Crockpot Beef Tips are an easy to make weeknight dinner recipe that always hit the spot! Slowly cooked till they are fall-apart-tender, these beef tips are rich, hearty, and full of savory flavor for the ultimate comfort food dinner.
Fork Tender Beef Tips In The Crockpot
Why do we love our crockpots? Because slow cookers famously do all the work for you! There’s no need to hover over a hot stovetop when you make these crockpot beef tips. With this easy recipe, you just need to plug in your crockpot and relax as it cooks the meat until it’s perfectly tender.
There are plenty of ingredients here that ensure the meat isn’t just tender, but also has a deep savory flavor in a rich brown gravy. Beef broth, gravy packets (or cornstarch), Worcestershire sauce and more mix together to create a medley of seriously mouthwatering flavors. Your kitchen will smell SO good as the meat slowly cooks!
When you make crockpot beef tips, you’re allowing the meat enough time to really take on all of the flavors of the ingredients it’s cooked with. The end result is a flavorful gravy and just as flavorful meat! Make sure you serve it over mashed potatoes, noodles, or rice, so that you can make sure none of that gravy goes to waste.
If you aren’t feeling the crockpot, we also have easy recipes for Stovetop Beef Tips or Instant Pot Beef Tips!
Ingredients Needed
You will only need a few ingredients for these easy crockpot beef tips. Most of the ingredients are pantry stables that you probably already have on hand!
- Beef Tips – You’ll need about two pounds of beef tips.
- Salt & Pepper – Freshly cracked black pepper will give you the most flavor.
- Garlic – Use fresh garlic cloves, not the pre-minced stuff.
- Beef Broth – Avoid a salty gravy by using low sodium beef broth.
- Worcestershire Sauce – The rich umami flavor in this sauce really enhances the overall savory flavor of the gravy.
- Beef Bouillon – Beef bouillon really pumps up the beef flavor and you do not want to skip it. We like to use Better Than Bouillon, as opposed to the bouillon cubes, as it helps to keep the sodium down while still adding to the signature beef flavor. Do NOT skip out on this ingredient – it’s the key to great gravy!
- Brown Gravy Packets – We like to use low sodium gravy packets for the little extra beef flavor they add, but you can use cornstarch instead if you prefer.
What Are Beef Tips?
Beef tips are bite size pieces of beef, traditionally the leftover scrap cuts off a beef tenderloin, cooked until fork tender in a savory brown gravy. However, beef tips have grown in popularity and many grocery stores now carry different cuts of meat and label them as beef tips. Anything from pieces of sirloin to stew meat can be labeled as beef tips. Stew meat is usually made from a rump roast or chuck roast, both of which are a tougher cut of meat.
Usually when making beef tips, I recommend tenderloin beef tips (or sirloin beef tips) to produce the most tender beef bites. However, stew meat works great in this crockpot recipe, since the low and slow cooking time will help break down the meat making it tender. If using stew meat, I highly recommend cooking your beef tips on low for 6 to 8 hours.
How to Make Beef Tips in the Crockpot
This is one of those amazing dump and go style crockpot recipes. You don’t have to sear the meat, unless you want to, just add everything to the crockpot and let it do all the work!
- Prepare the Crockpot. Spray the crockpot insert with a light coat of nonstick spray.
- Place everything in the Crockpot. Season the beef tips with salt and pepper, then place the meat in the Crockpot. Add remaining ingredients. Stir and cover with a lid.
- Cook. Cook on low for 6-8 hours until meat is tender.
- Stir everything together. Once the beef is nice and tender, stir everything together in the crockpot. Note that the gravy will thicken once stirred.
- Enjoy! Serve immediately with mashed potatoes, rice, or egg noodles.
Tips For Best Results
- Should I Sear The Meat? There’s no need to sear or brown the meat! Just toss it all into the Crockpot and give yourself one less dish to clean. However, if you have the time and feel like it, searing the beef quickly in a hot skillet will help deepen the beef flavor.
