This Slow Cooker Mongolian Beef is a super easy crock pot recipe, rendering tender meat that is slightly tangy and spicy. So absolutely delicious!
I know this Slow Cooker Mongolian Beef sort of has three strikes against it out of the gate: red meat, expensive red meat, and for people celebrating lent who gave up red meat. Sorry – easy and fast are my friends, tidy and convenient seem to be on strike.
But, you guys. This recipe is SO delicious, you must make it. Put it on your bucket list, at least.
I’m still surprised I have another successful crock pot recipe. I’m convinced it has something (if not everything) to do with the fact that it doesn’t include some sort of “cream of crap” mixed in.
It’s slightly tangy and spicy, and the meat is tender. It’s really good – I’ve already made it a few times.
I don’t know if I could give up these ingredients for 40 days – I’m not even capable of eliminating bread for 7 days at Passover. Can we just stop folding laundry? That I could do.
Other slow cooker beef recipes we love
Slow Cooker Barbecue Beef Brisket
Slow Cooker Salsa Verde Beef Tacos
Slow Cooker Mongolian Beef
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds flank steak
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 1/4 cup cooking sherry
- 1/2 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons molasses
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 1 teaspoon dried onion
- 1/2 teaspoon cracked red pepper flakes
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1/2 tablespoon almond butter (or peanut butter)
- 3 cloves garlic , minced
- 4 scallions , diced
- cooked white rice, for serving
Instructions
- Slice the meat thin and coat evenly with the cornstarch, shaking off any excess.
- Put all the ingredients, through the almond butter, into the crock pot; mix well. Add garlic and scallions.
- Put meat on top, toss gingerly.
- Cover and cook on low for 4 hours.
- Serve over cooked white rice.
Nutrition
Other Notes
adapted from Notes from the Heartland
Sounds great. Can you use the leftovers. If there are any and can you freeze it? Thank you.
Sure! Store Mongolian beef (separately from the rice) in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. To freeze: Allow it to cool completely and store in a freezer safe container container for up tp 2 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight and reheat it slowly.
Would this work as a slow cooker freezer meal? As in, can I put everything in a freezer bag, freeze, then put in the crock pot the morning of use?
Hi Pam – hm. I can’t say for sure. I’m skeptical that everything would defrost and cook in 4 hours. You could try it for 8 hours? Or maybe on high for 4.
This was great! Thank you for posting it! I only used a little over a pound of meat since there was only 2 of us and we really like sauce, used a 4 quart crockpot, subbed chicken broth for white wine, and skipped the molasses cause i didn’t i realize i didn’t have any until too late! I also didn’t get home in time and it cooked for 6 hours and …. It was Fab-u-lous! Thank you! Can’t wait to make it again!
Any suggestions for what kind of white wine to use? I’m a red drinker so am pretty clueless on what would work with this recipe.
Hi Michelle – I’m not really a drinker, so I don’t know much about wine at all. I usually just have a sauvignon blanc in the house to use for cooking, like Sutter Home or Beringer. Something inexpensive, but that you would be ok drinking on its own.
Can you sub dry sherry for cooking sherry? Does one have more salt or do you know if one will impart more flavor than the other?
Hi Tandra – you can absolutely use dry sherry instead. Cooking sherry is actually a low-quality sherry with salt added, but what I had on hand when I first made this recipe. It came out great when I first made it, so I stuck with it. But a dry sherry will actually give you better control over the sodium content of the food.
Great recipe!
The flavors sound amazing!! I love Mongolian beef!!
I was wondering…what is the final texture like? I assume very moist from being in the crock pot with those lovely acids helping it along. Does the exterior have a little bit of a crunch? It looks like it has a lovely crispness like it was pan fried.
Thanks!!
Hi Amber – the meat is tender, but not mushy on account of it cooking for 4 hours (as opposed to 6-8.) I wouldn’t say the exterior is crispy, but it does have a nice coating to it and the sauce is awesome.
