This Slow Cooker Beef Curry is an easy and comforting meal with a kick of spice. Slow cooked chunks of tender beef in a rich and spicy sauce served over a bed of rice. It's made with spices you probably already have in your cupboard and it freezes really well too, so you can have leftovers for meals in the week. You can make this "fakeaway" as spicy or as mild as you like too.
In my opinion, the best way to cook beef is to slow cook it. It makes the chunks of beef so incredibly melting tender when it is cooked on low for 8 hours and when cooked in a spicy tomato curry sauce, it takes on so much flavour. It's just really good food!
If curry is a weekend favourite for you, then put this on before you leave for work or the school run on a Friday morning and come home to it cooking away. This beef curry recipe really couldn't be easier.
If you want to try some other slow cooker curries, why not try our Slow Cooker Chicken Curry, Slow Cooker Vegetable Curry or Slow Cooker Lamb Rogan Josh.
Jump to:
Why should you try it?
- Really simple - After you have browned the beef you just dump it all in the slow cooker and leave it to get really tender. A fuss free, hands off dinner.
- Healthy alternative - Lower in calories and fat than a takeaway Indian, and cheaper too. The great thing about making your own curry at home is that you can control exactly what goes in to it.
- Dairy free option - Just swap the yogurt for a vegan version, or even coconut milk. You can also leave it out if you prefer.
- Easy spice mix - We have made our own easy spicy mix and it uses spices you probably already have at home.
- Freezes really well - This slow cooker beef curry is perfect for batch cooking as it freezes and reheats really well.
- Adaptable - You can make this curry spicier or make it mild and more family friendly by leaving out the chilli.
What you will need
- Beef - We used chunks of braising steak (also known as chuck steak) for this curry. It is an inexpensive cut and when cooked low and slow it becomes lovely and tender.
- Oil - We used olive oil to brown the beef, but you could use vegetable or sunflower oil instead.
- Shallots, garlic and ginger - The base of any good curry. The shallots add a lovely sweetness, but you could swap them for a small brown onion instead if you prefer. Save some time by using frozen onion, garlic and ginger.
- Chilli - This is what adds spice to the curry. We only added a little, so it is a fairly mild curry, but you can adjust it to make it spicier if you prefer.
- Spices - Turmeric, cumin, coriander and garam masala are what make up our curry flavours. You could use curry powder instead, or even a curry paste.
- Tomatoes - This slow cooker beef curry is in a tomato based sauce. Try to use the best quality tinned tomatoes you can, as you really will be able to taste the difference. Cheaper tinned tomatoes tend to be really watery, which will result in a thin sauce.
- Tomato puree - This not only adds a little colour to the curry, but it helps to thicken it too.
- Yogurt - This might seem like a strange ingredient in a beef curry, but a little added add the end helps to add a creamy touch to the curry. Made sure you add a little sauce to the yogurt first, and then add it all to the slow cooker to avoid the yogurt splitting.
- Coriander - This adds lots of freshness to the curry.
Step by step
One: Preheat your slow cooker to low. Heat the oil in a frying pan over a high heat and then add the steak and brown for 2-3 minutes. Transfer the steak to the slow cooker pot.
Two: Add the shallots, garlic, ginger and chilli to the frying pan and cook over a low heat for 2 minutes. Add all the spices and salt and pepper, stir well and cook for a further 1 minute.
Three: Add the shallot mixture to the slow cooker pot along with the chopped tomatoes and tomato puree and stir well. Cook on low for 8 hours until the beef is tender.
Four: Stir through the yogurt (make sure to add a little sauce in to the yogurt and then add it all to the sauce to prevent it from splitting) and fresh coriander and serve with rice.
This curry sauce is really rich and will rival most Indian takeaway offerings - and throwing it all in the slow cooker/crock pot is just as easy as calling up a takeaway.
You can make this curry even easier by skipping the browning stage and just throw everything in the slow cooker without the oil. It would still work and cook through, you just wouldn't get as much flavour.
