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You are here: Home / Recipes / Slow Cooker Beef Ragu

By Karina 19 Comments Filed Under: Beef

Slow Cooker Beef Ragu

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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 Ragu | https://cafedelites.com

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.

Slow Cooker Beef Ragu | https://cafedelites.com

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. 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.

Slow Cooker Beef Ragu | https://cafedelites.com

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.

Slow Cooker Beef Ragu | https://cafedelites.com

Looking for a Slow Cooker Bolognaise Sauce? Find it HERE!

WATCH US MAKE RAGU HERE:


Slow Cooker Beef Ragu

Slow Cooker Beef Ragu is a rich and tender, fall-apart tomato beef sauce. With all the magic happening in your slow cooker for a ready-made dinner!
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Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 4 hrs
Total: 4 hrs 10 mins
Serves: 8 people

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil , divided
  • 4 pounds | 2kg 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
  • 2 x 14-ounce | 410g cans crushed or diced tomatoes
  • 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)
  • 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

IF SERVING WITH PASTA: In the last 15 minutes of cooking time, boil pasta in salted water following packet instructions. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water. Pour the reserved water back into the pasta along with 2 cups of cooked ragu. Stir until the sauce is thick enough to coat the pasta. Serve with parmesan cheese and (extra) chopped parsley, if desired.

Nutrition

Calories: 398kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 47g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 140mg | Sodium: 710mg | Potassium: 882mg | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 120IU | Vitamin C: 3.2mg | Calcium: 24mg | Iron: 4.8mg

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! | https://cafedelites.com
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. andrew glasheen says

    October 27, 2020 at 10:24 am

    5 stars
    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!

    Reply
  2. ellis tracy says

    August 22, 2020 at 11:52 pm

    5 stars
    This recipe was amazing. Everyone in a family of SEVEN loved it. SOOOOOO GOOD.

    Reply
  3. Natalie says

    May 01, 2020 at 5:38 pm

    5 stars
    This is just about ready and I’ve just tested it, it’s a flavour bomb! Thank you so much for the recipe Karina!

    Reply
  4. Elizabeth says

    January 13, 2020 at 5:38 pm

    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?

    Reply
  5. Rachel says

    June 24, 2019 at 9:10 pm

    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!

    Reply
  6. Priscilla says

    June 24, 2019 at 11:47 am

    Hi there, i was wondering if i half the meat as its only for 1 person do i half the liquid too?

    Thank you 🙂

    Reply
  7. Barbara says

    March 13, 2019 at 5:29 am

    5 stars
    THE. BEST!!!! To die for recipe! Neighbor made this and shared. DO sear the beef!
    I don’t have slow cooker— could I do it in Dutch Oven? How?

    Reply
  8. Melissa says

    January 16, 2019 at 8:10 am

    I’m wondering if I could cook this in my instant pot? Any recommendations for cooking time?
    Thank you so much for all these wonderful recipes!!! 🙂

    Reply
  9. MONA says

    December 10, 2018 at 4:44 am

    Hi! Your recipe looks and sounds delicious! Are the carbs listed with the cornstarch or without?

    Reply
    • Karina says

      December 14, 2018 at 6:36 pm

      Hi! The carbs listed is with the corn starch included. Thanks for following along with me!! xo

      Reply
  10. Vanette Fontenette says

    September 09, 2018 at 2:16 am

    Your recipes are always amazing. Thank you for the beautiful photos and delicious meal inspiration!

    Reply
  11. MICHAEL says

    August 29, 2018 at 10:21 pm

    Hi Karina

    I don´t want to invest in a slow cooker, but use a “Rhömertopff” instead. Does any of you know which temperature a slowcooker normally operates with in low/medium/high?

    Reply
  12. Kim S says

    July 09, 2018 at 9:33 am

    5 stars
    Karina, I have been receiving your emails for a few weeks now and am just getting ready to start your weekly meal plans. Everything looks delicious and easy to make. I admire the time you take to do this, thank you.

    Reply
    • Karina says

      July 09, 2018 at 2:01 pm

      YAY! Thank you so much for following along with me! I am so glad that you are going to use the menu plans! Let me know what you think!

      Reply
  13. Andrea says

    December 06, 2016 at 1:45 am

    5 stars
    This came out AMAZING!! We put it over Jasmine rice and it was perfect. So flavorful, the kids devoured it!

    Reply
  14. Tanya says

    October 26, 2016 at 1:11 pm

    Hi Karina! Thank you for all the great recipes! I would like to make this dish, but I have a dilemma. I don’t drink wine & haven’t tried cooking with wine because I don’t know which wine to use. Can you please advise me on what brand or type of red wine to look for to make this dish? It looks delicious & I would like to try it using the wine. Hopefully it will encourage me to cook more with wine in the future. Thanks in advance!

    Reply
    • Karina says

      October 27, 2016 at 4:58 pm

      Hi Tanya! I usually use a shriraz or a dry red wine. It’s not a favourite to drink, but it’s great to cook with! If you go to the liquor store and ask for a dry red wine for cooking, they will normally point you in the right direction 🙂

      Reply
  15. Nisha @ Honey What's Cooking says

    October 12, 2016 at 3:16 pm

    This looks delicious, saw the video on Instagram. I love the addition of red wine.

    Reply
  16. 2pots2cook says

    October 10, 2016 at 10:41 pm

    5 stars
    This is great ! Makes me hungry right away ! Great photos too ! Thank you !

    Reply

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