Slow cooker braised steak and onions

Slow cooker braised steak and onions is an easy meal that proves you can make a delicious supper using only a few simple ingredients. Made with chunks of tender beef, cooked in a thick and luscious onion gravy, this dish is perfect for serving on top of a pile of buttery mashed potatoes.

Braised steak and onions is a classic British dish that featured regularly on our dinner table when I was growing up. It's a simple recipe by today's standards and uses only 2 main ingredients - beef and onions. But don't let the lack of ingredients fool you - this dish has an amazing flavour.

It's a bit like my traditional meat and potato pie recipe, which is another dish with few ingredients but wouldn't be out of place in a restaurant. This takes a bit more effort because you have to make a quick suet pastry to cover the pie, but I have to say it's worth the effort!

But back to the steak and onion recipe. The beef is melt-in-the-mouth tender, having been left to cook all day in the crockpot. The gravy is packed with sweet onions that break down and flavour the delicious thick gravy with their goodness.

All you need by way of accompaniment is a pile of creamy mashed potatoes or rumbledethumps and perhaps a green vegetable such as peas or string beans and you have a delicious family supper with minimum effort on your part.

Of course, you can push the boat out and add extra ingredients if you have them to hand. I'm giving you the basic recipe as we ate it back in the day. For more suggestions, see the Variations section further down the post.

Jump to:

• What I love about this recipe
• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Tips for a perfect result
• Serving Suggestions
• Variations
• Equipment
• Storage
• FAQ
• Save for later
• Related Recipes
• 📋The recipe

What I love about this recipe

I love this recipe for so many reasons:

• It's economical - the slow cooker is ideal for turning a cheaper cut of beef into a succulent tasty meal.
• Minimum effort - there's not much effort involved in preparing this meal. All you have to do is brown the beef in seasoned flour and let the slow cooker do the rest of the work.
• Family-friendly - even the pickiest of eaters loves a helping of mashed potatoes swimming in lashings of tasty gravy and succulent meat.

Let me show you how easy it is to make this dish.

Ingredients

This recipe will feed 4 people, but you can easily adjust the quantities to feed more.

• Beef - I like to use chuck or braising steak for this recipe, but you could use topside too. The meat should be cut into bite-sized pieces and any visible fat and sinews removed.
• Onions - the onions should be peeled and coarsely sliced. The number of onions you will need depends on the size of the onions. 2 to 3 cups of chopped onions will be more than enough for 4 people.
• Worcestershire sauce - this adds a richness to the gravy.
• Tomato paste - you may know it as tomato puree - this is highly concentrated tomatoes and not to be confused with tomato ketchup or tomato sauce.
• Flour - this is used to coat the beef before it is browned, and also to thicken the gravy.
• Beef stock pot - if you have fresh beef stock, by all means use that. I find a stock pot is convenient to use.
• You will also need salt and pepper for seasoning and a small amount of sunflower or other vegetable oil for browning the meat.

**See the printable recipe card at the end of this post for exact quantities**

Instructions

And these are the easy steps:

Tips for a perfect result

Here are my top tips to ensure the perfect outcome:

• When browning the steak ensure the oil sizzles before you add the meat.
• If you have a lot of steak, don't add it all at once. Brown the steak in batches so that it sears quickly. If you add too much at once you may find the steak releases moisture and stews rather than browns.
• If there is any flour left over from coating the meat use this instead of adding extra flour. There should be sufficient juices left in the pan after browning the meat to absorb the flour. If there are no juices left, add a splash of water or oil to help release any bits from the pan.
• Once you have added the stock to the pan, keep the heat to low and stir well to ensure all the lumps of flour have combined with the stock. The stock should not be thick at this stage, it will thicken further in the slow cooker.
• Once the meat has cooked, taste for seasoning and add extra salt if necessary.
• If the gravy needs thickening, turn the slow cooker to high and stir in a mixture of one tablespoon of flour and 2 tablespoons of water until the gravy is thickened to your liking. Leave it for 10 minutes to allow the flour time to cook out. You may not need all the flour/water mixture.

Serving Suggestions

Because there is plenty of gravy in this braised steak and onion dish, I like to serve it over a mound of creamy mashed potatoes, but it would be equally good served on a bed of white rice.

Add your vegetables of choice such as peas, carrots, green beans or cabbage as a side dish.

Variations

I've provided the basic recipe. You can vary it to suit your own taste. Here are a few suggestions.

• Use a combination of onions and red or green peppers (capsicums).
• Add a cup of sliced mushrooms with the onions.
• Add a teaspoon of paprika to the flour before coating the beef.
• If you would like extra vegetables, add a cup of potatoes, sliced carrots or other vegetables.
• Flavour the onions with one or two cloves of chopped garlic.

Equipment

This is the equipment you will need to make this dish.

• Slow cooker - unfortunately my slow-cooker doesn't have a timer so I have to remember how long it's been on for. Next time I need to replace my slow cooker I'd probably go for one with a timer.
• Frying pan - which is used for browning the meat and preparing the stock.
• Small mixing bowl - will be handy for coating the meat with flour.
• Sharp knife for cutting up the ingredients, and a chopping board, which will not only protect your work surface but also protect your knife edge.

Storage

This braised steak and onion dish freezes well. Allow it to cool and transfer it to a freezer-safe container. You can freeze it for up to three months.

To use, allow it to defrost in the refrigerator (or use the microwave if you are in a hurry) and then reheat in a saucepan on the stove until it is piping hot.

Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for up to three days and reheated in the same way.

FAQ

Save for later

If you would like to try this braised steak and onion recipe why not save it to one of your Pinterest boards so you can find it easily? Just click the image below.

Alternatively, you can save the recipe by clicking on the floating heart icon on the right-hand side of the screen.

Related Recipes

Visit my slow cooker recipes page for other similar recipes. In the meantime here are a few of my popular beef slow cooker recipes you may enjoy.

📋The recipe

If you made this recipe and enjoyed it, I'd love it if you could give me a star rating in the comments below. And if you'd like to get in touch, you can email me at [email protected]. I'd love to hear from you. And don't forget to subscribe to my mailing list so you can grab yourself a copy of my FREE COOKBOOK!

If you'd like to continue browsing, just click on this link to all my recipes.