Variations
This curry is one for those of you that can handle the heat, but you can easily adapt it to make it milder and much more child friendly. If you are making this for kids, skip the chilli (or just use a little if they do like some heat) and focus on the herbs and spices instead.
Another great way to adapt this beef curry is to stir in some spinach about 10 minutes before it is cooked. It adds some extra colour to quite a dark dish, not to mention a portion of vegetables. You could also use kale or chard, or a mixture of all three.
You could also add chopped mushrooms, aubergine (eggplant) and courgette in at the same time as the beef. This would allow you to use less beef and still have lots of chunky texture.
The Healthy Slow Cooker Book
Did you know we have a whole book of slow cooker recipes? Available in paperback and Kindle, The Healthy Slow Cooker was released in 2018 and is one of the most popular Slow Cooker Books on Amazon. It contains 100 recipes (including this beef curry) that can all be cooked in your slow cooker including, breakfast, lunch, dinner, desserts and drinks.
Get a copy of The Healthy Slow Cooker now and make your meal prep so much easier.
What to serve it with
Curry and rice is a classic combination, but we have also have this with potato wedges too! But you could also just make a couple of our Easy Homemade Flatbreads and use them to scoop up all that delicious curry sauce. Maybe brush some garlic butter on the flatbreads too. A Peshwari Naan is always a great side to a curry too.
If you choose to have it with rice, add a teaspoon of turmeric when boiling your rice to give it a gorgeous golden colour and also a healthy boost. We have a full recipe for Turmeric Rice, which will go really well with this curry.
FAQs
We used braising steak (also known as chuck steak) for this curry. It is a cut of beef from the shoulder and can be fairly tough so is best for slow cooking. When slow cooked, this fairly inexpensive cut of meat will result in a rich dish that is full of flavour.
This recipe serves 2, but you can easily double the batch and then freeze the leftovers (with rice) in individual portions. I thought the leftovers of this were just as good, if not better, than when made fresh as the flavour intensified (as did the spice). Just make sure it cools fully before freezing.
It will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months, or you can keep it in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Making your own curry at home, rather than ordering a takeaway, is always going to be a healthier option. You can control the amount of oil that goes in it, you can use less meat and you can add more vegetables.
Yes, this is a delicious gluten free curry. Just make sure that there is no cross contamination.
You don't have to, but we really recommend it as it adds such a depth of flavour. Basically, you want to trigger the Maillard reaction. It is a chemical reaction between amino acids and reducing sugars that gives browned food its distinctive flavour. You don't have to though, and you can just throw everything in to the slow cooker and leave it if you are really short on time.
This curry is cooked on high for 4 hours or on low for 8 hours.
Yes, if you want to make a quicker version of this slow cooker beef curry, then you can make it on the stove instead. Fry the onion, garlic and ginger, add the spices and beef and brown for 5 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for 20 minutes.
We think this curry sauce is the perfect consistency. However, if you want to thicken it a little, then add a cornflour slurry about an hour before it has finished cooking. Using good quality tinned tomatoes will help to make sure you don't have a watery curry.
There really is no rule here, just make sure that the beef joint you are using can fit in your slow cooker. We use a Crock Pot DuraCeramic Slow Cooker and we love it. What I love most about it is that you can put the bowl insert on the hob too. So, we thicken the gravy on the hob, in the slow cooker bowl. You can also sear the meat in it first. I also love that it has a clear lid, as I am so impatient that I want to keep looking and seeing what it is doing. If you don't have a clear lid, then lifting it to see will release lots of the heat and add to the cooking time.
Extra tips
- Save yourself some time and make this the ultimate dump meal by skipping the browning stage and add everything to the slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours.
- Add some extra vegetables by stirring in some spinach just before serving, or cooking some chunks of butternut squash when the beef goes in the slow cooker.
- This is easy to freeze in portions, just make sure it has fully cooled before freezing.
- If you don't want this spicy and you want it more kid friendly, then leave out the chilli and let the herbs and spices shine through. Or, you could add some extra yogurt.
- Or, if you want an even spicier curry - try adding some curry powder.
