Slow Cooker French Onion Beef is an easy recipe that is full of flavor. This set and forget dish is perfect for dinner any night of the week and a breeze to bring together! Simply pair the slow cooker French onion steak with a bed of creamy mashed potatoes and dinner is done.
Recipes like the Slow Cooker French Onion Pork Chops, Slow Cooker French Onion Chicken and the French Onion Cob Loaf are all about the garlicky onion French flavors.
The Beef Pesto Pasta, Beef Osso Bucco, Steak Risotto and the Slow Cooker Braised Steak And Onions are all about using a variety of beef cuts.
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🤍 Recipe Highlights
I have summarised everything that you will come to know and love (LOVE ❤) about the oyster blade slow cooker recipe in the points below:
- Set and forget: one of the best things about slow cooking is when you have a recipe that once added to the slow cooker will cook on its own. The house smells amazing and you are 'hands free' for the most part.
- Budget friendly: whilst we all love a juicy piece of steak now and again the price of them can be expensive! For the same price as 1-2 cuts of premium steak we can purchase 4 smaller portions of a cut that slow cooks extremely well.
- Family friendly: there are no 'too hot' or 'too spicy' or 'too intense' flavors in this recipe. So it is a great choice if you are looking for a meal that the whole family can enjoy together without having to make multiple meals at once.
- Slow cooker: slow cooking meat is a great way to ensure a fork tender experience. Doing so ensures that the connective tissues in the meat break down and deliver melt in your mouth results.
🥗 Ingredients
The photo below is to show you everything you need to make the French Onion Beef recipe. Please refer to the printable recipe card for specific ingredient measurements as well as detailed instructions.
As you can see this slow cooker meal calls for:
- Salt and pepper: used to season the beef prior to cooking.
- Garlic powder: as one of the combination of flavors in the French Onion flavor profile.
- Thyme: dried thyme.
- Butter: we want to use unsalted butter as we are salting the meat seperately.
- Brown sugar: for a little sweetness to balance the savory flavors.
- Worcestershire sauce: adds a little oopmh!
- Beef stock: beef stock also known as beef broth is the primary liquid used to cook the steaks.
- Swiss cheese: reasonably mild in flavor and very 'cheese pull' worthy, we add this towards the end stage of the cooking process.
- Onions: we use lots of onions in the recipe! They soften as they cook and will literally melt in your mouth after being slow cooked.
- Mushrooms: I like to use swiss brown mushrooms for their colour (great contrast with the beef!) and robust texture.
- Steak: I like to use beef oyster blade steaks for this recipe. They are budget friendly, perform well when slow cooked and you can get 4 portions in a packet that is perfect to serve a family.
- Optional: I like to make a cornstarch slurry to go in this dish. It helps to thicken the sauce a little and is a simple combination of water and cornstarch. It is not essential to the recipe however, so omit if you prefer.
🍳 Instructions
Here are the step by step instructions to make the French Onion Steak recipe. We start by preparing the vegetables. You will need a sharp knife and cutting board for the initial steps.
- Slice the onions (Photo 1)
- Chop the mushrooms (Photo 2)
- Season the steaks (Photo 3)
- Combine the slurry ingredients (Photo 4)
👩🍳 How to Make Slow Cooker French Onion Beef
To make the slow cooker French Onion Beef we season the steaks (both sides) like shown in the photos above.
Once done we can whisk together the slurry (to thicken the sauce) and begin to layer all of the ingredients into the slow cooker.
- Add the sliced onions (Photo 5)
- Then add the brown sugar (Photo 6)
- Add the butter (Photo 7)
- Add the dried thyme (Photo 8)
Start with the onions followed by the brown sugar, butter and dried thyme.
- Add the garlic powder (Photo 9)
- Pour in the beef stock (Photo 10)
- Add the Worcestershire sauce (Photo 11)
- Then add the seasoned beef (Photo 12)
Next add the garlic powder, beef stock, Worcestershire sauce and seasoned beef steaks like you see in the photos above.
Once done, put the lid on the slow cooker. Cook the dish for either 3 hours on high or 6 hours on low.
