Y’all know how much I love slow cooked meat, right? It’s always so tender and full of flavor, yet nearly effortless. While I usually opt for a southwest blend of spices, a couple of months ago I tested an Asian inspired beef version and fell in love. This Slow Cooker Sesame Beef uses only a few ingredients and comes out with so much flavor, which is good because beef is expensive, so I like to use it sparingly in my meal and combine it with other less expensive ingredients.
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How to Serve Slow Cooker Sesame Beef
So what do you serve this Slow Cooker Sesame Beef with? This tasty shredded beef can be used in so many ways. You can use it in a bowl meal like Bibimbap, or do a more simple combo with just some warm rice and broccoli florets. Asian inspired tacos are always fun, or you can just pile it on top of a crunchy cabbage salad. You can stir it into a batch of (not) Fried Rice, or serve it with some rich Garlic Noodles. Me? I couldn’t stop eating it right out of the slow cooker. :P But honestly, I’m going to pair it with rice, some quick pickled cucumbers, and shredded carrots (you might see this combo in a Sunday Meal Prep in the future!).
What Type of Beef Should I Use?
One more note about the type of beef used. I used an eye of round roast because there wasn’t much of a selection at my store the other day, and this cut was the best price. Eye of round is quite lean, so the resulting beef had more of a flakey texture. A chuck roast or brisket would be more ideal as both have a little more fat and connective tissue, which will result in a more tender and moist shredded beef.
What Size Slow Cooker Should I Use?
I am use a 6-quart Hamilton Beach slow cooker (affiliate link), and it was only filled about 1/3 of the way to the top. I would suggest using a 3-quart or larger for this recipe.
Slow Cooker Sesame Beef
Servings 6Ingredients
- 1/2 cup soy sauce ($0.72)
- 1/3 cup brown sugar ($0.24)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 1/2 Tbsp grated fresh ginger ($0.10)
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil ($0.12)
- 2 lbs beef roast ($8.14)
- 6 green onions, divided ($0.67)
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch ($0.04)
- 1 Tbsp sesame seeds ($0.08)
Instructions
- Combine the soy sauce, brown sugar, and 1/2 cup water in a bowl and stir until the brown sugar is dissolved. Mince the garlic and grate the ginger. Add the garlic, ginger, and toasted sesame oil to the soy sauce mixture. Set the cooking liquid aside.
- Either slice or cube the beef roast. Slice three of the green onions into 1.5-2 inch sections (save the rest of the green onions for garnish after cooking). Place the beef roast and green onions in the slow cooker. Pour the cooking liquid over top and stir to combine.
- Place a lid on the slow cooker, and cook on HIGH for four hours or LOW for eight hours. After four hours on high or eight hours on low the beef should be very tender and should shred easily with a fork. If not, replace the lid and cook for 30-60 minutes more.
- Once the beef is tender, it’s time to thicken the sauce. Dissolve the cornstarch in 2 tablespoons of water, then pour it into the pot with the beef and cooking liquid. Stir to combine, then allow it to come back up to a simmer, at which point the sauce will thicken just slightly. Turn the heat off and garnish with the sesame seeds and remaining green onions (sliced). Serve over a bed of rice or as part of your favorite meal.
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Nutrition
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How to Make Slow Cooker Sesame Beef – Step by Step Photos
Prepare the cooking liquid first. Combine 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup soy sauce, 1/3 cup brown sugar, 2 cloves garlic (minced), 1/2 Tbsp grated fresh ginger, and 1 tsp toasted sesame oil in a bowl (or large measuring cup). Set the liquid aside.
I used a 2 lb. eye of round roast because there wasn’t much available at the store the day I was there. This will produce a slightly dryer, more flakey end result. I would aim for a chuck roast or brisket, both of which have more fat and connective tissue to keep things moist and soft.
Either slice the beef or cut it into cubes. The goal is to increase the surface area so that it can soak up all the delicious flavors of the cooking liquid.
Place the beef in the slow cooker, along with three green onions that have been sliced into 1.5 to 2-inch sections.
Pour the cooking liquid over top and give everything a brief stir to make sure everything is in contact with the liquid.
Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on high for four hours, or low for eight hours. After that time, the beef should be tender and easily shreddable. If not, replace the lid and cook a little longer. Once tender, stir together 1 Tbsp cornstarch with 2 Tbsp water and then pour it into the pot. Allow it to return to a simmer, at which time the cornstarch will turn from cloudy to clear and you’ll notice the liquid will thicken just slightly.
