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Slow Cooker Mongolian Beef

written by Ashley Fehr

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4.78 from 9 votes
Prep Time 5 mins
Total Time 5 hrs 5 mins
Servings 6 servings

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Published on August 16, 2018 / Last updated on October 20, 2020

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.

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Slow cooker mongolian beef in white crockpot with peppers and green onions being scooped in a metal spoon
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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.

slow cooker mongolian beef on bed of white rice on a grey and white plate up close

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!

slow cooker mongolian beef strips on white rice on a grey plate overhead with yellow striped towel on the side

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!
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{Slow Cooker} Mongolian Beef

written by Ashley Fehr

4.78 from 9 votes
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.
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. #slowcooker #crockpot #beef #mongolian #aisain #chinese
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Prep Time 5 mins
Cook Time 5 hrs
Total Time 5 hrs 5 mins
Cuisine American
Course Main Course
Servings 6 servings
Calories 331cal

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ 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
  • 1/3 cup soy sauce
  • 1/3 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

*See notes in post above regarding browning steak first and adding peppers later.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 331cal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 69mg | Sodium: 1513mg | Potassium: 440mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 640IU | Vitamin C: 27.1mg | Calcium: 26mg | Iron: 2.8mg

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Meet Ashley

My name is Ashley Fehr and I love creating easy meals my family loves. I also like to do things my way, which means improvising and breaking the rules when necessary. Here you will find creative twists on old favorites and some of my favorite family recipes, passed down from generations!

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Comments

  1. 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?

    Reply

  2. 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!!!

    Reply

    • 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!

      Reply

    • 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!

      Reply

  6. 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

    Reply

    • 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.

      Reply

  8. 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.

    Reply

  9. 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.

    Reply

    • 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!

      Reply

  10. 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!

    Reply

    • 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.

      Reply

    • 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.

      Reply

    • 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!

      Reply

  13. 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.

    Reply

    • 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 🙂

      Reply

  14. 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

    Reply

  15. 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?

    Reply

    • 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.

      Reply

  17. 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

    Reply

  18. Debbie says

    Saw this posted on Facebook and it looked good so made it today. That sauce is amazing! Will definately make this again.

    Reply

  19. 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.

    Reply

  22. 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. 😉

    Reply

    • 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!

      Reply

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