Slow Cooker Mongolian Beef is so much better than your average take-out! Tender strips of steak are smothered in a rich, dark, flavorful Asian sauce that’s got just the right touch of sweetness. The best part? It’s so easy to make by tossing everything in a slow cooker!
Craving more of your take-out favorites? Check out more easy recipes like Sweet and Sour Pork, One Pot Chicken Chow Mein and Vegetable Lo Mein.
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You could order takeout, but in my opinion (and the opinion of the reviewers down below!), this Slow Cooker Mongolian Beef is easier, tastier and healthier!
That’s why I rely on recipes like this easy slow cooker Mongolian beef when the craving strikes! Everything gets tossed into the Crockpot and cooked to perfection in just a few hours.
It’s easy, made with real ingredients, and the results are always so good.
Why we love it:
- Protein-packed: If you need to get that extra protein fix in for the day, this is a great dinner to make! Steak always hits the spot (especially if you ask my husband 😉).
- Fresh ingredients: Let’s face it… Most take-out joints don’t offer the freshest flavors. With ingredients like fresh chopped bell peppers and minced garlic, you’ll get the best textures and flavors in every bite.
- So easy: Yes! I love whipping out my slow cooker for a lot of reasons, namely because it just makes life so much easier.
Elizabeth says, “⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I have made this many times as my husband loves it, I do as well 🥰. It’s such an easy recipe to pull together on a busy day, the slow cook produces a delicious meal.”
Crista says, “⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Fantastic recipe. Quick, easy and my family loved it! Will be making again.”
Ingredients Needed for Slow Cooker Mongolian Beef
- Steak – Sirloin is my favorite cut to use when making Mongolian beef. It’s relatively inexpensive and because we’re slow cooking it, we can get away with a leaner steak.
- Soy Sauce – Low-sodium soy sauce is preferred. Tamari or coconut aminos will also get the job done.
- Apricot Jam – This adds a subtle, natural touch of sweetness that just can’t be beat!
- Hoisin Sauce – This dark, thick, rich sauce adds both saltiness and sweetness to the dish.
- Cornstarch – This is used to thicken the sauce. Measure with care!
- Veggies – Freshly sliced onions and bell peppers add just the right amount of crisp, fresh texture and flavor to this savory dish.
- Garlic and ginger – For the best flavor and aroma, make sure both of these ingredients are fresh!
How to make Slow Cooker Mongolian Beef
Take a quick look at these photos to see how we make Mongolian beef in the slow cooker! Keep scrolling for more in-depth instructions and ingredients in the recipe card.
- Sear the steak in a skillet over high heat with a little oil.
- Whisk together the apricot jam, soy sauce, hoisin, garlic, ginger and cornstarch.
- Add the steak and veggies to the Crockpot.
- Cover and cook on low for 2-3 hours.
Variations and Substitutions
- Swap the steak: Sirloin is my favorite steak to use, but you can use really any other cut of steak that you prefer! The low and slow cooking process will turn any cut of steak into a tender masterpiece.
- Add more vegetables: You can make this dinner as nutritious as you’d like! Feel free to toss in some broccoli, mushrooms, green beans, or whatever else sounds good to you.
- Make it spicy: Sprinkle in some crushed red pepper flakes if you’re craving some heat. You can also mix in some chili garlic sauce to spice things up!
- Add the peppers and onions whenever: 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. Do whatever works for you, and whatever your family prefers.
How to store Mongolian Beef
Once it cools to room temperature, you can store any leftovers you have in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days. To reheat, add a splash of water or broth and pop it in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time, stirring each time it stops, until heated all the way through.
You can also add a splash of liquid and reheat it on the stovetop.
Can I freeze Mongolian beef?
Yes! Let cool fully to room temperature, then transfer everything to a freezer-safe airtight container. Freeze for up to 3 months
When you’re ready to enjoy the Mongolian beef, you can let it thaw in the fridge, or place it in a large skillet with a splash of water or broth. Cover and heat on low until warmed through.
Keep in mind that the vegetables will be quite soft after freezing, so you may want to leave them out until you are ready to serve.
Do I have to sear the steak first?
I personally prefer to sear the steak first so the juices don’t water down the sauce too much. However, you can save yourself a little effort and cleaning by just tossing the steak directly into the Crockpot (this is how I made this recipe originally!).
Serving suggestions:
Serve Mongolian beef over this baked rice or the noodles of your choice. You want something to catch all of that amazing sauce so not a single drop goes to waste!
I love serving with something green like these Roasted Green Beans or this Air Fryer Broccoli.
{Slow Cooker} Mongolian Beef
written by Ashley Fehr
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 ½ lbs steak (sliced very thin) I often use sirloin
- salt and pepper
- ½ medium onion (thinly sliced)
- 1 red pepper (thinly sliced)
- ¾ cup water
- ½ cup apricot jam
- ⅓ cup low sodium soy sauce
- ⅓ cup hoisin sauce
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic (about 3-4 cloves)
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger
- 2 tablespoons corn starch
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over high heat and add the oil.
- Add the steak strips and sear on each side, about 1-2 minutes per side (you may have to do this in two batches to avoid crowding the pan).
- Add the seared steak, peppers and onions to the slow cooker.
- Whisk together water, jam, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, garlic, ginger and corn starch. Pour over steak in slow cooker.
- Cover and cook on low for 2-3 hours, until tender and the sauce has thickened. Serve over rice or noodles.
Notes
- Steak: you can use almost any kind of steak in this recipe, since the slow cooker makes it nice and tender. I prefer to use sirloin, because it’s a mid-range steak that’s not too lean or too fatty.
- Vegetables: feel free to swap the onions and peppers for vegetables you enjoy or add in more. Green beans, green peppers, mushrooms or broccoli would also be great in here!
- Sauce: this sauce is a little sweet, savory and tangy. You can take things up a notch by adding a pinch of red pepper flakes for heat. You can also taste and adjust the seasonings before serving.
Nutrition Information
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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!
marcie@flavorthemoments 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!