Easy Slow Cooker BBQ Beef

plate of slow cooker bbq brisket
Author: Heather
Category: Main Dishes
Published Date: 05/28/2020
Comments: 33

Share with a friend!

This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase a product using one of our affiliate links we will receive a small commission from your purchase which helps us to provide this website as a service to you for free. We appreciate your support!

Do you love serving your family a delicious, restaurant quality meal, but don’t like spending hours in the kitchen? This slow cooker bbq beef recipe is exactly what you’ve been looking for.

I’ve actually made this recipe with a few different cuts of beef. I love how versatile it is! We’ve tried brisket (pot roast), chuck roast and most recently, London broil. I say, go with the biggest cut of beef that is on sale.

While it’s a regular in our home (I make it at least 2-3 times a month), this is also my go-to recipe when we have company over. Just 10-15 minutes of prep in the morning. Let it sit all day and enjoy your company. You just have to worry about side dishes. We love it with mashed potatoes and roasted vegetables. Don’t forget to serve some bread with it, it’s perfect to clean your plate with! Yum!

There are so many things we love about this recipe, but the best part of this slow cooker bbq beef might just be the leftovers. We always have enough for lunch the following day and serve it on a plate with french fries and salad or on a roll with a side of chips. It tastes even yummier the next day (if that’s possible).

cut of beef covered in a spice rub

browned piece of beef on a plate

Looking for a quick and easy recipe for dinner? This slow cooker bbq beef recipe requires just 10 minutes of prep!

The trick to the perfect slow cooker bbq beef, is the spice rub and browning the meat before it goes into the slow cooker. It makes a huge difference! I’ve provided photos of both steps above so that you can see how it should look. The rub should go on every single inch of meat.

When you brown it, brown it on each side (even on the sides if you can). It is a game changer. You don’t HAVE to brown it, but if you have the extra 5 minutes, I highly recommend it.

For the barbecue sauce, you’ll just dump all of the ingredients into the slow cooker and mix. It’s so quick and leaves you with very little to clean up, which is always a plus for me! Once it’s mixed completely, set your browned beef on top and then spoon the sauce over the top so that it’s completely covered. You can also pierce the beef with a fork a number of times so that the sauce soaks in, but that’s completely optional.

ingredients to make homemade bbq sauce

piece of beef inside a crockpot on top of bbq sauce

bbq brisket in a crock pot

This slow cooker barbecue beef recipe is so easy! Just 10 minutes prep and it'll taste like you were cooking all day long!

If you prefer not to serve your slow cooker bbq beef shredded, you can skip that step. I do find that shredding and mixing it into the sauce again grabs all of the flavor. If you choose to slice and serve, you will need to serve the sauce on the side for your family (or guests) to pour over their beef. Either way, it’s delicious and it’ll become a favorite in your home, just like it has in mine.

shredded bbq beef

plate of slow cooker bbq brisket

Slow Cooker BBQ Beef

Now that you have the backstory, feel free to pin the recipe or print it out. If you try it, please comment below and let us know what you think. We love getting reader feedback!

Don’t forget to check out the rest of our family friendly recipes!

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
bbq brisket in a crock pot

Easy Slow Cooker BBQ Beef


5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 13 reviews

  • Author: Heather l The Super Mom Life
  • Total Time: 0 minute

Description

Just 10-15 minutes of prep for this slow cooker main dish. It’s the most delicious bbq beef you’ll ever eat.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 34 lbs of brisket (or any cut of beef)
  • olive oil (for browning)

Rub:

  • 1 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • 1/2 tsp cumin

BBQ Sauce:

  • 1 1/2 cups ketchup
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tsp onion powder
  • 2 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1 tsp salt


Instructions

  • Mix together all of the rub spices and rub all over the beef.
  • Heat olive oil in a pan on medium high heat and brown meat, approx 1-2 minutes on each side.
  • Mix all bbq sauce ingredients in the slow cooker until combined.
  • Move beef into slow cooker and cover with sauce.
  • Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours.
  • Using two forks, shred the beef in the slow cooker and make sure the sauce is covering each piece.
  • Cover and heat on low for an additional 15-20 minutes.
  • Switch to warm and uncover. The sauce will thicken as it sits. Serve sauce on the side or put it in a jar and refrigerate for later.
  • Prep Time: 10 min
  • Cook Time: 4-8 hours
  • Category: Dinner
  • Method: Slow Cooker

Share with a friend!

Image

Hello There!

I'm so honored that you've found us! I'm Heather, a Mom of 3 who blogs about parenting, food, occasional travel and how I overcame my daily struggle with anxiety. I miss sleeping and rely on coffee and laughter to get me through the day. I hope you enjoy and visit often!

Leave a Reply

Recipe rating 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star


  • Mmm this looks delicious! I’ve been making a lot of slow-cooker BBQ chicken during this quarantine. I need to switch it up with some beef sometime.

  • Oh this is my jam! With Father’s Day coming soon, this will be an excellent main dish for dinner to celebrate all of the dads in my family. Hopefully, we’ll be in our house to celebrate!






  • You have made me drool. This looks SO amazing. I love when I can use my slow cooker! It makes the house smell incredible.






  • This recipe looks super delicious and it also looks perfect for some yummy tacos! Definitely making this one so thank you for sharing! Heading to pin this recipe to my Pinterest Slow Cooker Board 🙂