Slow Cooker Balsamic Shredded Beef
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Slow Cooker Shredded Balsamic Beef might be the easiest and very best slow cooker meal I’ve ever made for my family. You simply can’t beat the aroma of slow cooked chuck roast. It’s one of the best dump-and-go meals you’ll find!
Reasons You’ll Love This Recipe
- Everyone, from preschoolers to adults, devours this tender, flavorful dinner at our house.
- Impressive enough to serve for Christmas dinner or birthday dinner.
- Like our Slow Cooker Short Ribs recipe, it’s a dump and go slow cooker meal. Perfect to put in the Crock Pot at the beginning of the day!
- It’s freezer friendly. Double and freeze one for your future self!
- It’s high in protein with 21 grams per serving. We explain how important protein is in our Round up of High Protein Slow Cooker recipes.
- Serve it over Boursin Mashed Potatoes, Healthy Mashed Potatoes, or polenta (pictured) which are perfect for all that extra sauce left in the crockpot.
- Use the leftover shredded beef on Bread Machine Wheat Rolls as “french dip” sandwiches the next night. Again, a huge win!
Ingredients You’ll Need
These are the flavor-enhancing ingredients that you’ll need for this dump-and-go slow cooker meal…
- Beef broth – If you don’t have this on hand, chicken broth will work.
- Balsamic vinegar – This is a key ingredient that adds a slightly sweet, acidic note.
- Soy sauce – Use low sodium soy sauce, because you can also add salt at the end if needed (but you can’t take it out). Gluten-free option: Use coconut aminos or gluten-free Tamari Soy Sauce.
- Honey – Adds a little sweetness to balance out the salt and acid.
- Garlic – I just used minced garlic from the store to save time.
- Boneless roast beef – Look for a beef roast with some marbling throughout, which adds a lot of flavor. Chuck or round roast works well.
How to Make Balsamic Shredded Beef
Add Ingredients to Crock Pot
Put roast beef into slow cooker and season with Kosher salt and pepper on all sides. In a small bowl, mix together all remaining ingredients. Pour over roast beef.
Slow Cook the Beef
Place a lid on top and cook on LOW for at least 8 hours, until the beef easily shreds.
Shred and Serve
Use two forks to shred the roast. Stir into the sauce and serve warm.
How to Serve Balsamic Shredded Beef
Here are a few ideas of how to serve this savory-sweet Shredded Beef:
- Serve over Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes, Cream Cheesy Mashed Sweet Potatoes, or polenta (as pictured), and drizzle the juices from the cooker over it all.
- Use the meat for mini sandwiches on rolls. Put the au jus (leftover juices) from the cooker in small ramekins for dipping…like Crockpot French Dip!
- Serve with our Microwave Corn on the Cob or our Baby Boiled Potatoes.
How to Freeze Slow Cooker Shredded Beef
This recipe works great to prep ahead and freeze, so you may want to cook two roasts at once in a large crockpot. It should take about the same amount of time. Cook until they shred easily.
Here are two methods for turning this into a freezer meal:
Method 1: Uncooked
To Freeze: Place all ingredients together in a freezer-friendly plastic bag and freeze. To prepare, let bag thaw in refrigerator for 24 hours.
To Prepare: After thawed, cook as directed.
Method 2: Fully Cooked
To Freeze: Fully cook the meal (through Step #4). Let it cool completely. (Safety Note: Do not let the meat sit on the counter more than 2 hours.) Store meat and sauce in a freezer container or freezer bag after it’s cooled completely.
To Prepare: There are at least three safe ways to defrost and warm up this meal.
- Let meat thaw in the fridge for 24-48 hours and then warm gently on the stovetop or in the microwave. (This is the preferred method.)
- From frozen on stovetop: Place the frozen meat and sauce on the stovetop in a pot over medium-low heat. Dump 1 cup of water or beef broth over the top. Put a lid on and stir periodically until warmed through.
- From frozen in microwave: Place frozen meat and sauce in a microwave-safe bowl. Use the DEFROST setting to thaw, stirring occasionally. Then heat in the microwave on the COOK setting in 30-60 second increments until warmed through.
Recipe FAQs
Chuck roast is a popular choice because it turns out so tender when slow cooked. Brisket, rump roast, and short ribs would also work.
