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Tender pieces of flank steak are slow-cooked in the tastiest sweet and savory sauce. This slow cooker Mongolian beef is melt-in-your-mouth perfection and bursting with flavor. Quick and easy to prepare and one of our favorite slow cooker meals!
If you love restaurant Mongolian Beef, this super easy make-at-home rendition will be your new favorite dinner. Serve over this easy fried rice for a complete meal. And if you really want to wow your guests, egg rolls and vegetable stir-fry on the side would be amazing!
Slow Cooker Mongolian Beef
Mongolian beef made in the slow cooker is life-changing! Slow cooking the beef ensures that it’ll be delicate and succulent. This slow cooker Mongolian beef recipe is an explosion of flavors in every bite! Garlic, soy sauce, and brown sugar come together to create a caramelized sauce that coats the tender juicy pieces of steak.
This is hands down one of the BEST dinners that I have ever made. My family couldn’t get enough of it! It’s so easy to make restaurant-worthy meals for the family at home. If you love this slow cooker Mongolian beef recipe then I can’t wait for you to try more of our favorites. Make this sweet and sour chicken, these lettuce wraps, of this incredible bang bang chicken.
Mongolian Beef Ingredients
Slow cooker Mongolian beef is SO easy to make with minimal ingredients. The ingredients are simple, but the outcome is incredible! Your dinner is prepped and ready to go in under 10 minutes!
- Flank Steak: Sirloin can be substituted here but avoid stew meat.
- Corn Starch: This acts as a natural tenderizer for the beef.
- Olive Oil: Use canola oil if you’d rather.
- Garlic: Minced or chopped will give the most flavor.
- Soy Sauce: Either low-sodium soy sauce or coconut aminos can be used here.
- Water: This will help make it saucy.
- Brown Sugar: Light or dark brown sugar is both great in the sauce.
- Carrots: Grate a carrot or instead use pre-shredded carrots.
- Green Onions and Sesame Seeds: Optional garnish, but make a stunning topping.
How to Make Mongolian Beef in a Slow Cooker
The beef literally just melts in your mouth! You can always count on the slow cooker for tender beef. The tasty sauce clings to the cornstarch-coated steak and every bite is bursting with flavor. See the recipe card below for exact measurements.
- Cut and Coat: Cut the flank steak thinly and across the grain to ensure a tender bite. Place the steak in a ziplock bag with the cornstarch then shake to coat. Make sure to coat the beef evenly.
- Add ingredients to the Slow Cooker: Mix the oil, garlic, soy sauce, water, brown sugar, and carrots in the slow cooker.
- Coat the Beef: Stir the beef into the slow cooker making sure it’s well-coated
- Cook: Set on high for 2-3 hours or on low for 4-6 hours.
- Garnish and Enjoy: Garnish with chopped green onion and sesame seeds for added flavor and texture then enjoy over rice!
Tips and Variations
Everything about this Mongolian recipe is perfect, and I know that it will become a family favorite at your house just like it did at ours! Here are some ideas and variations to make it your own! I also included instructions for making it in the instant pot when you’re short on time!
- Slicing the Beef: When slicing the flank steak make sure to slice it against the grain. I like to slice mine about 1/4 inch thick.
- Veggies: Roast broccoli, green beans or red bell pepper then stir in before serving. Vegetables add texture and nutrition.
- Instant Pot: This easily converts to a quick Instant Pot recipe. Saute the steak on high until browned. Add the sauce ingredients and cook on “Manual” for 10 minutes. Lastly, quick release the pressure and enjoy!
How to Store Leftovers
Store any leftover Mongolian beef you may have, because it’s great for heating up and enjoying later! I like to make a little extra rice as well for a quick lunch that’s super satisfying!
- In the Refrigerator: Place leftovers in a sealed container for up to 4 days.
- In the Freezer: Once cooled, store leftovers in an air-tight container or freezer ziplock bag for up to 4 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before rewarming.
- To Reheat: Place leftovers in a microwave-safe bowl then heat for 1-2 minutes or until warmed through.
More Savory Slow Cooker Recipes
Slow cooker dinners always save the day! They’re easy and SO delicious. Everyone loves coming home to a warm home-cooked dinner. Try some of our favorites this week for dinner. You’ll love them all!