When this inital cook time is up, remove the lid from the slow cooker (set aside) and use a pair of kitchen tongs to transfer each cooked steak out of the bowl (rest these on a dry cutting board).
Next pour the slurry into the bowl and use a wooden spoon to gently stir and combine. Then when ready use the tongs to place the steaks back into the slow cooker (on top of the onion mixture) and place a folded piece of cheese on top of each. Sprinkle the mushrooms over the cheese and put the lid back on.
- Remove the cooked steaks (Photo 13)
- Pour in the slurry (Photo 14)
- Add the cheese (Photo 15)
- Add the mushrooms (Photo 16)
Once the lid is back on the slow cooker we want to cook the dish for a further 15-30 mins (high) or 30-45 mins (low).
- Cook 15 mins high or 30 mins low.
This 2nd cook time is to ensure the cheese melts over the steaks and that the mushrooms cook through.
Once the time is up you can remove the lid (set it aside), garnish the beef with fresh parsley and call out to everyone that 'dinner is ready!' 😉👌.
🍽 Serving Suggestions
When it comes to serving your slow cooked French onion beef I like to keep things easy and pop it alongside a bed of creamy mashed potatoes. You can see what this combination will look like in the photo below. Crusty bread will work too if that is your thing.
If you are more of a potato bake pairing person you can try it alongside the Creamy Garlic Potatoes, Potato And Broccoli Bake or Potato And Sweet Potato Bake.
For other types of potato sides try the Garlic Butter Potatoes, Duck Fat Roast Potatoes or the Skin on Roast Potatoes 😊👍.
If you are after a cheesy bread side try the Turkish Garlic Bread, Ciabatta Garlic Bread, Garlic Pizza Bread or the Tortilla Garlic Bread.
Or for a salad side try the Herb Salad, Cherry Tomato Caprese Salad or the Healthy Panzanella Salad.
👍 How to Guide
How to Store
Let the dish fully cool. Then portion leftovers (or for meal prep) into seperate sealed, airtight containers. These can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days and need to be reheated before being consumed.
How to Freeze
Or follow the step above and then transfer the containers into the freezer. They can be kept for 3 months and are best thawed before being reheated. If you have already frozen then thawed the steaks to cook it is best to not refreeze them.
How to Reheat
Refrigerated leftovers can be transferred to a plate or bowl and covered with cling wrap. Then place in the microwave and reheat on high for 2-3 minutes until warmed through.
😉 Substitutions and Variations
Here are my sub ins and outs that you might be thinking about as you read the post and I will tell you if I think they will work or why they won't:
- You can use chicken or pork for the protein if you are looking for an alternative. (See the French Onion Chicken or French Onion Pork Chops for reference).
- For alternatives to the Swiss cheese you can use cheddar or tasty cheese. The types I don't recommend for this recipe are the 'burger style' cheese slices that have a more plastic texture than smooth and soft.
- In place of the dried thyme you can use dried parsley.
- Or if you would prefer to use a packet of French Onion soup mix you can omit the garlic powder, dried thyme and brown sugar and then use this instead. Sprinkle it out liberally over the chops so that the seasoning is evenly spread across the meat.
- Fresh thyme will work as a garnish in place of the parsley if you want to make this switch.
- The aim is for the melted cheese to 'stick' to the steaks. This also ensures that some of the mushrooms stick so you end up with a delightful layering of beef, cheese and mushrooms.
💡 Tasty Tips
Here are my top tips and tricks that I want to share with you so that you master the recipe from the get go:
- I don't spray the slow cooker insert with cooking oil for this recipe. Sometimes I will however, lightly grease the edges of the bowl so that if the steaks are touching it they won't steak. Fold a piece of paper towel and run it around the circumference with a light touch of oil and this will work well.
- A pair of kitchen tongs will come in handy to flip the steaks and add them to the slow cooker. They will also help towards the end when we remove the cooked steaks to thicken the sauce and then add them back in again.
- As much as we slice the onions into rings, we also want to seperate these rings out a little bit (see the video) so that they cook evenly and consistently.
- Love making slow cooker recipes? Then you might like to try the Savoury Mince, Curried Sausages, Dahl, Dry Rub Ribs or the Slow Cooker Osso Bucco 😉👍.