Thanks for the recipe, it was so good! I had to sub honey for the molasses and rice vinegar for the white wine vinegar but those seemed like they weren’t too far off. This is the first time I’ve used flank steak in the crock pot and was very happy with the outcome. And very happy with how the sauce was all thickened up and ready to go without having to do any extra steps.
Should the ginger be fresh grated ginger root or dried ground ginger from the spice section? Thanks! Looking forward to making this.
fresh grated!
I love Mongolian Beef too. And it is a good idea to use crock pot.
This looks absolutely awesome, and I can’t wait to try it! I have a couple of questions though:
Can I cook it on high for 2 hours? The reason I ask is because, I leave the house by 6:30 AM, and don’t get home until about 6 PM. I can prepare everything and have my boyfriend throw it in when he gets home around 4, if it can cook like that.
Also, given that I can do the above, do you think it’s ok to just mix it all together in a ziplock and toss it in?
Hi Lucy – I think 2 hours on high might dry out the meat, or make it tough. BUT I really don’t know. I’ve never made it any other way than what I posted, sorry.
Love this recipe, making it for the second time this week.
Hi Amy,
I love the recipe but I was wondering if switching the flank steak out for a chuck would work here? I’m trying to find a good recipe for Asian style shredded beef.
Thank You!
Hi there Heidi – I couldn’t say for sure, since I’ve only used flank steak for this. However, in some other recipes that called for flank, I have successfully swapped it out for top sirloin. So you could try that? I would stay away from chuck. And since all meats cook at different speeds, you might want to check it after 3 hours. Hope it works out for you!
I don’t have a crock pot, so I cooked at 300 degrees in the oven.
It was delicious. We had three meals from this one.
Amy-you did it again!! Made this tonight & it was GREAT!! I doubled the recipe for four of us & there’s only about one serving left over. So tasty! My DH had THIRDS. Thanks for another addition to my regular rotation. I didn’t really have a good beef crock pot recipe outside the standard pot roast & stew so I’m glad to have this one now. Thanks again for all your efforts & sharing your gift with us!
Omg Amy this was incredible!!!! Huuuuge hit at my house, so I’ll be making this over and over!! Thank you for sharing!
This looks amazing! However, with a soy allergy in our house, do you know of a good soy alternative for this recipe?
Hi Eisley – hm. I don’t know, honestly :( Maybe tamari or ponzu??
Have made this soy sauce replacement and it worked out great in the recipes I needed it for. Easy to make and you can make it ahead and store in the fridge. Used it for someone sensitive to soy sauce.
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/soy-sauce-substitute/detail.aspx
I made this the other day (with some changes) and it tasted good, but I have a very large size crock pot (I think 8 quart) and this was definitely a bit small for it. I ended up having a decreased cooking time, and a bit of a problem with things almost burning; thankfully I checked on it before it got to that point, just ended up being a pain to clean the pot.
I made this to it and it was excellent! My family likes things a little more highly seasoned so I doubled the red chili flakes and added 1/4 cup of hoisin sauce. To serve it I stir fried a huge bunch of vegetables and then out the beef over jasmine rice and the vegetables. This recipe is so great! Thank you!
This was very Good!
Hi, i just found thie recipe and it looks awsome! i was just wondering what kind of vegetables dish would you make with this. what has other people make. any suggestions would be great!
thanks
Sara
I did fresh green beans with bacon and it was a good combo with this recipe.
I found with the rice, it was so filling and didn’t need a side dish, BUT what you made sounds delicious in its own right.
This. Looks. Awesome. Printing out NOW. Thanks A!!!!!
I made this for dinner tonight and it was really delicious! I used a thin steak from the freezer that I had marked “Carne Asada” (so I don’t really remember what actual cut it was, but I’m sure it wasn’t ‘flank steak’…) and I added very thinly sliced red bell pepper. Right at the end, I added some steamed broccoli and served it over sticky rice. Super easy and really tasty! I added a couple of drops sesame oil right at the end a few minutes before serving. Thank you for sharing this recipe with all of us!
