This Slow Cooker Mongolian Beef is so quick and easy — throw everything in the crockpot and let it cook! Tender strips of steak, covered in a rich, dark sauce full of Asian flavours with a touch of sweetness.
I know sometimes it seems like a tragedy to put steak in the slow cooker.
When I sent my husband grocery shopping for this dish, I requested sirloin steak — a nice, lean, middle of the line steak. He purchased striploin steak — an incredible, but pricey, cut of steak we reserve only for the grill.
The crockpot does such an amazing job at tenderizing less expensive cuts of meat, there is really no need to go all out here!
Just throw everything in and let it cook away for a good part of the day and know that dinner is taken care of.
This Slow Cooker Mongolian Beef has a rich, dark sauce — not too sour or too spicy, compared to the Honey Balsamic Pulled Pork or the Sweet & Spicy Coconut Grilled Chicken. The flavours are a lot more subtle in this dish, and it goes perfectly over rice or noodles.
I love using my slow cooker for supper when I’m going to be home all day. Maybe that sounds weird to you, as it’s such a great appliance to use when you’re going to be gone all day. But sometimes I just love having a full day to “relax” (like that ever happens) and not even having to make supper when 5:00 rolls around. It’s about as good as a staycation gets for us these days.
So I put this in the slow cooker day on a rainy Monday off from work and spent a lazy afternoon on the couch — it was the perfect end to a long weekend!
The recipe makes a good amount of sauce. We like a lot of sauce, perfect for spooning over whatever else is on your plate!
How to Make Slow Cooker Mongolian Beef
- I have made this recipe and browned the beef first in a frying pan before adding it to the slow cooker. It’s an extra step that isn’t necessary, but the steak will hold in the juices instead of diluting the sauce.
- If you don’t like your peppers and onions soft, feel free to just toss them in for the last hour — I put mine in for the whole cooking time. Once again, laziness. Do whatever works for you, and whatever your family prefers.
- If you like things spicy, feel free to add in a pinch of red pepper flakes when you’re stirring up the sauce!
{Slow Cooker} Mongolian Beef
written by Ashley Fehr
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs steak sliced very thin (I love using sirloin for this recipe)
- 1 medium onion sliced thin
- 1 red pepper sliced
- 3/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/2 cup hoisin sauce
- 1/2 cup apricot jam
- 1 tbsp garlic
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 3 tbsp corn starch
Instructions
- In the slow cooker, combine the water, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, apricot jam, corn starch, garlic, and ginger with a whisk until smooth.
- Add steak, peppers and onions to the slow cooker (OPTIONAL: if you like your vegetables tender-crisp, add them in the last hour of cooking)
- Cook on low for 5-6 hours or high for 3-4 hours. Serve over rice or noodles.
Notes
Nutrition Information
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Angela Huffman says
My husband made this and he’s the kind of person that doesn’t really go by recipes unless it’s the first time he’s making something. So he did use this recipe but still tweaks Catina things and regardless it was by far AMAZING!! The recipe says a medium onion and he went with chopped green onion ,he eliminated the ginger, the corn starch, and the apricot jam. We also used Basmati rice as opposed to regular rice. I don’t know if taking those item out has a huge impact but this dish was the best Mongolian steak & Peppers I’ve ever had!
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Angela, and thanks for sharing the swaps you made as well!
Terry Holowaty says
Decided to give this a try – made it tonight and I was thinking it was smelling too much like molasses, probably from the hoisin sauce. But I didn’t change anything except add some red chili flakes because I like heat. It is absolutely amazing!!!! The rating area is not allowing me to give any stars but I give it 5!!
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Terry!
Linda says
How long would you cook the beef in the Instant Pot??
Ashley Fehr says
With thin strips, just a few minutes likely so they aren’t overcooked.
Aiysha Q says
Made it today, everyone loved it especially the sauce. Very easy to make, just throw everything in the slow cooker and forget it. I would give it five stars.
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Aiysha!
Marci says
I love Hoisin Sauce, I always have some on hand. I make a similar sauce for stir fries but I’m intrigued by the apricot jam, sounds good. BUT I don’t have any…….I was thinking that pepper jelly would work instead, and as a bonus would also add some heat…?? And tang? What do you think?
Ashley Fehr says
I think pepper jelly would definitely work but will change the flavor for sure! I’d love to hear how it goes!
Sandy Jump says
Can u make in an instant pot, and if so how long to cook?
Ashley Fehr says
Yes, you definitely could but I can’t estimate a cook time just yet as I haven’t tried. I will have to come up with an Instant Pot version soon!
