Melt-in-Your-Mouth Slow Cooker Beef Curry, a comforting and rich family-friendly recipe that is perfect for busy weeknight dinners, meal prep or batch freezing. My Indian-style curry uses easily available ingredients to create a heart-warming meal that goes down well all year round.
If you want tender beef that simply melts in your mouth, you really have to use the slow cooker! It’s the best way, no doubt about it! Yes, you can cook it on the stove top, oven, etc too, but the crock pot will still do the best job without you doing extra work.
Slow cooker meals are a godsent at the end of a long day, when you just want to relax with a big bowl of steaming hot, comforting meal. But unlike other dump-and-go slow cooker dishes, this one must have a bit of prep done first.
Curries are delicious when cooked right, and to get the best flavours, searing the beef caramelising the onion and allowing the spices to release their aroma are steps that cannot be skipped.
Trust me, the extra 10 minutes of prep will be so worth it when you taste a wonderfully aromatic beef curry that can easily rival any curry house or restaurant. And you too can enjoy a delicious dish right from the comfort of your own home!
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Note!
Go to the recipe card at the bottom of the post for exact quantities and detailed instructions!
Ingredients overview
- beef – you best beef here is the regular stewing beef / chuck beef which is a tougher cut that breaks down into a tender texture with slow cooking
- tomatoes – I would normally go for chopped tomatoes, but since I didn’t have any, I opted for cherry tomatoes, which were ripe and juicy and delicious, definitely a good choice
- onion, garlic and ginger – the best base for any curry, you can use any kind of onion, regular, red, shallots, garlic and ginger can be either fresh or puree
- beef stock / broth – for extra flavour, I highly recommend using it over water, you get a much richer curry. I usually go for Knorr stock pot and dissolve it in hot water
- spices – I used hot curry powder, ground turmeric, coriander, cumin, chilli, cinnamon and cardamom, plus bay leaves
- oil – for frying the beef and onion
- yogurt – adds creaminess to the curry sauce, you can swap it for coconut milk or cream for a dairy-free option
- fresh parsley or coriander – to garnish
- salt- & pepper – adjust the amount used to taste
Step-by-step photos and instructions
- heat up the oil in a large pan, add the beef chunks, season with salt and pepper and brown on both sides
- remove the beef from the pan and transfer it to the slow cooker
- add the peeled and chopped onion, and fry it until golden, then add the garlic and ginger and fry for a further 30 seconds
- in go the spices, give everything a good stir, and allow them to release their flavours before adding the tomatoes
- cook the tomatoes for 2-3 minutes until they are mushy
- pour over the beef stock to deglaze the pan
- transfer everything to the slow cooker, and cook it on slow for 7-8 hours, and on high for 4 hours
- add the yogurt towards the end of the cooking, making sure you temper it to avoid it curdling
- garnish with chopped parsley or coriander
Serving suggestions
To me, you can’t have curry without basmati rice, it just won’t do. You can choose between a plain basmati rice, Pilu Rice, garlic butter rice or vermicelli rice.
But you can also go for jacket potatoes, naan bread or yogurt flatbreadpoppadom, pitta bread or any other flat bread of your choice.
Storage and Leftovers
Leftovers will keep well in the fridge for a 3-4 days, but make sure you store them in an air-tight container to keep them fresh, but also to prevent the fridge from smelling like curry.
You can also portion the curry and freeze for a few good months, you can use a microwave to defrost, or pop it in the oven until bubbling hot, but make sure you first transfer it to an ovensafe container.
Expert tips
You can make the curry without browning the beef first, but I wouldn’t skip this step, as it adds so much more flavour. The onion, garlic and ginger will deglaze the pan and use every single brown bit to up the deliciousness.
Use the right cut of beefthe regular chuck beef is the best here, as they work best when they are cooked low and slow. Sirloin or other quick-cooking cuts will dry up in the air fryer and become very tough.
Always bloom the spiceswhich means fry them in oil to release maximum flavours, rather than add them to liquid, you can much more flavour this way.
Make sure you temper the yogurt first before adding it to the hot liquid, otherwise it will curdle. Still a good curry, but not as appealing. Simply add hot liquid to the yougurt and mix it well before adding it to the rest of the curry.
Don’t add too much liquid to the slow cookerunlike dishes that are cooked on a stove top, and the liquid gets absorbed quickly, the crock pot keeps all the moisture in. One cup of beef stock is more than enough.
Other beef curry recipes
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Easy Slow Cooker Beef Curry
Melt-in-Your-Mouth Slow Cooker Beef Curry, a comforting and rich family-friendly recipe that is perfect for busy weeknight dinners, meal prep or batch freezing. My Indian-style curry uses easily available ingredients to create a heart-warming meal that goes down well all year round.
Print Pin RateServings: 4 people
Calories: 437kcal
Instructions
Heat up the oil in a large pan, add the beef, season it with half a teaspoon of salt and a good pinch of black pepper, and brown on both sides.
Remove it from the pan, and transfer it to the slow cooker.
In the same pan, add the peeled and chopped onion, season with the remainign asalt and pepper, and fry it until it begins to brown lightly.
Add the peeled and chopped garlic and ginger puree, and cook for a further 30 seconds.
Add all the spices, and mix well, and leave to cook for a 1 minute so they can release their aroma.
Cut the cherry tomatoes in half, and add them to the pan.
Mix well, and leave the tomatoes to cook for 2-3 minutes until they become mushy.
Pour over the stock, and transfer everything to the slow cooker.
Leave it to cook on low for 7-8 hours and on high for 4 hours.
10 minutes before the curry is ready, add a few tablespoons of the hot curry liquid to the yogurt, and mix very well.
Add the hot yogurt to the slow cooker, and leave it to cook briefly.
Garnish with chopped parsley.
Notes
- You can make the curry without browning the beef first, but I wouldn’t skip this step, as it adds so much more flavour. The onion, garlic and ginger will deglaze the pan and use every single brown bit to up the deliciousness.
- Use the right cut of beefthe regular chuck beef is the best here, as they work best when they are cooked low and slow. Sirloin or other quick-cooking cuts will dry up in the air fryer and become very tough.
- Don’t add too much liquid to the slow cookerunlike dishes that are cooked on a stove top, and the liquid gets absorbed quickly, the crock pot keeps all the moisture in. One cup of beef stock is more than enough.
Nutrition
Calories: 437kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 30g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Trans Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 107mg | Sodium: 870mg | Potassium: 842mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 689IU | Vitamin C: 24mg | Calcium: 84mg | Iron: 5mg