole family loved it. And the house smelt so good all day! This is going on the permanent recipe list!
Just wanted to share that I made this recipe yesterday with a 3lb chuck roast, and it was OH MY HEAVENS good! Even the picky 9yo who always says ‘I don’t want any meat!’ gobbled it once she’d started.
Also, in case anyone wondered, I made the gravy both dairy-free (used Earth Balance Vegan butter for my lactose-intolerant kid) AND Gluten-Free (used King Arthur Cup for Cup GF Flour for myself and my GF middle child), and it was DELICIOUS. Couldn’t even tell it was GF and DF, and my husband can ALWAYS tell. No comments this time, he just inhaled it happily. 🙂 This recipe is definitely a keeper!
This was a bit more labor intensive than my typical slow cooker meals, but browning the meat was 100% worth it. Absolutely delicious! My husband was salivating as he was dishing up haha. Perfect with the instant pot potatoes!
I’ve used both a sirloin tip roast that I cut up myself and also some Costco stew meat. I make it on the stovetop in my ceramic Dutch oven. Sear everything, deglaze, and simmer for a couple hours on low, covered. Serve it with a green veggie, a salad, mashed potatoes, and rolls. My kids raved about it!
I know you said you hadn’t tried freezing this but that you think it would work fine, but if I were to try freezing it how would I go about reheating it? Or would I sear the meat, but not finish cooking until in the crock pot when ready to eat? I don’t want to somehow make the meat tough…
If it were me, I’d make start to finish and then freeze – it should reheat great and the meat will still be tender if it doesn’t over cook while reheating it.
This was sooo good! Seriously! Stop looking if you are trying to find the best beef tip recipe THIS IS IT! And don’t leave out the vinegar… I really think it was the magic ingredient. I’ve been making my own gravy from scratch for years and this was the best I’ve ever made. I didn’t change a thing. Great job Mel!
Thanks, Dana!
This was fantastic! I had a pack of tri tip in the freezer I needed to use. Made it on Thursday. We had left overs Friday night and I almost think it’s even better the second day. So so good. This is a winner for sure. Thanks Mel.
Glad you enjoyed it, Tina!
Hi Mel, I’ve made this recipe twice now, both times with cubes of venison lingering in our freezer. So, so delicious. Will make again and again.
Ive done the same! Great way to use venison 🙂
This meal was fantastic! Thank you so much for sharing the recipe.
Although there was some prep involved, it was totally worth it!
This is the very first time I’m posting a review-because it was that good. It’s just me and my husband so I halved the meat, but used the same amount of the rest of the ingredients. It just made more gravy which for us is a plus.
We each wanted to have seconds because it was so good, but we decided instead to save it for leftovers and enjoy the full experience again!
Thanks for the review, Paula! I really appreciate it!
This was an amazing dinner! I will make it often from now on! That gravy though … Five stars!
Thank you, Kat! I’m happy you guys are loving this as much as we are. My next try is to serve the beef and gravy over spaetzle like someone else suggested!
So so delicious! I made it with stew meat I bought from Costco and it was excellent! Paired it with your Instant Pot mashed potatoes and loved how each recipe used a different kitchen appliance. Both recipes are keepers!
Sorry I forgot to rate it…I meant to give it 5 stars!
Thanks, Abbi!
We liked the meat and mashed potatoes are always good, but that gravy was THE MOST INCREDIBLE THING I HAVE EVER HAD! From now on every time I make a roast I’m doing the gravy the same way.
Yay, Jackie! That gravy is something else, huh?
I anticipated a tasty meal so I set the table with best china and goblets and even lit a pair of candles for my husband and I and we were both blown away with how amazingly delicious this tender beef meal with gravy was. I will definitely be making this again throughout the fall and winter months. Thank you it was wonderful!
How fun, Lea! I’m so glad you and your husband enjoyed this one!
This was the comfort food recipe I didn’t know I was missing. As you suggested I paired it with your instant pot mashed potatoes and it was a definite home run! Thanks for sharing you cooking talents and helping us all feel like rockstars in the kitchen!
Thank YOU, Jill! I’m so glad you loved this!
Best meal ever! Not exaggerating on bit. Incredible flavor. Thank you Mel for helping me learn how to cook! You are as amazing as this meal is. THANK YOU for all the recipes.
This is awesome! I’m thrilled you loved this one so much, Julie! Yay!
If I am doubling this, do I just double everything?
Thank you !
Yep!
Made this in the IP tonight at 25 min high pressure. It was sooo good!
Awesome!
Did you natural release or did you do a quick release?
I’m pretty sure I did a ten min natural release, then quick release the rest!
