Why you’ll love this slow cooker pepper steak
As we get ready for back to school season, I can’t help but think about easy recipes. The kind that take no brain power at all. This pepper steak recipe is a slow cooker dump meal that requires minimal morning prep and when you get home, you can make some rice while the sauce thickens.
If you like this recipe, you have to try this baked pineapple chicken. It’s another easy, hands-off recipe, and these bang bang salmon bites are made in the air fryer in minutes.
Looking for more take-out inspired recipes that you can make at home? Try these: Chinese cashew chicken / Hot honey lemon pepper chicken wings / chicken teriyaki bowls
Ingredients & substitutions
- Sirloin steak – Any steak will work for this, but I like a sirloin because it’s cost-effective and gets super tender in the slow cooker.
- Baking soda – This helps tenderize the meat, but you could skip it if you don’t have any.
- Bell peppers – I normally opt for green and red, but you can use any color.
- Cornstarch – This is for thickening the sauce. I don’t recommend changing this, but if you do make a substitution, make sure you use the correct amount for your ingredient. Don’t just swap one-for-one.
- Soy sauce – We keep reduced sodium soy sauce in our fridge, but if you use regular soy sauce or tamari (to make the recipe gluten free), you will need to adjust the salt in the recipe.
Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions listed below are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.
The following is a detailed overview of the recipe steps with added tips and tricks for recipe success. For a simplified and printable version, including ingredient amounts and more formal instructions, see the recipe card below.
How to make this slow cooker pepper steak
Prep the ingredients. Slice your steak, peppers and onions, and mix up your sauce. This can be done the night before, but I recommend keeping the liquid ingredients separate from the meat until you’re ready to cook.
Slow cook it. When you’re ready to go, add everything to the slow cooker and stir to evenly coat the ingredients in sauce. Then, put your slow cooker on low for 6-8 hours (or high for 3-4).
Thicken the sauce. When the peppers are tender, make a slurry of water and cornstarch. Add it to the slow cooker and set it to high heat. Let the slurry cook into the sauce for at least 30 minutes, or until the sauce is nice and thick.
More recipe ideas. slow cooker Thai peanut chicken / slow cooker white chicken chili / grape jelly meatballs / pork and sauerkraut
Slow Cooker Pepper Steak
Ingredients
- 1 pound of sliced sirloin steak, thinly sliced
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced
- 1 green bell pepper, sliced
- 1/2 small onion, about 1/2 cup, sliced
- 1/3 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon Sriracha sauce, optional
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 – 2 teaspoons minced ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Instructions
- Add everything, except the water and cornstarch, to the slow cooker. Stir to combine.
- Cook on low for 6 – 8 hours, or high 3 – 4 hours.
- With about 30 minutes left, mix the cornstarch and water until smooth. Stir into the slow cooker and allow the pepper steak to cook for the remaining 30 minutes, or until thickened.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This was tasty easy to make and didn’t break the bank. Loved it, thanks