- Bouillon: Whatever you do, don’t skip the Beef Better Than Bouillon. Even if you have to use regular beef bouillon instead, it’s a vital ingredient. No beef gravy would ever be complete without it.
- Veggies: You can add veggies like onions, potatoes, and carrots, but keep in mind that the recipe will be more like a stew at that point and less like classic beef tips. If you are looking for a stew recipe, try our favorite Instant Pot Beef Stew with veggies included!
- Gravy Not Thick: If for some reason your gravy is not thick enough for your liking, you can add a little extra cornstarch to help it thicken after cooking. Just grab a small bowl and add a tablespoon of cornstarch with a tablespoon of water and whisk to combine to make a cornstarch slurry. Add it to the crockpot and give everything a good stir.
- Mushrooms: Want to add mushrooms? I recommend adding in 1 cup of sliced mushrooms in for the last 2 hours of cooking time so they don’t get too mushy.
How To Serve Crockpot Beef Tips
There are a lot of ways you can serve beef tips! No matter how you serve them, don’t forget a soft warm dinner roll to soak up all the gravy with! Here are a few of our favorite ways to serve beef tips:
- Mashed Potatoes: My personal favorite is to serve them over mashed potatoes, specifically these creamy Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes.
- Rice: Another common way to serve beef tips is over rice. You can use whatever rice you like!
- Egg Noodles: Just like in these photos, beef tips go perfect over some tender egg noodles. This is actually my husband’s favorite way to enjoy beef tips! You can also add some green peas to add some color and get your veggies in.
Storage
We almost never have leftovers when we make these beef tips, but in case you do, here is how we store them:
- Fridge: In an airtight container in the fridge, any leftovers you have will stay fresh for up to 5 days. You can reheat it in the microwave or on the stovetop.
- Freezer: You can freeze this recipe as well. Just place your room temperature leftovers in an airtight freezer safe container, then pop it in the freezer! It’ll stay fresh for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to dig in, let the beef tips thaw before reheating for best results.
Crockpot Beef Tips
Ingredients
- 2 pounds beef tips
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup low-sodium beef broth
- 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons beef better than bouillon, or 2 beef bouillon cubes
- 2 .87 oz low-sodium brown gravy packets (or 1/2 cup cornstarch)
Instructions
- Spray crockpot with nonstick spray.
- Season beef with salt and pepper and place meat in the crockpot. Add remaining ingredients. Stir and cover with lid.
- Cook on low for 6-8 hours until meat is tender. (Or high for 4-6 hours, but I find the beef is more tender when cooked on low.)
- Once beef is nice and tender, stir everything together in the crockpot. (The gravy will thicken once stirred.)
- Serve immediately, as desired! (Over potatoes, noodles, rice, etc.)
Notes
- Fridge: In an airtight container in the fridge, any leftovers you have will stay fresh for up to 5 days. You can reheat it in the microwave or on the stovetop.
- Freezer: You can freeze this recipe as well. Just place your room temperature leftovers in an airtight freezer safe container, then pop it in the freezer! It’ll stay fresh for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to dig in, let the beef tips thaw before reheating for best results.
Nutrition
More Easy Crockpot Dinner Ideas
Looking for more easy dinner ideas? Here are a few more crockpot dinner recipes we think you will enjoy:
A superlative InstantPot dinner tonite: Beef Tips in Dark Brown Gravy over rice. Buttered baby peas S the side. Icebox tea as the drink. This recipe will be one of my too 5 “go to” recipes for special company dinners…!!!
Icebox iced tea
Loved it ! Added 1 tsp of dijon mustard
Working on this recipe for our dinner tonight. You know what’s awesome about making your own food? You can control what is in it to suit your needs….including salt! Thanks for a recipe I can use as a guideline for a dish I know my family will enjoy 😉
That’s a lot of sodium.
Agreed, a LOT of sodium
Just omit the teaspoon of salt and the sodium content will be fine!