This slow cooker Korean beef is flank steak simmered with soy sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar, garlic and ginger in a crock pot. The meat is fall apart tender and perfect served over steamed rice!
My family loves sweet and savory Korean style beef, and this slow cooker version couldn’t be any easier to make! If you’re looking for Korean beef in a hurry, try my Korean beef bowls or Korean BBQ tacos.
Korean beef is popular for good reason – that sweet and savory combo just can’t be beat! This slow cooker Korean beef takes just minutes to prepare. Place it in the slow cooker in the morning and come home later to dinner waiting for you.
How do you make slow cooker Korean beef?
This recipe starts with thinly sliced flank steak. The easiest way to get thin strips of meat is to partially freeze your steak before you slice it. The meat is coated in cornstarch and placed in the crock pot, then a sauce of soy sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar, garlic and ginger goes over the top.
I use flank steak for this recipe because it’s relatively inexpensive and always comes out super tender. If you don’t want to use flank steak, you could try a tougher cut of meat like beef stew meat cubes, but you’ll have to cook it for a few more hours.
Tips for Slow Cooker Korean Beef
- I like to save on prep time by slicing my meat and mixing up my sauce the night before. That way in the morning, it takes literally 2 minutes to toss everything together and be out the door.
- You can also make this recipe with chicken, I like to use cubed chicken thighs for a different flavor.
- I really think that fresh garlic and ginger give the best flavors in this dish, but if you don’t have them on hand, you can use bottled minced garlic and ginger or even ground garlic and ginger. If you use ground garlic and ginger, try using 1/2 teaspoon of garlic and 1/4 teaspoon of ginger for best results.
I typically serve my slow cooker Korean beef over rice, but sometimes I mix things up a bit and serve it with quinoa or noodles. If you’re watching your carbs, you can even try using zucchini noodles. This dish is great for meal prep. Simply divide equal amounts of Korean beef and rice into meal prep containers and store in the fridge until you’re ready to eat.
If you’re a fan of spicy food, I’d recommend adding some sriracha or crushed red pepper flakes to the sauce when it goes into the slow cooker. You can also stir in some vegetables during the last hour such as carrots, broccoli or green beans.
I make this slow cooker Korean beef constantly, it’s so easy and flavorful and tastes just like the restaurant version.
More beef recipes you’ll love
- Slow Cooker Mongolian Beef
- Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry
- Pepper Steak Stir Fry
- Teriyaki Beef
- Mongolian Beef Stir Fry
Slow Cooker Korean Beef Video
Slow Cooker Korean Beef
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds flank steak thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger
- 1/2 cup beef broth
- 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sesame seeds
- 2 tablespoons sliced green onions
Instructions
- Place the flank steak and cornstarch in a bowl, stir to coat the meat evenly.
- Place the meat in a slow cooker.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the sesame oil, rice vinegar, garlic, ginger, beef broth, soy sauce and brown sugar.
- Pour the sauce over the meat and stir to combine.
- Cover the slow cooker and cook on LOW for 4-5 hours or HIGH for 2-3 hours.
- Sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onions, then serve.
Sara says
Wow! This was so good. I didn’t have flank so I used sirloin and it was perfect. My four year old (not a super picky eater but I’d say an average 4 yo when it comes to eating) kept eating it and eating it. This recipe will definitely be in the dinner rotation from now on. My only complaint is this is way too good so I thought we’d have more leftovers for tomorrow but all we have is enough for my husband to take for lunch.
Nerine says
Yum. This was delicious. I wasn’t able to find flank steak so used blade instead. Also substituted Rice Vinegar with Apple Cider Vinegar because thats what I had. Last thing I did was cook it in my pressure cooker. Tasty meal prepped, cooked and on the table within an hour.
Larine Kwolek says
Made this using sirloin, got it on sale for much less than flank steak. Cut it thicker. Did eveything else the same. Both my husband and i loved it. Great recipe.
Ed says
The first time I made this I followed the recipe and it turned out great! I made it a second time using both beef and chicken. My slow cooker is big enough to hold two glass bowls. I doubled the sauce and put half in the bowl with chicken andthe other the other half in with the beef. Both meats turned out good, but, next time I will add the chicken bowl later so as not to over cook.