Garnish the beef with 1 Tbsp sesame seeds and the remaining green onions (sliced).
This Slow Cooker Sesame Beef is SUPER flavorful, so I like to pair it with more mild foods, like rice and plenty of vegetables. :)
More serving suggestions at the top of the post!
Do you think this would work with cubed beef? The kind you can buy for stew?
I think it’s worth a try!
Made this tonight. Was so easy,the only thing I would say is I had to cook it on high and my crock pot gets really really hot so the beef was more cooked than pull apart. Still amazing. Husband said “ whatever this is coon it again” will do!
*cook lol
Cooking it in the pressure cooker (instant pot) instead, seems to work just as well. Another great recipe, well done and thanks.
Happy to hear it Ben!
I’ve made this twice for meal prep and never gotten to eat any. Today, it’s regular dinner. I did use the squeeze ginger (every time). My son raves about it and it’s cooking slowly now.. I’m looking forward.
Happy to hear it!
It’s Amazing! The second time that I cooked it, I substituted the meat for vegetables-sweet potatoes and russet potatoes. It’s still Amazing!
Thanks Tanisha!
Amazing recipe! I wonder how to make this as a vegetarian dish? Adding carrots, celery, onions and potatoes? Any suggestions/thoughts?
I’m not sure you’d need to use a slow cooker if you’re doing a vegetable version, as the vegetables will probably over cook. But if you want to try, sweet potatoes go very well with teriyaki sauce. :) You could also try these Sesame Tempeh Bowls (non-slow cooker).
Another great recipe, Beth! You haven’t failed me yet. The boys loved this one.
Thanks Betsy!
Do you have an adaptation for doing this on the stove top in a Dutch Oven?
Unfortunately I don’t right now, I would need to do some testing to fine the correct time and temperature for cooking.
Made this the other night. Since we are meal prepping on the weekend, I put the sliced meat (chuck roast) with the sauce and marinated it for a day before cooking it. I’m thinking this could easily be made into a “freezer meal” by putting the sauce over the meat and just freezing it until needed. This was fantastic, better than a restaurant.
That’s a great idea Edina! Let me know if you try if you try it and how it turns out.
Excellent recipe! Everyone loved it, really tender. I did add some honey, red pepper flakes, and cayenne pepper. Even better the second day!
Yummy additions!
Toddler Approved (Picky 3 yo and 1yo)! Will be making again. Used the slow cooker function on Instant Pot. Set at 8 hours on low with top in venting mode.
I’ve run into a weird issue with this recipe: how do you get the slow cooker to simmer again after the 8 hours are up? I can tell it to cook on high or low again for 30 mins minimum, but it doesn’t really bubble like on the stovetop. I assume the cornstarch would thicken anyway but I’m not sure if I’m doing it right. What would you suggest?
Actually the cornstarch doesn’t thicken until it actually reaches a simmer (that’s the science behind the starch molecule), so if you’re unable to get your slow cooker to get back up to a simmer, I would recommend transferring it to a pot and bringing it to a simmer that way. It should only take a few minutes in a pot.
My family loved it! Great flavor.
This came out great! I had some sirloin strips from a meal delivery kit and was getting bored with sautéing them. I’d been wanting to make this recipe but was going to get stew beef. So glad I didn’t wait! I added some sriracha and chili pepper flakes. Doubled pretty much all the ingredients excluding the beef. Glad I did, the slow cooker can dull flavors so I cooked mine on low for about 3 hours. It’s fresh and slow cooked at the same time.
I read your comment before making the recipe and wished I had taken your double the ingredients to heart. It smelled GREAT while it was cooking but since I had limited time, I did cook on high for 4 hours and the flavors didn’t come through at all in the end (also totally forgot the cornstarch step but I don’t think that would have affected the flavor at all). Didn’t even want the left overs I was disappointed D; This will be a recipe to try again
I used low sodium soy sauce and I thought it turned out just OK. I don’t know if the salt in regular soy sauce makes a difference or not.
This recipe is amazing!! I make this whenever we have people over or when I send food to a family in need, and it always gets have reviews and people ask for the recipe! Thank you for making me look like an amazing cook! 😉