This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Slow Cooker Beef Ragu is a rich and tender, fall-apart tomato beef sauce. With all the magic happening in your slow cooker, come home to a satisfying, ready-made home cooked dinner!
This Slow Cooker Beef Ragu recipe is my favourite way to spend a cold winters day with warm flavours! Beautifully browned and slow cooked beef infuses so much flavour into this rustic and versatile sauce.
SLOW COOKER BEEF
While this ragu is incredibly easy to make with cheaper cuts of beef that are normally tough and chewy, slow cooking breaks down the meat and creates a melt-in-your-mouth tomato sauce.
Serve this slow cooker ragu on anything: zucchini noodles and spaghetti squash for lower carb options OR pasta and rice if you’re a carb lover. Even a soft and creamy polenta happens occasionally over here with this ragu, just like this Osso Bucco in Red Wine Sauce.
BEST BEEF CUT FOR RAGU
Beef brisket or roast, simmered in crushed tomatoes, garlic, basil and oregano, seasoned with salt and pepper, and drowning in red wine. How can it not taste like heaven? This ragu makes about 14-15 cups of falling-apart meat sauce, which is heaps and perfect for leftovers. Think Ragu grilled cheese, or melt in your mouth Ragu on a French Dip Sandwich. Um…. YES.
HOW TO MAKE RAGU
In this recipe, you have the option of browning the meat first. The flavour that develops from that simple step is mind-blowing. Of course, you don’t HAVE to, but I’m kind of TELLING you to do this step — in a non-bossing-you-around type of way.
THEN, you’re going to brown your garlic and onions in the pan juices… and throw it all in with the rest of the ingredients.
After that, just walk away completely confident in knowing something good and delicious is happening in your slow cooker. Deep flavours building together and blending into a perfect rustic sauce. Because you can’t mess up slow cooked meat… especially this recipe. Its fool proof.
HOW TO SERVE RAGU
Once it’s done, shred your beef with a couple of forks until it’s completely shredded, and pour it a llllll over your pasta / rice / or the lower carb options mentioned above.
If your looking for a Slow Cooker Bolognaise Sauce try this one!
WATCH US MAKE RAGU HERE:
If you too are a pasta lover, try these recipes:
Slow Cooker Spaghetti Bolognese
You might also like
Get a free eBook!
Subscribe to Cafe Delites FOR FREE and receive recipes straight into your inbox!
Slow Cooker Beef Ragu
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil divided
- 4 pounds beef brisket or round roast, or any slow cooking beef of your choice, trimmed of fat
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic finely copped or minced
- 28 ounce tomatoes crushed or diced, 2 cans
- 1/2 cup red wine or beef broth / stock
- 1/2 cup beef broth stock
- 4 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 beef bouillon cube
- 1 teaspoon basil
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1-2 teaspoons salt adjust to your tastes
- 1 pinch cracked pepper to taste
- 1-2 teaspoons sugar adjust to your tastes
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons water - optional for a thick sauce
Instructions
- Cut beef into 4 pieces. OPTIONAL FOR ADDED FLAVOUR: Heat olive oil in a large pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Sear each piece of beef on both sides until browned (about 5 minutes each side). Transfer each piece to your 6qt slow cooker bowl as soon as they are seared.
- You should have left over oil in the pan (or skillet) from the beef. If not, add 1 tablespoon of (extra) oil to the pan. Fry the garlic until fragrant (about 30 seconds). Add the onion and fry until transparent. Add the garlic/onion mixture over the beef in the slow cooker, plus all remaining ingredients (except for the cornstarch/water mixture).
- Cover and cook on LOW for 7-8 hours, or HIGH for 4-5 hours.The beef is ready if it falls apart easily when pulled apart with two forks.
- NOTE: If you desire a thicker sauce, stir the cornstarch/water mixture into the slow cooker. Cover and cook on high heat for an additional 30 minutes and allow to thicken.
- Shred the beef into pieces; mix through the sauce. Serve over pasta, rice, polenta, zucchini noodles or spaghetti squash.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is chef’s kiss amazing!
Prepped it night before: Seared the meat, cooked the garlic and onions, placed in crock pot with the tomatoes, wine and spices (I omitted sugar). Placed In fridge overnight. Right before I left for work at zero dark thirty, placed it on low for 10 hours. Came home from work— walked into my kitchen which smelled like a really great Italian restaurant. I cooked fettuccine (3 mins less than what box said). I strained pasta, then I skimmed the liquid from the ragu and placed in pasta pot, returned the fettuccine OMG THIS WAS SO DIVINE!!!!
Thank you for this really easy way to get a hearty and delicious meal prepared on these busy work nights and varsity football nights (iykyk, parents!)
I made this as directed. I have made about 10 of your recipies and none disappointed. Your lasagna made me a hero. I just want to say thank you.
Great recipe. Thanks for sharing ….
Made it yesterday, followed the recipe to a T with the exception of basal. Got a 4+lb bottom roast for $1.29 a lb., so took closer to 5 hours. Awesome!!! Served with polenta and mixed green salad with a dijon dressing, and a crusty French loaf. In the Sunday lineup!
This recipe was amazing. Everyone in a family of SEVEN loved it. SOOOOOO GOOD.
This is just about ready and I’ve just tested it, it’s a flavour bomb! Thank you so much for the recipe Karina!
Have got this cooking on high for almost 5 hours but it’s not quite pull apart yet… anxious for it to work as it smells incredible!
I don’t have cornstarch – would gelatin powder work with the same method?
Delicious recipe! We are a low carb family, so I omitted the cornflour and the sugar and neither were missed. Now my go to ragu recipe!
Everybody loved this dish
Hi there, i was wondering if i half the meat as its only for 1 person do i half the liquid too?
Thank you 🙂