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Slow Cooker Mongolian Beef
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds flank steak
- ¼ cup cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
- ¾ cup soy sauce
- ¾ cup water
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- 1 cup carrots, grated
- green onions and sesame seeds, for garnish
Instructions
- Cut flank steak into thin strips. In a ziplock bag add flank steak pieces and cornstarch. Shake to coat.
- In a medium-sized bowl, add the olive oil, minced garlic, soy sauce, water, and brown sugar. Whisk to combine and add to the slow cooker.
- Add the grated carrots and coated flank steak to the slow cooker and stir until coated in the sauce.
- Serve over rice and garnish with green onions and sesame seeds.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I have it cooking at the moment, I would also love to try it with Lamb as anything mongolian I have ever had has been Mongolian Lamb, I am going to add onion and a capsicum an hour before, I have also held off putting in the carrot yet as my grater is very fine and I fear it will mush up if its left too long.
I made this yesterday….it was fantastic…I will make it again. but I have a silly question…would know know the calorie count on this dish?
As per some of the comments, I added onion and sliced peppers in the last hour and it was a good add. Perhaps I sliced the beef too thing because it basically dissolved into a “chili like” consistency. I found it a bit too sweet for my taste so I added some ginger, spicy bean paste and minced serrano peppers to balance the flavors and that did the trick flavor wise. I may try it again and slice the beef thicker so it doesn’t fall apart completely but I prefer the more seared version of Mongolian Beef as opposed to the texture of the crock pot version. Good flavor and something different than a basic chili so it wasn’t a loss, just not what I was expecting.
This recipe is fantastic!! I prepared this today for a church potluck that had a request for Asian food. It was super easy and super tasty!! Everyone liked it. Thank for for the pin.
Made this tonight for dinner. Let the crock pot do it’s thing for 3 hours, and added some red pepper flakes and kicked it up to high temp manually for the last hour. Should have added some green peppers and onions to it, perhaps some mushroom too and definitely more carrots. Next time.
How much water do we add?
We tried this last night from a friend’s suggestion. It went very well. Next time, I will cut _way_ back on the soy sauce, even tho I used the low-sodium variety, and make up part of the difference in liquid with rice wine. The flavor balance was pretty good, but we were both very thirsty all night. And a few serranno chilis might add a nice kick.
Served over simple jasmine rice, it was excellent.
My hubbie and I love Chinese food so am definitely going to give this recipe a go, although am going to substitute beef for pork.
If anyone from the UK is planning to try this recipe, check out this website to convert from cups to tablespoons:
http://www.tablespoon.com/posts/tablespoon-conversions-tablespoons-in-cups/bdf92edc-7542-4af5-8d55-6bd11ef77101
Is there a substitute for corn starch?? Deathly allergic to corn.
Thanks.
Eric-I found this option when I googled a cornstarch substitute. Good Luck!
Cornstarch is used to thicken liquids in a variety of recipes such as sauces, gravies, pies, puddings, and stir-fries. It can be replaced with flour, arrowroot, potato starch, tapioca, and even instant mashed potato granules. The ingredient you are most likely to have on hand, of course, is flour, so we’ll start with that. When you want 1 cup of liquid to be fairly thick, it takes 1 tablespoon of cornstarch. (A stir-fry sauce might use only 1-2 teaspoons per cup of liquid). It will take about 3 tablespoons of flour to replace 1 tablespoon of cornstarch, and you will need to cook the sauce for much longer to get rid of the raw flavor of the flour. Flour is a very stable thickener, but will not result in the same glossy shine that cornstarch produces. Arrowroot, on the other hand, makes a beautifully shiny sauce and may be substituted in an equal or slightly greater amount, but will need to be cooked a little longer than cornstarch. For other substitutes like potato flakes or granules, tapioca and rice starch, 2 teaspoons will likely thicken about as much as 1 tablespoon of cornstarch.
Sounds delicious! If I don’t have a slow cooker, which cooking method (and time/temperature needed) would be a good substitute? Thanks, Sanchia
Made this today…amazing! Thank you for sharing, simple and delicious!
Since I live in Alaska I made this with Bear and moose today. Turned out real nice I just added the carrots and onions last hour of the cook
Do not have a slow cooker. But will try making it in the oven in a pot. Any suggestions on what temperature the oven should be??
It sure sounds like something my family would love.
Made this last night. It was excellent! I followed recipe to a tee….flavors and consistency of sauce were divine! My husband loved it too.
Hello
Do I have to packe the brown sugar?
Made this with pork cubes and baked in oven on 325 in a dutch oven delish!