Great recipe Mel! Such a tasty gravy. Served it with broccoli and fried mushrooms and with the gravy on everything. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for taking the time to let me know, James!
I made this for Sunday dinner yesterday and it was delicious! I had to add more butter/flour to thicken my gravy but it was easy and also #nolumps. Such a delicious and slightly fancy twist on Sunday pot roast. Thanks, Mel!
So happy to hear you liked this recipe – thanks, Jeanelle!
Loved this meal!!!! However, I put the melted butter/flour rue right into the crockpot with the meat and onions and it thicken up perfectly and saved a couple of steps. It was delicious!
That’s fantastic, Ann!
Oh, that’s brilliant! I want to keep the onions in the gravy anyway!
Have you made this in the instant pot, if so, how long do you cook?
I haven’t tried this recipe in the Instant Pot yet – sorry!
I followed the directions but cooked it in the pressure cooker for 25 minutes on high with 10 minutes release, and that yielded very tender cubes of meat.
Good to know. Thanks, Brittany!
I made this dish tonight with venison that was hanging out in my freezer. It was delicious. I also made your IP potatoes and they were awesome too. Thanks for another winner, Mel.
I’m glad this worked with venison, Amy! My sister cooks a lot with elk and she’ll be happy to know she can use it in this recipe.
Hi Mel!
Winner winner “beef tips” dinner! I used sirloin steak that was on sale – the meat was fall apart tender after 6 hours on low. I also made your IP mashed potatoes – you’re right – they are the best! Using my slow cooker AND IP on a Tuesday night – ca-raaazy! I roasted some past their prime broccoli and string beans but once they were covered in that luscious gravy who could tell? 😉
Can’t wait to see your hoodie collection!
Thanks for the review, Patricia! Proud of your for cranking out this meal on a Tuesday night. Wish I had been eating at your house!
Nutrition values, or did I
Miss them?
I don’t calculate that info – sorry! There are a lot of online nutritional calculators that can help you out with it if you do a quick google search.
I’m so excited to try this! I have a gravy dish that I don’t love. Do you have one you recommend?
Do you mean like a gravy boat, Shalise? I have this one and like it (although I confess I only really use it for holiday dinners).
Yum! Too bad I tossed my broken slow cooker and haven’t replaced it. I’ll make it in the instant pot and report back!
Made this in the Instant Pot. Followed recipe but just cooked for 25 min in pot. I also thickened with cornstarch instead of flour. Super tasty!!
Thanks for adding your notes, Katrina – super helpful!
I just had to google if beef tips and stew meat are the same thing. I was pretty sure they were! I’m wondering about this in the InstantPot. I’ll probably try it and let you know what happens!
Just make sure to try and find stew meat cut into 1-inch or larger pieces. Sometimes the stew meat in my local grocery store is cut into itty bitty pieces and it wouldn’t work quite as well here.
So……I don’t have a stainless steel frying pan…just a nonstick pan(I know..so dumb) apparently I need to go and invest in one! Would this work with a nonstick?
Sure, it should still work! You may not get the same amount of browned bits on the bottom of the pan, but no need to buy another pan for this recipe (in my opionin!). You could also use a stainless steel pot or pan if you have one.
Mel-I love that our kids are about at the same stage. I remember commenting on our boys learning to drive at the same time, and I just made dinner and dessert for my son’s first ever homecoming group date as well! I made your best ever manicotti. It was all on a limb, I hadn’t made your recipe before. But I trust you, and it was a hit! It turned into a fun little Italian dinner night. I hope your son had a great time. My son was pretty nervous, but he came home from it all having had so much fun!!
I love this, Jeannette! My son had fun, too – although all the planning stressed him out (he realized he’s a lot more like me than he realized which is we both thrive on having a plan and he was super frustrated with some of his friends who refused to plan, haha). I love the Italian dinner theme! I’m so glad your son had a good time!
Any substitute suggestions for the red wine vinegar?
It adds a brightness of flavor – but you can probably leave it out or use a dash of another kind of vinegar.
What kind other kind of vinegar do you suggest?
Maybe a splash of balsamic if you have that.
I left it out as I only made 1/3 the gravy for 2 of us. It was totally yummy without it.
Mel, you are a mind reader! I was organizing my shopping list, & meal plan this morning. A little voice in my head said, “You know, you need to come up with a plan for those beef tips hanging out in your freezer.”
Enter Mel, the meal planning fairy! ♀️ I can’t wait to make this. My taste buds are already salivating!
Ha! Good timing!!
It is in my cooker right now, and smells so good! I’ll make your mashed potatoes, your french bread, and your Skillet broccoli. I’m so excited to try this. By the way, your french bread is life. So easy, and so glorious.
Sounds like an AMAZING meal, Bri! I hope you liked it!