This slow cooker beef stir-fry is a healthy, cleaned-up version of stir-fry. With all flavors of your favorite take-out but without the guilt, you can make this fuss-free beef recipe in your slow cooker or Instant Pot.
Ok, I’ll be the first to admit that this is technically not a stir-fry. No hot oil was used and no, no wok or skillet either. Having said that, this is a slow cooker blog & the flavors you enjoy about a stir-fry are here in a healthy version.
All About The Sauce
The star of this recipe is the homemade sauce. The sauce makes this stir-fry what I call the trifecta: low-carb, paleo, & whole30 compliant. Whole30 and paleo means there is no added sugar of any sort. I promise you, you won’t miss it. I almost added honey (paleo) or monk fruit sweetener (low-carb) but after tasting the sauce, I decided it didn’t need it. As always, I encourage you to taste your sauce before adding it in to the appliance and tweak as needed.
What Type Of Beef To Use
For the cut of beef, I used a sirloin that I sliced into strips. Other suggestions are flank, top round, chuck, or even brisket. If you’re using your slow cooker, I know if might not look like there’s enough sauce to cook the food before it starts to cook. Trust me, it’s more than enough sauce. All the food will not be submerged in liquid. This is okay. There will plenty of liquid afterwards.
Thickening The Sauce
While recommended thickening the sauce, you do not have to. I have made this plenty of times without adding a slurry thickener. Having said that, if you do thicken the sauce, it can be done directly in the slow cooker or electric pressure cooker (Instant Pot). I almost always use a slurry of arrowroot starch and water as my thickener. You can make your slurry as thick as you want. I use a a 1:1 water/starch ratio, usually 2 tablespoons arrowroot starch mixed with 2 tablespoons of water.
Take-out Inspired Recipes
- Broccoli & Beef
Cashew Chicken
Chicken Stir-Fry
Pepper Steak
What To Serve This With
Cauliflower rice is the obvious choice to keep this beef stir-fry recipe low-carb, paleo, and whole30. If you’re not worried about that, then I suggest regular brown or white rice.
I used a 6-quart slow cooker (or Instant Pot) to make this recipe.
Slow Cooker Beef Stir-Fry
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 4 hours
- Total Time: 4 hours 10 mins
Ingredients
- 2 pounds beef sirloin, cut into 1/4-inch strips
- 2 bell peppers, sliced
- 1 medium-size onion, sliced
- 1 cup broccoli, chopped
- 2 medium-size carrots, peeled & sliced or diced
- 1 tablespoon oil (for Instant Pot)
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup coconut aminos (or low-sodium soy sauce if not paleo or whole30)
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1 tablespoon arrowroot starch flour & 1 tablespoon water (to thicken)
Instructions
Slow Cooker
- Add beef, bell peppers, onion, and carrots to the slow cooker.
- In a small bowl, mix together SAUCE ingredients. Pour sauce into the slow cooker. Stir to mix well.
- Cook HIGH 2-3 hours or LOW 4-6.
- Add broccoli and cook an additional 30 minutes.
Instant Pot
- Turn on the IP and select Sauté. Once hot add oil to the pot. Add the beef and sear until browned, 2-3 minutes on each side. Remove beef & set aside.
- Add bell pepper, onion, carrots & cook for a 5-7 minutes, or until soft, stirring frequently. Add garlic and cook an additional minute.
- Add beef back to the pot. Stir in ginger, salt, pepper, water, coconut aminos, rice vinegar, and sesame oil.
- Close lid and seal valve. Set high pressure and cook for 9 minutes. Quick release pressure.
- Turn on the IP and select sauté. Mix together arrowroot starch flour & water. Stir mixture into the Instant Pot along with the broccoli. Cook 5-10 minutes or until broccoli is tender and sauce has thickened to your liking.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 386
- Sugar: 7.3 g
- Sodium: 765.6 mg
- Fat: 10.7 g
- Saturated Fat: 3.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 17.4 g
- Fiber: 4.3 g
- Protein: 51.9 g
- Cholesterol: 135.6 mg