Some days call for ambition. Other days call for beef tips that cook themselves while you keep it together. This crockpot beef tips with mushroom gravy situation delivers tender meat, rich sauce, and the rare comfort of knowing dinner will not let you down. You can stop box breathing now.
Table of Contents
🥰 Is this slow cooker beef tips recipe for you?
- You want tender beef and rich mushroom gravy without babysitting a stove
- You need a slow cooker dinner that feels hearty and filling, not as watery as Oliver Twist's gruel
- You like recipes with familiar ingredients and zero weird steps
- You want something that works over rice, mashed potatoes, noodles, or whatever's left in the fridge
- You appreciate food that shows up dependable, even when you can't
Free cheat sheet:
Grab the quick cheat sheet for crockpot beef tips with mushrooms-tips, variations, faqs, and more so dinner behaves even when the day doesn't.
📖 Recipe
Crockpot Beef Tips with Mushroom Gravy Recipe
Print Pin Recipe Rate RecipeIngredients
- 2 pounds beef stew meat, or sirloin tips
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
- 1 medium onion, sliced or diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1½ cups beef broth
- 1 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 sprig thyme OR ½ teaspoon dried
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 2 tablespoon cornstarch, + cold water (slurry, optional if you want thicker gravy)
Instructions
- Season the beef with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and smoked paprika. Toss with flour until everything looks lightly dusted, like it's been whispered over by a prairie ghost.
- Brown the beef in a hot skillet with oil or butter. You're not cooking it through - just giving it that caramelized edge that makes the slow cooker say "well hello."
- Transfer the beef to the crockpot, then pile in the mushrooms, onion, and garlic.
- In the now-empty skillet, pour in beef broth, Worcestershire, and soy sauce. Scrape up all those browned bits like they're the last good gossip in town. Pour this liquid gold into the slow cooker.
- Add the thyme and bay leaf.
- Cook on LOW 6-8 hours or HIGH 3-4 hours - LOW is better for melt-apart tenderness.
- When it's fall-apart lovely, stir in the heavy cream.
- If you want the gravy thicker, whisk a cornstarch slurry and stir it in. Let it cook another 10-15 minutes.
- Taste, adjust seasoning, and remove the bay leaf like the civilized.
Notes
- Add mushrooms later if you like them chunky. Half at the start, half in the last hour gives better texture.
- Don't overcrowd the skillet. Brown in batches so the beef sears instead of steaming itself into disappointment.
- Taste at the end. Slow cookers mute seasoning. A final pinch of salt or splash of Worcestershire fixes almost everything.
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
This recipe has been tested several times. If you choose to use other ingredients, or change the technique in some way, the results may not be the same.
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🧾 Ingredients for crockpot beef tips in mushroom gravy
You won't need anything fancy or hard to track down for this recipe. These crockpot beef tips in mushroom gravy use familiar ingredients that work together to make a rich, comforting dinner without turning your kitchen into a drama production of Taming of the Shrew.
- Beef tips - the main character, here to get tender and emotionally available
- Flour - for dredging the beef so it browns properly and behaves in the gravy
- Beef stock - the backbone. No shortcuts. This is where flavor gets its spine
- Oil - so the beef browns instead of sulks
- Onions - adding flavor quietly, like they always do
- Garlic - non-negotiable. We're still not heathens
- Mushrooms - earthy, savory, and absolutely bringing umami.
- Soy sauce - relax, it's here to deepen flavor, not make this taste like takeout
- Worcestershire sauce - say it however you want, it still knows what it's doing
- Bay leaves - for background authority and mild supervision
- Thyme - subtle, steady, not trying to steal the show
- Cornstarch - for gravy that holds itself together under pressure
- Cream - optional, but let's not kid ourselves
- Black pepper - enough to wake things up, not start a fight
- Onion powder - backup onion, reliable as ever
- Garlic powder - backup garlic, again, non-negotiable
- Smoked paprika - the quiet flex that makes people ask questions that you don't have to answer
- Salt - use confidently, adjust as needed
🔪 Instructions for making this beef tips recipe
This recipe isn't complicated, but a few small steps make all the difference between "fine" and actually really good. Follow these in order, let the slow cooker do its thing, and trust that dinner is handling itself for once.
- Brown the beef: Dredge the beef tips in flour and seasoning, then brown them in a hot skillet with oil until they get some real color. Don't rush this. Browning = flavor. Pale beef = regret.
- Load the crockpot: Transfer the browned beef to the slow cooker and add the onions, mushrooms, garlic, herbs, and bay leaves. This is the "dump and walk away" phase. Very soothing.
- Deglaze and pour: Add beef stock, soy sauce, and Worcestershire to the hot skillet, scraping up every browned bit like your life depends on it. Pour all of that liquid gold into the crockpot.
- 4. Finish the gravy: After cooking on LOW until the beef is tender, stir in the cornstarch slurry and cream to thicken the gravy. Let it cook a little longer until it looks rich, glossy, and prepared to impress.
😱 What can go wrong (and how to fix it)
🍄 The beef is tough
This usually means it didn't cook long enough. Beef tips need time to surrender. Keep cooking on LOW until fork-tender and stop peeking like a nervous raccoon checking for leftovers.
🍄 The gravy is too thin
Whisk a little more cornstarch with cold liquid, stir it in, and let it cook another 15-20 minutes. Gravy needs heat and patience to pull itself together.
🍄 The gravy is too thick
Stir in a splash of beef stock or water until it loosens up. You want spoonable, not paste.
🍄 The flavor tastes flat
Add a pinch more salt, a splash of Worcestershire, or a crack of black pepper. Slow cooker food sometimes needs a little encouragement at the end.
🍄 The mushrooms disappeared
They shrink as they cook-it's normal. If you want chunkier mushrooms, add half of them during the last hour.
🍄 The beef didn't brown well
The pan was crowded or not hot enough. Brown in batches next time and let the skillet do its job before you interfere.
🍄 It smells amazing but tastes… meh
Finish with salt and pepper after cooking. Slow cookers mute seasoning, and the final adjustment is where the magic happens.
👩🏻🍳 FAQs
You can, but I wouldn't recommend it. Browning adds flavor and keeps the beef from tasting flat. If you're absolutely done for the day, it'll still cook-but the gravy won't have that rich depth.
Sirloin tips, stew meat, or chuck all work here. Chuck will be extra tender if you give it time. Leaner cuts need a full cook so they don't stay chewy and hold a grudge.
Yes. But why? The gravy will still be savory without it-just skip it or replace with a little extra stock. You'll lose the silky, creamy richness.
🍽 More crockpot beef recipes to try
If this crockpot beef tips situation is your kind of dinner, you're in very good company. crockpot swiss steak brings the same low-and-slow comfort with tender beef swimming in tomato-rich gravy, while crockpot Salisbury steak leans hard into cozy diner vibes with savory sauce and zero babysitting. Both are dependable, hearty, and built for nights when you want food that feels like it has your back.
And if you're feeling extra committed to the gravy lifestyle, crockpot French onion pot roast is the next logical step-deep, rich flavor that tastes like it took effort (it didn't). Serve any of these over mashed potatoes, because honestly, gravy needs a soft place to land and potatoes understand the assignment.
🏡 At the end of the day
This is the kind of meal that shows up, does its job, and doesn't demand applause, although its definitely worthy of it. Crockpot beef tips with mushroom gravy deliver comfort, reliability, and a full plate without extra effort. Make it once, keep it in rotation, and let dinner be the easiest part of your day for a change.
Walter says
Wonderful over eggyoke noodles 🍜.
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