Nina says
Yes please for an instant pot version!
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Nina! I will add it to my list!
Danielle says
I am just drooling over this sauce. What a neat idea to use the apricot jam!
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Danielle!
Val says
I’m not able to print the recipe. The print button seems not activated.
Ashley Fehr says
It is activated but if you have pop ups blocked the print page will be blocked
Wes says
made this and it was good the first night and even better as left overs 2 days later.
A must have receipt
Ashley Fehr says
I’m so happy to hear that!
Karen Bergeron says
Can this recipe be doubled to make for a larger group of people?
Ashley Fehr says
It can definitely be doubled! I would make sure you use a 4 quart slow cooker or larger.
Louie says
Above the picture of the Mongolian beef
It said TENDER BEEF IN A RICH DARK SWEET AND SOUR SAUCE !!!
In your recipe I don’t see any thing about adding something to make
It SOUR ,did you forget to put that in the recipe????
Ashley Fehr says
My apologies. I’ve updated the recipe description to “tangy”. The apricot jam does add some “tang”
Lisa says
This looks amazing! I would love to try this but I’m allergic to apricot. Is there anything I can substitute or can the apricot jam be omitted altogether?
Ashley Fehr says
Hi Lisa! The apricot jam can definitely be omitted. If you like things with a touch of sweetness, I would substitute maybe orange marmalade or even some brown sugar.
Lisa says
Great, thanks! How much brown sugar would you recommend?
Ashley Fehr says
I would start with a tablespoon or two and adjust to your tastes. Hope that helps!
Lisa says
Will be trying it out this weekend. Thank you!
Tracey says
Is the garlic powder?
Ashley Fehr says
If it’s garlic powder it will say garlic powder, if it says garlic it is minced garlic.
CathyA says
This was fantastic!! I am not a fan of ginger so I omitted. However, I love garlic so I probably added about six cloves. As suggested, I browned the beef (boneless sirloin) prior to adding to the crock pot to prevent effecting the sauce. Used lite soy. Did not thicken at the end per hubby since he was happy with the sauce as-is. Added blanched broccoli to each serving and served over thin spaghetti. I think I’d like to add a little heat next time so will be trying with a couple chili peppers.
Because yes, there will be a next time!!!
thank you!!!
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks Cathy! So glad to hear you liked it!
Cathy says
Looks fabulous! Would it be suitable to freeze?
Ashley Fehr says
I have never frozen it before. Would you want to freeze it before cooking or after? I would think you could slice the beef and freeze with the sauce before cooking, but I’m not sure about after. I’m sure you could, I’m just not sure how it would change the texture or quality!
Amy Holcomb says
I don’t see in the instruction when you add the hoisin?
Ashley says
“Soy sauce through apricot jam” means including everything in between the two. That is where you will add the hoisin. Hope that helps!
Alice @ Hip Foodie Mom says
Dude, I love mongolian beef. . can’t wait to try this, Ashley!
Ashley says
Me too!
Maria says
What size slow cooker did you use? I have a 7 quart and find that it’s often too big for many recipes, drying out the meat due to not being full enough and delivering too much heat
Ashley says
I have a 6 quart and find that happens often too! When I know I need to leave something in all day, I often put the meat in frozen so that it doesn’t get overcooked. Otherwise I set it for a lower time and let it go to Keep Warm.
Dan says
I love this served over pasta instead of rice- I would have never thought of that! Sounds amazing.
Ashley says
Thanks Dan! It would be great over rice as well!
Jason says
Making this right now, waiting patiently until it is finished! We love our slow cook meals when we’re all busy with work and school here at home. Looking forward for the finished product, smells delicious already.
Ashley says
Thanks Jason! I hope you like it!
Brooke says
I made this tonight and I don’t know what went wrong. I followed the recipe exactly. The sauce never thickened up and in the end all you could taste was cornstarch.
Ashley says
I’m sorry to hear that! Maybe your beef let out a lot if juices that diluted the sauce? Next time you could try the browning first — it helps seal in the beef juices. Hope that helps!
Anne says
I work at home and the crock pot is a life saver! I’ve found in the last few years that you really can’t leave a recipe cooking all day because newer crock pots cook at higher temperatures, even on low, so that chicken dishes take only about 2-3 hours to cook and pot roast is done in no more than 5-6 hours tops. I’m really looking forward to trying the Mongolian Beef!
Ashley says
Thanks Anne! It was a big adjustment when my old one broke and I got a new one. My new one actually cooks at a lower temperature, but my previous one was still pretty new.
