Slow Cooker Korean Beef is super tender and takes just a few minutes to prep. Just add a chuck roast and a simple Korean-inspired sauce to your crock pot to make a delicious shredded beef. Freezer friendly and reheats well for meal prep!
I usually serve the Slow Cooker Korean beef with cooked white rice and steamed vegetables. But it's great with these other sides, Sesame Noodles, Garlic Sesame Ramen, Air Fryer Broccoli, Air Fryer Honey Soy Carrots.
Looking for a Korean beef recipe using ground beef... I love this 15-minute Korean Ground Beef recipe. All you do is brown the ground beef, add the sauce, let it simmer for a few minutes, and dinner is ready!
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⭐Why I Love It:
- 5 Minutes of Prep-Time - Just mix up the sauce and add everything to the crockpot.
- Simple Ingredients - All you need is a chuck roast and some pantry staple ingredients to make the Korean-inspired sauce.
- Tender and Flavorful - The chuck roast gets fall apart tender and is super flavorful from the sauce. For another super tender Korean-inspired recipe, try this easy Beef Bulgogi Bowl.
🥘Ingredients:
- Chuck Roast - I also love to use a chuck roast in the Tender Chuck Roast in Oven recipe or Crockpot Shredded Italian Beef.
- Low-Sodium Soy Sauce
- Brown Sugar - You can use light or dark brown sugar.
- Fresh Garlic and Ginger - you can buy pre-minced in a jar to save on prep
- Onion Powder
- Rice Vinegar
- Sriracha - this helps offset the sweetness from the brown sugar, you can adjust the quantity to your spice preference. Or even completely omit if you don't like any spice.
- Sesame Oil
- Sesame Seeds and Sliced Green Onions - to sprinkle on at the end.
- Cornstarch - Optional - You can mix a little cornstarch with cold water and then add to the sauce at the end to help thicken the sauce.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
🔪Step By Step Instructions
This Slow Cooker Korean Beef is one of those set it and forget it recipe! You don't even need to sear the chuck roast first, just add everything to the slow cooker and let it do all the work.
Photo 1 - Add the chuck roast to your slow cooker. Mix up the sauce in a small bowl then pour over the top.
Photo 2 - Cook on low for 7-8 hours until the roast is very tender and easily shreds.
🍽Leftovers, Storage, and Reheating
Storage: Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 4 days.
Reheating: It can be reheated in the microwave with the leftover cooked rice.
Freezing: It can be frozen before or after cooking.
- To freeze it before cooking, just add the chuck roast and sauce to a large freezer bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw fully and then cook in the slow cooker per recipe instructions.
- To freeze after cooking, the cooked Korean beef can be frozen in airtight freezer bags for up to 3 months. Thaw and reheat per above.
💭Recipe Tips
- To Decrease Cook Time - The cook time is long (7-8 hours) in order to really make the chuck roast tender. If you want to decrease the cook time, you can cut the chuck roast into a few big chunks.
- Extra Moisture from Chuck Roast - The chuck roast releases moisture when cooking. If you prefer your shredded beef 'less saucy' you can shred outside of the crock pot and just toss with some of the sauce. I like to toss with all of the juices to keep it moist and use a slotted spoon to serve.
- Optional - Brown Chuck Roast First - This step is optional, but browning the chuck roast before adding to the slow cooker helps add extra flavor.
👩🍳Recipe FAQs
Pictured is large 8qt slow cooker. But the crockpot just needs to be big enough to fit the chuck roast - so a slightly smaller slow cooker would work just fine. A 5-6 qt sized slow cooker would work.
For extra tender meat, I always recommend cooking on Low. It takes longer, but it's so worth it!
Yes, beef, like a chuck roast, can be added to a slow cooker raw without searing/browning first.
🧆Related Slow Cooker Recipes
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PrintRecipe
Slow Cooker Korean Beef
Slow Cooker Korean Beef is super tender and takes just a few minutes to prep. Just dump a chuck roast and a simple Korean-inspired sauce in the crock pot to make a delicious shredded beef.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 hours
- Total Time: 8 hours 5 minutes
- Yield: 6-8 servings
- Category: Mains, Dinner
- Method: Slow Cooker
- Cuisine: Asian
Ingredients
Beef and Garnishes
- 3 pound boneless beef chuck roast
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- 2-3 green onions, thinly sliced
Korean-Inspired Sauce
- ½ cup low-sodium soy sauce
- ½ cup packed brown sugar, light or dark
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon minced or grated ginger
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons Sriracha, adjust to spice preference
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch, optional to thicken sauce at end.
Instructions
- Mix Sauce. In a bowl, whisk together the sauce ingredients.
- Optional - Sear Roast - For extra flavor, you can heat up 1-2 tablespoons of a high heat oil (like canola oil) in a large, heavy pan (like cast iron) and sear the roast on all sides over medium-high heat to brown the outside.
- Add to Slow Cooker. Place the chuck roast in a large slow cooker. Pour over sauce and flip chuck roast over a few times so it gets a little coated on all sides.
- Cook. Cover slow cooker and cook on low for 7-8 hours. You can also cook on high for 4 hours, but I prefer low as it becomes more tender. The beef is done when it is tender and easily shreds with two forks.
- Shred Chuck Roast -Shred chuck roast with two forks and toss with some or all of the sauce in the slow cooker.
- Optional - Cornstarch Slurry - To thicken the sauce, you can mix the cornstarch with ¼ cup of water to make a slurry. Add to the sauce in the crockpot, increase heat to High, cover, and cook for 20-30 minutes to chicken the sauce.
- Serve - Sprinkle with sesame seeds, green onions, and serve.
Notes
To Decrease Cook Time - The cook time is long (7-8 hours) in order to really make the chuck roast tender. If you want to decrease the cook time, you can cut the chuck roast into a few big chunks.
Leftovers - Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 4 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ⅙ of recipe
- Calories: 397
- Sugar: 17.6 g
- Sodium: 780 mg
- Fat: 12.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 21.4 g
- Fiber: 0.4 g
- Protein: 51.7 g
- Cholesterol: 149.6 mg
Joe says
I made this for my family after a long day baseball, but instead of cooking in a crock pot I braised it in a Dutch oven. Cooking on a low heat (250°F) for 4 hours, then raising the temp to 325° for another hour. After shredding the roast I put it back in the oven under a broiler to crisp the meat a little. I used coconut aminos instead of soy sauce due to dietary restrictions. The meal was fantastic, this will definitely be a regular meal in our home.
Brittany says
All I had on hand was brisket! Hoping it turns out! I'm excited!!
Kathleen says
I haven't tried this recipe with brisket, so you'll have to let us know how it turns out! 🙂
Rachel Meyer says
Love this recipe! On the first night we serve it over cauliflower rice with other steamed veggies. Night #2 we use it in our homemade ramen bowls. YUM!
Kathleen says
Yay! I'm so glad you liked it. Now I need to make ramen bowls ASAP - sounds delicious!
Heather G says
I thought this mean was delicious! I cooked the roast in my instapot to speed things up. After removing the beefs, I put the sauce in a pan, added a corn starch slurry, and brought it to a boil to thicken it a touch.
Kathleen says
I’m glad you loved it! I love doing the cornstarch trick as well. Thanks for your comment!
Elayne says
How long did you do it in the instant pot?