Slow Cooker Beef with Mushroom Gravy

Slow cooker beef chuck and cremini mushrooms in a rich brown gravy served over mashed potatoes on a pink scalloped plate garnished with fresh parsley.

Tender chunks of beef chuck slow cooked for 8 hours in a rich mushroom gravy made with beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, and cremini mushrooms. You sear the beef, add everything to the slow cooker, and walk away. Dinner is ready when you get back and your house smells like you actually tried. Serve over mashed potatoes, egg noodles, or rice.

Prep Time15

Cook Time8

Total Time8 15

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: beef with mushroom gravy, slow cooker beef with mushroom gravy

Servings:

Calories: 348kcal

Author: Joanna Cismaru

Ingredients

2 pounds beef chuck cut into cubes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion diced
2 cups cremini mushrooms sliced
2 cups beef broth low sodium
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce low sodium
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 beef bouillon cube
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons water

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add 2 pounds cubed beef chuck and sear the beef for 3 to 4 minutes until browned on the outside.
Transfer the browned beef to the slow cooker. Add 1 diced onion and 2 cups sliced mushrooms to the slow cooker. Pour in 2 cups beef broth, 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, and 1 tablespoon soy sauce. Add 1 beef bouillon cube, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon black pepper. Stir everything together.
Cover and cook on Low for 6 to 8 hours or High for 4 hours until the beef is tender.
In a small bowl, mix 2 tablespoons cornstarch with 3 tablespoons water to make a slurry. Stir the cornstarch mixture into the slow cooker, cover, and cook for another 20 minutes until the gravy thickens.
Serve over mashed potatoes, rice, or egg noodles.

Notes

Do the sear and do not rush it. Five minutes of standing over a hot pan is the entire difference between beef that tastes flat and gray and beef that tastes like something worth making again. Get the oil shimmering, leave the beef alone for a full 3 to 4 minutes per side, and do not crowd the pan. Brown in batches if you need to. The slow cooker will take care of everything else for the next 8 hours.
Mix the cornstarch with cold water before it goes in. Always cold water, never hot. Hot water activates the cornstarch before it has a chance to disperse evenly and you end up with lumps in the gravy. Whisk it into cold water first until completely smooth, then stir it into the slow cooker. Twenty minutes later the gravy will be thick, glossy, and exactly what we are going for.
Do not lift the lid while it cooks. Every time we open the slow cooker we release heat and add 20 to 30 minutes to the cook time. The slow cooker does not need us checking in on it. It is fine. We are the ones with the problem. Leave it alone, go do something else, and come back to a finished dinner like the genius we are.

Nutrition