Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Shredded Beef

Fall-apart tender with a flavorful sauce, this slow cooker honey garlic shredded beef has seven simple ingredients and is assembled in 10 minutes or less. Versatile and perfect to use on sandwiches, in tacos, rice bowls and more.

When it comes to tough cuts of beef, I immediately reach for my slow cooker! A long, slow cook time ensures the tough collagen fibres melt into the meat, producing fall-apart tender, juicy and delicious results. Some of our favorites include slow cooker jerk-inspired beef as well as slow cooker Korean beef lettuce wraps.

This honey garlic shredded beef is another favorite, because it's just so versatile! In fact, this recipe is part of a meal prep plan, which includes three recipes to use up your honey garlic beef.

With seven simple ingredients, and no need to sautee, you can have this recipe into the slow cooker in 10 minutes or less!

Recipe video

Watch the video below to see how simple it is to throw this recipe together. It’s so easy! You can find more of my recipe videos on my YouTube channel.

Don't forget to pin this post to save it for later!

The best cut of beef for this recipe

The slow cooker presents a wonderful opportunity to cook tough, cheap cuts of beef. While it cooks low and slow, the tough collagen fibres melt into the beef, making it tender and juicy.

Feel free to use a brisket, chuck roast, inside round, or blade roast, but any cut of beef will work well for this recipe. You may also want to cut thick roasts in half so that they are more immersed in the cooking liquid (see 1. below!).

Recipe tips

Big batch

This slow cooker shredded beef recipe makes 4-6 cups, which serves 8-12 people. It's a good idea to have a plan to use it all up!

• Find a meal prep plan + shopping list for this recipe here (link coming on Friday!)
• You can cut this recipe in half, but will need to cook it in a small (2.5 quart) slow cooker
• You can freeze leftover beef for up to 3 months

Fast or slow

While this is written as a slow cooker recipe, it is possible to cook it in either a 6 or 8 quart Instant Pot as well. Reader Heather successfully used a cook time of 55 minute at high pressure with a full natural pressure release. This worked for 2-4 pounds of beef, so feel free to increase the time if you have a larger roast.

If you find that your beef is still too tough to shred after a 55 minute cook time, place the lid back on the Instant Pot and add another 15-30 minutes + 10 min natural pressure release- the pot should come back to pressure quickly!

Shredding tip

Once the honey garlic beef has cooked low and slow for 8 hours, it should be fall-apart tender. Here's a tip: skip using forks to shred the beef and use an electric hand mixer! It will get it done in seconds.

Step by step directions

1. Mix up the sauce and place in a 6 quart slow cooker. Cut large beef roasts in half, and place in the sauce.
2. Cook on low for 8 hours.
3. After 8 hours, the beef should be very tender.
4. Transfer to a clean bowl.
5. Shred with two forks or an electric hand mixer.
6. Return beef to the slow cooker and toss in the sauce.

Meal prep and storage tips

Freezer crockpot

To prepare this as a freezer crockpot meal, assemble all ingredients in a sturdy freezer bag, reusable silicone bag or meal prep container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw completely before cooking as directed.

Leftovers

You can store leftover slow cooker shredded beef in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat in a frying pan over medium heat, using tongs to flip and mix up the beef.

Leftovers may also be frozen in a freezer bag, reusable silicone bag or meal prep container for up to 3 months. Thaw and heat in a frying pan.

Find my favorite freezer containers here!

More slow cooker recipes

• Smoky Slow Cooker Turkey Chili
• Crock Pot Pulled Pork
• Slow Cooker Peanut Stew
• 7 Slow Cooker Chicken Recipes
• Crock Pot Whole Chicken

Did you make this? Tag me on social @sweetpeasandsaffron and be sure to leave a comment and rate the recipe!

Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Beef

4.89 from 17 votes

Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Cook Time: 8 hours hrs

Total Time: 8 hours hrs 10 minutes mins

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Print Rate

A sweet and savory pulled beef recipe that takes only 10 minutes prep time! This beef is very versatile and can be used on sandwiches, salads, stir fries, or tacos!

10 -12

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 cup stock beef or chicken
• ▢ ¼ cup honey
• ▢ ¼ cup brown sugar
• ▢ 2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce
• ▢ 1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
• ▢ 6 cloves garlic minced
• ▢ 2-3 lbs boneless beef roast cut in half; see note 1

Instructions 

• In the bottom of a 5 or 6 quart slow cooker, combine the stock, honey, brown sugar, soy sauce, worcestershire sauce and garlic. Whisk until smooth.
• Cut the beef in half lengthwise. Place the two slices side-by-side in the slow cooker, and turn to coat on both sides.
• Cook on low for 8 hours.
• Remove beef from slow cooker and place in a large bowl. Gently pull apart using two forks, or use an electric hand mixer to do it quickly.
• Add back into the cooking liquid, and toss to coat.

Tips:

1- you can use cheap, tough cuts of beef for this recipe including brisket, chuck roast, inside round, or blade roast.

Storage

Store in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Freeze in an air tight container, freezer bag or reusable silicone bag for up to 3 months.

Reheat

This beef is best served warm as it can become tough when cold. 

1. Heat a nonstick pan over medium heat.
2. Add the beef and cook for 3-4 minutes, using tongs to break the beef up and turn it, or until warmed through.
3. Do not reheat more than once (food safety issues)

Serving size

This recipe produces 4-6 cups of pulled beef, which works out to 8-12 servings (½ cup size).

Video

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1/2 cup, Calories: 144kcal, Carbohydrates: 11g, Protein: 17g, Fat: 4g, Sodium: 196mg, Sugar: 10g

Author: Annie Holmes

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Japanese

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