Easy Slow Cooker BBQ Beef

This easy slow cooker BBQ beef is one of our family favorites! It’s quick, easy and made with simple ingredients but has a huge flavor. It’s perfect for those busy weekdays or when feeding a crowd!

Slow Cooker BBQ Beef Recipe

If you have ever been to a ranching operation and been involved in branding day, you know that it’s basically like a western holiday for us. We LOVE branding day. In fact, my husband says that it’s better than Christmas. Branding day is the day when we bring all of our cattle into our corrals, sort off the calves, and place our brand on each calf. It’s a necessary part of our operation for a few reasons – I won’t go into those but just know we have to.

Well, since branding day is such a huge job, we usually have lots of volunteers that come to help us get the job done. After we are all done, we have a huge feast. And guess what I make, 95% of the time? Yep, this slow cooker BBQ beef recipe. It is so easy and can feed a hungry crowd. It’s full of beef and BBQ flavor that is so fulfilling and leaves your tastebuds zinging. I’ve made this for years and every year many cowboys and cowgirls are super happy with their after-dinner branding meal. So here is my quick and easy slow cooker BBQ recipe.

The Cowboys’ Rating: 9/10

Every time I make a new recipe, I have my family rate the recipe out of 10. By the time, these recipes make the blog, they’ve been tried and tested by some of my hardest tiny critics!

What Ingredients Are in Slow Cooker BBQ Beef?

• Beef Roast – The best part about this recipe, is that you can pretty much use any cut of roast that you’d like. Most of the time I use a chuck roast or a sirloin tip roast, but you can use any roast for this recipe. We use our own homegrown beef that is grass-finished and regeneratively raised. It’s full of flavor and so dang good.
• Mixed Seasoning – Sometimes I will make my own rub, but if I’m in a pinch, I usually use one of these two mixed seasonings form McCormick. The Garlic and Onion, Black Pepper and Sea Salt seasoning is a favorite as well as the McCormick Himalayan Pink Salt with Black Pepper and Garlic All Purpose Seasoning. Both of these are my go-to for seasoning this slow cooker BBQ beef recipe.
• Minced Garlic – I love to add in some minced garlic for extra flavor.
• Onion Powder – I also add in a dash of onion powder. BBQ is loaded with a bunch of different flavors, so that is what I am going for here.
• Salt & Pepper
• Beef Flavored Better Than Boullion – Better Than Boullion is made from meat, vegetables, and spices, and it so flavorful! I love to use Better Than Boullion to give my beef an extra boost of flavor. I combine this with 1/2 cup of water and add it to the bottom of the slow cooker.
• Worcestershire Sauce – Adding a little Worcestershire sauce helps to achieve that savory BBQ flavor that I’m looking for.
• Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ Sauce – I know we all have our favorite BBQ sauce, and this one is mine. It is the perfect amount of sweet and savory and also is Gluten Free which I love.
• Hamburger Buns – If you have the time, try making my homemade hamburger buns. They are so good and my cowboys, big and small, love them! If you don’t have time for this recipe, just grab a package of your favorite hamburger buns.
• Optional:
  • Coleslaw – We love to serve my homemade coleslaw over top of this slow cooker BBQ beef. It has the perfect amount of tang and crunch that really makes this BBQ beef sandwich so delicious! You can find my recipe here.

Tools You’ll Need

• Measuring Cups & Spoons
• Liquid Measuring Cup
• Slow Cooker

Recipe for Slow Cooker BBQ Beef

1. Pat dry beef roast and place in the bottom of slow cooker.
2. Mix together seasonings and make a rub.
3. Generously season the roast on all sides with the rub.
4. Mix together warm water, Better Than Boullion and Worcestershire sauce until well combined. Pour in the bottom of slow cooker.
5. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or until meat is tender.
6. Remove beef from slow cooker. Reserve 1 cup liquid then drain remaining liquid from slow cooker.
7. Shred beef and return to slow cooker.
8. Add in BBQ sauce and remaining liquid and mix well.
9. Cover and cook an additional 30-60 minutes to allow flavors to blend.
10. Remove BBQ beef from slow cooker and serve on hamburger buns.
11. Enjoy!

How to Store Slow Cooker BBQ Beef

Can I just tell you how much I love leftover BBQ beef?! It tastes just as good for days after you make it! I store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week after cooking and it’s just as good!

Gluten Free BBQ Beef

To make this recipe gluten free, you will want to eliminate the Better Than Bouillon and just use regular beef broth. Please also check your ingredients to make sure they are truly gluten free as well.