In our tests, we didn’t notice a significant enough difference in the end result to justify the time and mess it takes to sear the beef.
No, the USDA says it’s not safe to cook a frozen roast in a slow cooker. It will sit in the “danger zone” temperature where bacteria grows at a rapid pace for too long. It’s important to thaw the roast in the refrigerator for about 2 days ahead of time first.
Can You Make Shredded Beef in the Instant Pot?
You bet! Just follow the instructions in the recipe below but make the following changes:
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- Cut the beef into 2×2 pieces.
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- Place the beef and the sauce in a 6-quart Instant Pot. Lock and seal the lid. Cook at high pressure for 30 minutes. Allow the pressure to release naturally for 10+ minutes.
If you want to know how to convert other recipes to the Instant Pot, be sure to download our Instant Pot Cooking Times Chart.
We also have a cookbook that gives slow cooker AND Instant Pot instructions for EVERY recipe. You can check out From Freezer to Cooker here.
More Dump-and-Go Recipes
If you like this easy crockpot recipe, be sure to try a few of these favorites.
Did you make this? Snap a photo and tag us on Instagram at @thrivinghome so we can see your creations and cheer you on!
Slow Cooker Balsamic Shredded Beef
Slow cooker balsamic shredded beef is packed full of flavor and oh-so-easy to savor. So. Good.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 – 3 pound boneless beef chuck roast
- Kosher salt and pepper
- 1 cup beef broth (or sub chicken stock)
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce (Gluten-free option: Use coconut aminos or gluten-free Tamari Soy Sauce)
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (increase if you want more heat)
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
Make It Now:
- Put roast beef into slow cooker and season with Kosher salt and pepper on all sides.
- In a small bowl, mix together all remaining ingredients. Pour over roast beef.
- Slow cook on LOW for about 8 hours, or until meat easily shreds apart.
- Using two large forks, shred the meat apart in the slow cooker.
- Serve meat warm on top of mashed potatoes or polenta (pictured). Alternatively, serve on a bun or ciabatta roll with sauce on the side for dipping, like French Dip Sandwiches.
Freeze For Later:
Method 1: Uncooked
To Freeze: Place all ingredients together in a freezer-friendly plastic bag and freeze. To prepare, let bag thaw in refrigerator for 24 hours.
To Prepare: Thaw in the fridge overnight and then cook as directed.
Method 2: Fully Cooked
To freeze: Fully cook the meal (through Step #4). Let it cool completely. (Safety Note: Do not let the meat sit on the counter for more than 2 hours.) Store meat and sauce in a freezer-safe container after it’s cooled completely.
To thaw: Use one of these safe thawing methods and then warm on the stove over low heat or in the microwave.
Notes/Tips
- Instant Pot Instructions: Cut the beef into 2×2 pieces, and place the beef and sauce in a 6-quart Instant Pot. Lock and seal the lid. Cook at high pressure for 30 minutes. Allow the pressure to release naturally for 10+ minutes.
- To Thicken the Sauce: If you’d like to thicken up the sauce at the end, here’s how. After removing the cooked roast to shred it, turn the slow cooker to HIGH. In a small bowl, stir together 2 tablespoons cornstarch with 2 tablespoons water until smooth. Whisk that into the sauce in the slow cooker, cover, and cook for about 30 minutes or until thickened. (For the instant pot, turn on the Saute function after removing the cooked roast and whisk in the cornstarch slurry. It should thicken up in 1-2 minutes.)
- Gluten-Free Version: Replace the soy sauce with coconut aminos or gluten-free Tamari soy sauce.
- Storage Tip: A great way to store this freezer meal or leftovers is in our favorite freezer meal containers. Either store in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer for 3 months.
- Where We Get Our Beef: We get our beef from ButcherBox. The beef is grass-fed and curated from trusted farms. We highly recommend this service to source healthy meat–like uncured bacon, chicken, and wild salmon–and have used it for years ourselves.
- We also have a similar recipes for Slow Cooker Short Ribs and Crock Pot Beef Bourguignon.
So simple, but so flavorful!
Glad you loved this Jodi. Thanks for taking the time to leave a review.
This is my go-to -great flavor & easy.
This a great go-to, like you said… easy AND great flavor! Always impresses my guests. Thanks for the review Cara!