Lee willie says
This sounds pretty nice, would this work with bone in chicken thighs, browned first?
Ashley says
I think that would work very well! The sauce would add great flavour. I’m just not sure on the cooking time, with bone-in thighs, you might want to cook it a little longer.
Kathy says
So…has anybody tried adding other vegetables to this dish? Broccoli or baby carrots?
Just curious….
Ashley says
I’m sure both would be great, though I’m not sure about cooking time. The carrots might require more cooking time than the beef, and I’m not sure about the broccoli. It’s worth a shot!
Michelle says
Hi Ashley,
This really looks great and I will make it. Although I do have a question, you say in the recipe: Combine the soy sauce through apricot jam in a medium bowl. Pour into the slow cooker, but when do you add in the Hoisin sauce, the garlic and the ginger and also when do you put in the 1 cup of water? Maybe I didn’t read it good, but it is not mentioned anywhere.
Ashley says
Hi Michelle, when I refer to combining the soy sauce through apricot jam, I mean to combine those 2 ingredients and everything in between. Hope that helps! Let me know how you like it 🙂
Michelle says
Thanks Ashley for replying so fast, I understand now so I will be making it this week. I am sure it will taste even better then it looks, and believe me it looks very good.
Ashley says
Thanks Michelle! Hope you like it!
Blair says
Hi! I’m the editor of AllFreeSlowCookerRecipes.com. I’d love to link to this recipe and other slow cooker recipes you might have, with full credit to you. This would drive traffic right back to your blog and we’d be able to share your great recipes with our readers. Please let me know if we can discuss working together further. You can reach me via our customer service (https://www.allfreeslowcookerrecipes.com/index.php/hct/contact_us_page). Thanks! Blair
Susan says
Sounds delicious, looks foolproof, I’m in! Does it matter whether I use light or dark soy sauce? I have both but wondered which you used?
Ashley says
I am not a huge lover of soy sauce (I find it can be so salty!) so I would use light. But if you really like the flavour you could use the dark.
Melissa French, The More With Less Mom says
I want this so bad. I love Mongolian. Thanks for sharing. Hello from Freedom Fridays!
Ashley says
Thanks for stopping by!
Lori Hart says
This looks amazing!! Found your recipe at Pint Sized Baker’s Two-Cup Tuesday. I am one of the hostesses of Tickle My Tastebuds and would love you to stop by and link up this recipe if you have not yet already. Here is the link
https://bit.ly/1wsjSLy
Ashley says
Thanks Lori! I just shared the new recipe I posted today 🙂
Debbie says
Saw this posted on Facebook and it looked good so made it today. That sauce is amazing! Will definately make this again.
Ashley says
Thanks Debbie! It’s always nice to hear how recipes work for others!
Elizabeth says
Oh my!! This just looks fantastic!! I am sure the combo of jam and hoisin is just wonderful. Plus, I imagine the meat gets so tender in the slow cooker. I am making this soon!! Pinning.
Ashley says
Thanks Elizabeth! The slow cooker can so some pretty amazing things!
Kathleen @ Fearlessly Creative Mammas says
So right now, I have drool coming out of the corner of my mouth. Seriously. I love my slow cooker, all the time. I also really love Mongolian Beef. I am going to add this to the menu this next week. It looks so good. YUM.
Ashley says
Let me know how you like it Kathleen!
[email protected] says
This looks incredible! I’m pinning this to try. 🙂
Ashley says
Thanks Marcie! Let me know what you think!
Jess @ On Sugar Mountain says
Ashley this looks like an amazing meal! It’s been over 90 degrees here in NJ and I can definitely see myself throwing this together in the crock pot to enjoy later on a hot summer day. As if I need any other excuse to eat mongolian beef other than it being utterly delicious, though. 😉
Ashley says
Lol. Slow cookers are incredible machines! They are perfect in all seasons, but we don’t have AC so it’s definitely a must in the summer!
Annie @Maebells says
This looks fantastic! I am a big crock pot fan too! I am adding this to my “to try” list!
Ashley says
Thanks Annie! Let me know how you like it!
Krista @ Joyful Healthy Eats says
OH my goodness I can smell it already! I was just making a shopping list for the week… this dish is so on it. We love Mongolian Beef.. but in the crock pot? I think I’m in love! Pinned!
Ashley says
Thanks Krista! Everything Crockpot is a win in my books!
Matt Robinson says
Saw this on IG, so glad I did. It looks amazing! Bookmarked:)
Ashley says
Thanks Matt! We love our Asian food!