🤓 Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can use French Onion Soup mix in the slow cooker. Or you can use similar ingredients to create the flavor profile if you want to start the mixture from scratch.
No, it is not necessary to brown beef before putting it in the slow cooker. This choice is an optional one.
Yes you can put raw onions into the slow cooker.
😍 More Easy Dinner Recipes
If you love getting dinner sorted but don't want it to be 'same, same' every night of the week then you need lots of options up your sleeve. Here are some to choose from:
- Meatballs Alfredo
- Chorizo Fried Rice
- Scallop Linguine
- Baked Rigatoni With Sausage
- Sausages With Caramelised Onions
- Chicken Yaki Udon
It is time to get our Slow Cooker French Onion Beef on my friend. You can also find all of my dinner recipes or slow cooker recipes in the one spot.
Adrianne
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📖 Recipe
Slow Cooker French Onion Beef
Ingredients
- 4 medium onions skin peeled and sliced into rings
- 1 cup/250 grams swiss brown mushrooms
- 4 beef oyster blade steaks Note 1
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 cup/250 ml beef stock
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 4 slices swiss cheese folded in half, Note 2
Slurry (optional)
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
To serve
- mashed potato
- black pepper
- parsley
Instructions
- Onions: use sharp knife and cutting board to peel the onion skins and then slice each into rings. Once done use your fingers to seperate the onion slices into rings.
- Mushrooms: use the same knife and cutting board to thinly slice the mushrooms. Once done set aside (these get added towards the end of the cook period).
- Steaks: use a pair of tongs to place each steak flat on the cutting board. Season with salt and pepper then use the tongs to flip to the other side and season this side for each steak also.
- Slow cooker: spread the onions out in the base of the slow cooker to form a layer. Next add the brown sugar, butter, dried thyme and garlic powder. Then pour in both the beef stock and Worcestershire sauce. Take the kitchen tongs and use them to place each seasoned steak on top of the onion mixture. Put the lid on the slow cooker and set the timer to cook for 3 hours on high or 6 hours on low.
- Slurry: combine the cornstarch and water in a small jug and use a mini whisk to stir until consistent. Note 3
- Slow cooker: once the initial cook time is up, remove the lid and set it aside. Then use the tongs to take each piece of steak out and place them onto a clean, dry chopping board. Pour the slurry into the slow cooker and use a wooden spoon to gently stir and combine. Then use the tongs to place each steak back into the slow cooker. Next fold each piece of swiss cheese and place one folded piece onto each cooked steak. Then sprinkle the sliced mushrooms in across the cheese and top of the meat. Next put the slow cooker lid back on and cook for a further 15-30 minutes (high) or 30-45 minutes (low).
- Garnish: once the final cook time is up remove the lid from the slow cooker and set it aside. Garnish the dish with the chopped parsley.
- To serve: spoon portions of the onion mixture onto plates loaded with mashed potato. Spoon the sauce over the onions then top this with the cooked steak, cheese and mushroom pieces. Sprinkle with freshly cracked black pepper.
Video
Notes
- Note 1 - Beef: I like to use beef oyster blade steaks when making this recipe. They are an economical cut of meat that you can get either in a 2 pack or 4 pack. This cut of beef is best slow cooked and is a great serving of 4 for a family with the meat costing around $15.
- Note 2 - Swiss cheese: we add the cheese in the 2nd part of the cooking process. This is when the beef is cooked and we are adding the mushrooms and cheese. Doing so allows us to have a short cook time for the mushrooms and cheese which allows them to maintain their robust textures without any mushy or overcooked sense about them.
- Note 3 - Slurry: the cornstarch and water creates a slurry. This thickens the liquids in the dish. It is optional and you don't have to use it if you don't wish too. If you do choose to use it we want to whisk it thoroughly when we are combining it so that there are not lumps. We also don't use it towards the end after the 1st cooking stage when we are adding the cheese and mushrooms.
Belinda says
Loving all that you put into the slow cooker with the beef. Yummo!
Adrianne says
Thanks Belinda 😊.
Cary Smith says
Amazing!! Thanks we love this new recipe.
Adrianne says
Thanks Cary 😊.