- If your sauce is a bit too watery, then you can thicken it with some cornflour. Mix 2 tablespoon with a little water to make a 'slurry' and then stir in to the sauce.
- Serve with our Turmeric Rice for an added health boost.
- Make sure the yoghurt is brought to room temperature before adding it to the curry, otherwise it might curdle.
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Recipe
Slow Cooker Beef Curry
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 400 g braising steak trimmed of fat and cut in to chunks
- 8 small shallots diced
- 3 garlic cloves crushed
- 1 tablespoon ginger peeled and grated
- 1 red chilli finely diced
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 tablespoon each of ground cumin, ground coriander and garam masala
- 400 g chopped tomatoes canned
- 2 tablespoon tomato puree
- 4 tablespoon fat free natural yogurt
- 20 g fresh coriander finely chopped
- 1 pinch Sea salt and black pepper
- Cooked rice to serve
Instructions
- Preheat your slow cooker to low. Heat the oil in a frying pan over a high heat and then add the steak and brown for 2-3 minutes. Transfer the steak to the slow cooker pot.1 tablespoon olive oil, 400 g braising steak
- Add the shallots, garlic, ginger and chilli to the frying pan and cook over a low heat for 2 minutes. Add all the spices and salt and pepper, stir well and cook for a further 1 minute.8 small shallots, 3 garlic cloves, 1 tablespoon ginger, 1 red chilli, 1 teaspoon ground turmeric, 1 tablespoon each of ground cumin, ground coriander and garam masala, 1 pinch Sea salt and black pepper
- Add the shallot mixture to the slow cooker pot along with the chopped tomatoes and tomato puree and stir well. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours until the beef is tender.400 g chopped tomatoes, 2 tablespoon tomato puree
- Stir through the yogurt and fresh coriander and serve with rice.4 tablespoon fat free natural yogurt, 20 g fresh coriander, Cooked rice
Notes
- Save yourself some time and make this the ultimate dump meal by skipping the browning stage and add everything to the slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours.
- Add some extra vegetables by stirring in some spinach just before serving, or cooking some chunks of butternut squash when the beef goes in the slow cooker.
- This is easy to freeze in portions, just make sure it has fully cooled before freezing.
- If you don't want this spicy and you want it more kid friendly, then leave out the chilli and let the herbs and spices shine through. Or, you could add some extra yogurt.
- Or, if you want an even spicier curry - try adding some curry powder.
Tim L
Looking forward to trying this out, but I'm a tad confused and quite surprised by the amount of shallots that you have in ingredients. Seems like a massive amount for 2 portions.
Should be good either way.
Dannii
Our supermarket shallots here are really small. If the ones you have are large, then 3 will probably be enough. We like lots of onion/shallots as a curry base.
Gillian Kerr
This is the second time I’m making this it was lovely and tasty last time can’t wait to have it again tonight
Dannii
I hope you enjoy it just as much this time.
Chloe
Hi! When I put the fat free Greek yoghurt in and stirred it through it curdled in the curry. Any idea why?
Dannii
It could be because the yoghurt was too cold when adding it. Try bringing it to room temperature before adding it.
B. Simpson
Great recipe and easy to follow. My wife and 94 year old mother loved it. ( Went easy on the chilli )
Had this with roast curried potatoes & rice + Geeta's Mango Chutney. Wow !!!
Dannii
So glad you all enjoyed it. Thanks for commenting <3
Vanessa
Was so looking forward to this curry on a chilly May Sunday ... daughters remarked that it tasted of a casserole... knowing I don’t eat casseroles ... went by the recipe
Dannii
Thanks for your comment. I am not sure what you mean by it tasted of a casserole? The seasonings are Indian, rather than traditional casserole seasonings, so it can't be that. Do you mean the consistency? If it was too watery, like a casserole, there is a section in the notes on that, on how to thicken it at the end. Different slow cookers will cook things differently, so sometimes it needs to be thickened, as mentioned in the notes. It would be great to hear back from you, so we can see what you mean and hopefully you can enjoy the curry again next time :)
Gill
Just made this for dinner tonight can’t wait to try it
Dannii
I hope you enjoy it :)