Mongolian Beef (Crockpot)
Just had this for dinner tonight and it was delicious!! Such a great one-pot recipe – thank you for sharing!
Thank you for this recipe! I just made it and it was deliiiiish!! Ive been searching for a good mongolian beef recipe and this one takes the cake!
Well, the girl and I love steak, love hot and love not messy. Very tasty filling meal.
There’s something to be said about one-pot meals. Less cleanup and generally easier (especially crock pot meals). This looks outstanding! It’s simple, yet elegant. It’s your little secret that it’s a crock pot meal.
This is my kinda prep. You throw everything in and after an hour or so beautiful, succulent smells start to fly around your house…while you’re cleaning, sweeping and folding the laundry. ; ) That’s my Saturday today. I have a bed full of unfolded, un-ironed clothes. ugh.
Noted. :) Not for this week’s menu, though. I’m using the last of the cool weather to make lasagna bolognese to eat all weekend. Soon, though!
My dad will be asking for a second or (a take-home bag) of this dish,. Looks really delicious! Can’t wait to try this.
Your Mongolian Beef looks absolutely flavorful and juicy! I couldn’t believe it was done in a crock pot. Thanks for sharing!
This sounds wonderful and very flavorful. I bet flank steak would do very well in the crockpot..yum!
Can we make that a thing? Giving up chores for lent? Cause…I could so do that.
I’m actually totally a bad catholic and gave up nothing for lent…though I guess since I don’t eat meat, I’m actually a really good catholic? Hmm.
Yet, another winner! This was so good. My daughter & husband loved this.
Good point about red meat being expensive. And just when I was getting excited about grilling season arriving soon, too. I think we have a few steaks in the deep freeze I could use for this, because we are likely to get very sick of chicken. I’m hoping that since it is Lent, there might be some good sales on beef so I can stock up again! Can’t wait to try this!!
Saving this until Lent is over!! Looks and sounds TOO Yummy!!!!
Since Mom makes this and I’ve had yours, it’s worth every penny, it’s delicious and that’s no crock.
I do find it odd that you refer to your friends as fast and easy…albeit tidy.
Already printed out to try. Since I don’t have a crock pot, I’ll try stove top or oven on very low heat and see what happens.
Here, the meat–all meat–is off on Fridays. But since Milo is beef-free for his Hindu half, I’m going to try this with pork. I’ll let you know how it is. I need at least one decent crock-pot recipe a week. Thanks!
Mmmm, sounds yummy :D. Since thinly sliced pork loin will cook more quickly than the beef, I suggest checking it after 3 hours.
Keep rockin’ those crockpot recipes! They’re awesome! (thankfully I didn’t give up meat for lent =)
What can you use in place of the wine and sherry? I’m allergic to alcohol and can’t cook with it…
Hi there Brian – substituting ingredients takes a lot of trial and error practice, and I cannot vouch for how this dish will come out without the sherry and wine. However, here are some general guidelines. Let me know how it turns out!
A general substitution for sherry is apple cider…for the 1/4 cup sherry, use 4 tablespoons vinegar + 1/2 tablespoon sugar + 4 tablespoons water OR 1/2 tablespoon vinegar, plus chicken stock or water to make 1/4 cup.
A general substitution for white wine is white grape juice, apple cider, or apple juice…substitute an equal measure of one of those.
I don’t give up meat, I figure my week night gin and tonics was enough.
Lol. Yes, I’d say that’s sacrifice. Giving up both would just be cruel.
Ahem…..red meat a strike against it? I’d say that’s a strike FOR it! (I know it’s Lent and all, but just don’t eat it on Friday for cryin’ out loud.) A girl can’t live without red meat! Gonna make this tomorrow, thank you Miss Amy!
Every time I read “Crock Pot” I think it says “Crack Pot.” Honestly though, I’d totally make a recipe for Crack Pot Mongolian Beef.
Again, I totally hear you on the “cream of crap”. UGH!! None of those strikes apply to me so I’m all on board for this yummy recipe!! xoxo