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.
Table of Contents
Slow Cooker Korean Beef Ingredients
To make this recipe, you will need flank steak, cornstarch, sesame oil, rice vinegar, garlic, ginger, beef broth, low sodium soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame seeds and green onions.
How Do You Make Slow Cooker Korean Beef?
Place the steak and cornstarch in a bowl. Toss the two ingredients together, then transfer the meat to a slow cooker. In a small bowl, whisk together the sauce ingredients. Pour the sauce over the meat, then stir everything together. Cook on low for 4-5 hours, or high for 2-3 hours. Add a sprinkle of sesame seeds and green onions, then serve and enjoy.
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.
- 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 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.
- Leftovers will stay fresh in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Quick Tip
The easiest way to get thin strips of meat is to partially freeze your steak before you slice it.
Recipe FAQs
Korean beef is typically referred to as bulgogi. This is a specific dish that consists of marinated meat that is grilled. For this particular recipe, the dish contains Korean flavors, but is not a true bulgogi as it is cooked in a crock pot.
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.
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Flavor Variations
This dish is fabulous as-is, but you can change up the ingredients to customize the flavors to your tastes.
- Meat: You can make this dish with other types of protein. Some great options include thinly sliced pork tenderloin, chunks of boneless chicken thigh or even cooked and crumbled ground beef!
- Vegetables: Feel free to add some vegetables during the last 30 minutes of the cooking time. Some great options include broccoli, snow peas, thinly sliced carrots, cabbage or green beans.
- Flavorings: Add some kick to the sauce by stirring in some Korean gochujang sauce. You can also use a little sriracha or crushed red pepper flakes.
This dish is great for meal prep. Simply divide equal amounts of beef and rice into meal prep containers and store in the fridge until you’re ready to eat. I make this slow cooker Korean beef constantly, it’s so easy and flavorful and tastes just like the restaurant version.
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Slow Cooker Korean Beef Video
Love This Recipe?
Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
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.
Notes
- The easiest way to get thin strips of meat is to partially freeze your steak before you slice it.
- 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.
My family loved this Korean beef recipe! And I loved that it’s made in the slow cooker. Thanks for a great recipe!
Nice flavours you add to it and sesame seeds are always a good finishing touch
This Slow Cooker Korean Beef recipe is an absolute winner! The combination of tender beef, rich flavors, and the convenience of the slow cooker make it a must-try.
This recipe is a winner for those busy weeknight dinners. I like how I can just throw it together quickly and the slow cooker does the rest!
I’m in love with this Korean beef recipe, so easy to make and seriously delicious!
So delicious! I doubled the sauce, added in a little more corn starch. When it was ready I sautéed some peppers, broccoli, snow peas and then mixed it together. Ate it over jasmine rice! Wonderful!
This is a real “go to” recipe for when my adult kids come over. They love it. Simple, uncomplicated, can add all sorts of sides.
So easy and delicious. One of our favorites!
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.
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.
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.
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.