This slow cooker Mongolian beef is flank steak cooked with garlic, ginger, brown sugar and soy sauce. This crock pot recipe tastes just like a meal you would get at a Chinese restaurant!
Make your own take out with this easy Mongolian beef recipe. This dinner is SO simple to put together and always gets rave reviews from family and friends.
Making meals like this slow cooker Mongolian beef, in the crock pot is one of my favorite things to do. Not only does it allow you to have a nice meal when you’re finished with your day but, it feels like you’re getting to skip all the cooking. It kind of feel like cheating because it makes dinner time that much simpler!
HOW DO YOU MAKE SLOW COOKER MONGOLIAN BEEF?
This Mongolian beef has the rich flavors of ginger, garlic, and brown sugar. It’s cooked slowly in the crock pot so every flavor has a chance to really sink in. When it’s almost ready to be served, the green onions get added to the pot and stirred in. The family is sure to love this one.
I highly suggest slightly freezing the flank steak before slicing it. It makes it much easier to slice if you do so. I prefer using the low sodium soy sauce because it keeps the dish a little healthier and you won’t have to worry about the finished dish being overly salty.
This crock pot Mongolian beef pairs well with steamed rice. I always serve it with a green vegetable on the side such as broccoli or asparagus. Of course, there are many other sides that would work as well, but I love the fresh counterpart of a lightly steamed veggie.
ARE THERE SUBSTITUTES FOR FLANK STEAK?
Yes, there are a few other options that will work for this crock pot Mongolian beef. Flank steak is my favorite option but you can also use skirt steak or even hanger steak if you can get your hands on it. You could also use thinly sliced sirloin steak if desired.
WHY IS IT CALLED MONGOLIAN BEEF?
Mongolian beef was created in Taiwan where dishes like this slow cooker Mongolian beef were popular. That area was where the first Mongolian restaurants started opening up. They made the Mongolian style of food popular which is why the name is carried with dishes like this one.
Looking for Mongolian beef but don’t have the time to wait for it to cook in a crock pot? Try my stove top version!
One thing I’ve learned over the years is that it doesn’t take a ton of work to have a delicious meal. I love this crock pot Mongolian beef because it’s easy, but comes out totally delicious and satisfying. Even my kids love this one!
MORE ASIAN RECIPES YOU’LL LOVE
- Pepper Steak Stir Fry
- Slow Cooker Orange Chicken
- Asian Cucumber Salad
- Cream Cheese Wontons
- Firecracker Chicken
Slow Cooker Mongolian Beef
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds flank steak thinly sliced against the grain
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger
- 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup green onions cut into 1/2 inch pieces
Instructions
- Place the flank steak in a bowl with the cornstarch and toss to coat evenly.
- Add the flank steak to the slow cooker.
- Place the sesame oil, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, brown sugar and water in the slow cooker. Stir to coat the meat in the sauce.
- Cover and cook on HIGH for 2-3 hours or LOW for 4-5 hours.
- Stir in the green onions, then serve.
Gayle H says
What can I add to this to make it hot (spicy hot not temperature hot). Thank you. Just need to get broccoli and then I’m making this!
Sara says
Sriracha or red chili flakes would work!
Anna says
This was delicious! Made it twice and adjusted the ratio of meat:sauce in the second try to a perfection.
Perhaps the difference is due to the slow cooker size and/or brand. Anyway, I used 2 lb meat (maybe a bit more) and the exact amount of sauce ingredients as in the recipe, cooked for 5 hours on high and it came out deep-brown and perfect.
Thank you!
Collin says
Would you just double ingredients if you want to double the portion? I don’t know what you mean by ingredients will recalculate by itself. I made tonight and it was delicious!
Sara says
Yes you can double it. Sometimes people comment that they want to scale up to like 30 servings or something like that, which is why I let them know that if you type a different number of servings into the box in the recipe card it will take care of the math for you.
Rose says
Finally! I’ve been searching for slow cooker Mongolian Beef recipes and tried one or two, but while they were OK, they weren’t great. This is the one I’ve been searching for, so delicious, the meat was so tender. A definite keeper. Thank you!