I made this for my family quite a while back and it was a huge hit. Honestly, for such an easy/simple recipe, it tasted like we were at a nice restaurant. This is a keeper!!
I feel the same way Lori! I love making this for family dinners because the taste really does make it seem like you’re eating out BUT it’s so EASY! 🙂 Thanks for taking the time to leave a review.
DELISH. I made it today. It was really easy to put over quinoa (I’m gluten free) and green beans for me and my husband put it on a roll to have sandwiches. It was really good and super easy to make. I will definitely make this again.
Thank you for taking the time to leave a review Robin. So glad you and your husband both enjoyed this in different ways to suit your dietary needs.
I was hesitant about this recipe because it seems like such an adult flavor but my two toddlers loved it! They both came back for seconds! I can see myself making this again and again in the future!
Yay! Love to hear about the kiddos enjoying our recipes. This is a favorite for all ages at our house too! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review Chelsea.
Made this recipe for my Burning Man experience and it was awesome. So easy with instant mashed potatoes. Freezes and stores very well, definitely double the recipe and vac seal yourself extra portions because this is decadent flavors that you can pull out of your freezer anytime!
Hi Nathaniel. Thanks for taking the time to leave a review. This is always a hit for whomever I make this for!
Can this be made in a low temperature oven and get the same results as a crockpot? If so what temperature would you suggest and for how long?
Hi Lou. I’m sorry but we haven’t tested this in the oven. If you do make it, let us know how it turns out.
This came out amazing in the instant pot! Another new go-to for our family, my kid loves it. And I love all the new recipes I am learning from this site that I can freeze then chuck into the instant pot when I get home from work for a magical meal. We served with slices of baked cornmeal mush (kind of like polenta) with a little parmesan sprinkled on top, and a veggie side.
Sounds delicious Bess! So glad you are finding recipes that your family loves and are quick and easy for you. Thank you for taking the time to leave a review.
Very tender, I think the 8 hrs is a little too long though. Very good flavor but a little dry for my liking. I made rice, should have made potatoes! I will definitely make again!
Hi Stephanie! Thanks for the feedback. It probably depends on how hot your crock pot runs and how big of a roast you have. Every slow cooker is different, so yours may only take 6 hours. It’s ready when it shreds easily. And, yes, soooo good over mashed potatoes with that sauce!
This was absolutely delicious and easy to make. My 7, 5, and 2 year old all loved it. I served over rice for the kids and cauliflower rice for me as well as broccoli. My oldest has lots of food allergies, and I substituted no soy soy-free sauce (Ocean Halo brand) and it worked wonderfully. I also have a freezer meal for my family (hard to find with all his allergies). Thank you from the bottom of my heart!
Wow Rachel. Allergies can be so difficult. I am so glad to hear that this recipe checks all the boxes for your family. It is a great freezer meal! Thanks so much for leaving a review.
This looks lovely – I would like to make for a large group but I’m uncertain about timing of when they are coming. If I make it earlier in the day, is there enough moisture to keep it warming for a few hours or should I make it the day ahead and just re-warm? With thanks
Hi Debbie. There’s definitely plenty of sauce in this recipe and would be fine to hold on warm for a few hours (or it’s fine to make it ahead and rewarm it the next day). It’s hard to mess this one up. Enjoy!
I absolutely love this recipe. I served it on top of creamy polenta. It is a family favorite that has a permanent spot on our menus. It is very easy to make as well as very flavorful.
Wow, such a wonderful review Michelle. Thank you for taking the time to leave a review and tell others how much you enjoy it.
I’ve made this recipe twice and served it on Kaiser rolls topped with coleslaw…Delicious !
That does sound delicious Barbara! Thanks for the serving suggestion.
I make this often, both to gift as a healthy, comfort food, freezer meal (I add a bag of frozen mashed potatoes) and to serve for family and friends. It’s ALWAYS a hit!
Great idea to serve with frozen mashed potatoes Lois! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review.
My family loves this and we eat it a lot. It goes well in a thermos the next day for school lunch which is always a big bonus for me:)We are living in a trailer until we build a house & I had every family member pick a meal and my daughter picked this one.
Hi Andrea! So fun that your daughter picked this one. My favorite recipes often make the best leftovers! Thank you for leaving a review.
Hi, what other cuts of beef could be used. I am having troubled finding a beef chuck roast.
A rump roast would also work.