Christine says
Was very delicious !! Used fresh garlic and ginger. Actually doubled the sauce so there would be plenty for the rice. The only thing will do next time is use just a bit less toasted sesame seed oil. It was a bit stronger than I like. So easy to put together.
Lauren Van Cleef says
This was beyond awesome! Will definitely be making again and watching out for more recipes. Thank you!
sonia says
Mine tasted phenomenal but didn’t have the nice dark colour.. not sure why
But an amazing recipe and thank you 🙂
sonia says
Loved it
Brandy Cavazos says
Was it light or dark brown sugar? Is their a regular???
Rachel says
I’m wondering the same thing!
Sara says
I use light brown sugar!
Heather says
Wondering if I could reduce the sugar
Sara says
I think it could work but I haven’t tested it this way!
Gerrie says
Excellent Dish. Very tasty. Meat was very tender. Served it over mashed potatoes along with a vegetable.
Erin says
Awesome recipe??? Could I make this with chicken breast?
Sara says
Yes that should be fine!
Mary-Riley says
Easy and delicious!
Ann Cammarata says
Made this dish exactly as written but I forgot to add the onion at the very end. The dish was amazing. My oldest son (23 yo) said it might be the best meal I’ve ever made (aside from my family red sauce recipe straight from Siciliy). So easy – full of flavor and perfect with a side of steamed broccoli and sticky white rice. This sicilian will be trying more of your recipes soon.
Monica says
Would love your red sauce recipe!! Always trying to find the perfect one.
Erica says
I would love your red sauce recipe, too! If you don’t mind sharing 🙂 Thank you so much!
Daley says
The 1st I made this I used flank steak, which is a little pricey. The next time I used stew meat, cut into chunks. It turned out great. Since then I have made this recipe several times, a family favorite.
Kerry Stein says
Did it take longer with the stew meat?
Jeff says
Family loved it!! Even my picky daughter!
Beth matlin says
Hello, is there anything I could substitute for the soy sauce?
Thank you!
Beth
Sara says
You could try tamari or liquid aminos.
Beth says
Thank you very much! I made it and it was delicious!!
Amy Braden says
I want to use your recipe for slow cooker Mongolian beef, but your calculator is messing with my head. How can I measure 1.4 tsp of garlic, or .7 cup soy sauce?
Sara says
It sounds like you changed the number of servings, try refreshing and it should fix itself!
Patty says
Why do you not brown the flank steak first??
Thanks
Sara says
It’s really not necessary for this recipe and adds an extra dirty dish and time. That being said it probably will work fine if you choose to brown it!
Lisa O. says
This was a delicious! I cooked mine on low for about 4 1/2 hours. I did not take the lid off until I was ready to serve. Tried to give it a stir and the meat had disintegrated. The bits of meat were so fine you could have fed it to a baby. So, I’m not so sure how thin you need to cut the meat. Also, I used regular soy sauce because that’s what I had on hand. It was pretty salty, so if you have any issues with sodium or salt taste, I would use the low sodium soy sauce like the recipe recommends.
Cindi McFadden says
5++++++ Stars! My picky teenager said this was the best Chinese dish he’s ever had!
Fresher tasting than take-out! Used fresh ginger and garlic.
Soooo easy! I used a 6 qt. crock pot and just doubled the recipe. Came out perfect using High 2-3 hours.
For 3 people everyone wanted extra servings so doubling it worked out wonderfully.
Outstanding!!
Please post some more yummy crock pot recipes 🙂
Ted says
Going to try this tonight. Sounds delicious. 3/19/2021
Judi says
I can’t wait to try this recipe but Is the minced ginger and garlic jarred or is it fresh? Thank you.
Sara says
I use fresh!
Judi says
Thank you! I also have one other question. Do you think it would be ok for me to use regular soy sauce instead of low sodium? We are not bothered too much by the sodium content but just don’t know if it will taste too salty. Thank you.