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This Slow Cooker Beef Curry is mixed up in just 5 minutes. A tasty ‘fakeaway’ it also happens to be light and healthy.
Oh hi new favourite Friday night dish! This fakeaway is the perfect throw in a slow cooker in the morning and come home to delicious smells by dinner time.
This Slow Cooker Beef Curry doesn’t use any cream or coconut milk so it’s also is lighter and lower in fat than your usual takeaway.
You have LOVED my Slow Cooker Chicken Curry recipe as it’s so simple to prepare, I decided it was about time to update my beef curry version to make it as easy as possible.
This recipe also freezes well, and you can adjust the spice level to suit all of the family.
You’ll love this Slow Cooker Beef Curry because:
✅ It’s packed with vegetables and a tasty sauce.✅ Hardly any preparation, no need to brown the beef.✅ Freezes brilliantly, cook once, eat twice!
FAQs about the Slow Cooker Beef Curry recipe:
What is the best cut of beef for the Slow Cooker Beef Curry?
I use ‘Braising Steak’, which is the name supermarkets and butchers use for a few different cuts of beef that need slow cooking.
These include chuck, skirt, leg and flank.
It’s also sometimes labelled as Stewing Steak. Any of these cuts that need to be cooked slowly are fine for this recipe.
Do I really not need to brown the beef before cooking in the slow cooker?
If you want to get scientific, the reason we brown meat before slow cooking, is because it causes a Maillard reaction. The process of frying, heating it very hot until it browns, changes the flavour compounds in the meat, basically adding a depth of flavour.
Does it add something to most slow cooked dishes? Yes. Is it vital in this dish, which is packed with other flavour? No.
If you want to brown the meat, it will add another level of delicious flavour BUT I feel that sometimes we need a super quick preparation dinner and it’s worth sacrificing maybe 10% of extra flavour?
I don’t have any curry paste, can I use curry powder?
Yes, depending on your curry powder and your taste, you’ll need to use 3 – 4 tbsp of curry powder instead of the paste.
I would say, I think the paste does work better than powder in this recipe though as unlike in a Slow Cooker Chicken Curry, beef does need a really robust flavour to complement it.
What can you serve with Beef Curry?
You can serve all of the usual curry accompaniments with this Beef Curry.
Pilau Rice, poppadums, yoghurt with some mint mixed through and a salad of tomatoes and cucumber works really well.
My easy flatbreads would be soooo amazing dunked in!
Fancy some other easy Slow Cooker recipes ?
- Super Simple Slow Cooker Chicken Curry – This is one of the most loved recipes on this site, over 175 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ reviews!
- Slow Cooker ‘Roast’ Gammon Ham – Such an easy and yummy Sunday roast joint.
- Slow Cooker ‘Roast’ Beef Joint – Another super simple and delicious roast joint, complete with gravy.
Hope you enjoy this recipe. I’d love to know how you got on and what you thought of it if you make this recipe. Please rate the recipe using the ⭐️ below!
Also, if you fancy showing me a photo by tagging me on Instagram (@tamingtwins) I LOVE to see your creations and try and share as many of them as I can.
This post was originally published on March 28, 2018 and updated on February 9, 2021.
Slow Cooker Beef Curry
Ingredients
For the Slow Cook:
- 1 kg (4.25 cups) Braising steak
- 200 g (0.75 cups) Curry spice paste
- 2 Onions, Peeled and chopped
- 4 Cloves Garlic, Peeled and chopped
- 1 Inch piece Fresh ginger, Peeled and chopped finely
- 2 tbsp Ground cumin
- 400 g (2.5 cups) Tin of tomatoes
- 2 tsp Garam Masala
- 1 tsp Sea salt
- 1 Beef stock cube (bouillon cube), Undiluted, crumbled
To Serve:
- 100 g (3.0 cups) Spinach leaves
- 2 tsp Garam Masala
- 4 tbsp Mango chutney
Instructions
- Put all of the slow cooking ingredients into the slow cooker and cook for 4 hours on HIGH or 6 hours on LOW.
- Add the spinach leaves, remaining Garam masala and mango chutney before serving.
Did you make this recipe? Click here to let us know how it went and give it a ⭐️ rating! Your feedback helps us to make more recipes you really want.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation. Nutritional values are per portion unless otherwise stated.
This post was originally published on February 9, 2021 and updated later to make improvements.
Just cooked the Slow cooked beef curry but after 6 hours, the beef is tough. I’ve kept it covered with liquid during cooking so it hasn’t dried out. ?????
Hi Terry, we’re so sorry to hear the beef came out tough. This usually just means it needs a little longer, as slow cooked beef only turns tender once the connective tissue has and fully broken down, so we’d pop it back on for another hour or two and we hope it comes good.
Made this today and it was lovely, the beef was tender and flavourful. And even. better it was so, so easy to make – perfect for busy family life!
Hi Lauren, we’re so pleased the beef came out tender and flavourful, and that this was so easy to make and perfect for busy family life. Thank you so much for the five star review!
I made this and it was lovely, sadly it was a bit rich as I used a bit too much curry paste as I was worried the recipe wouldn’t have enough sauce for us (as we like a lot of sauce) so will stick to the amounts next time. I was wondering could this also be made with chicken? I know there are other chicken curry recipes but prefer the flavour of this one!
Hi Sophie, thanks so much for your feedback, and good to know you’ll stick to the paste amounts next time for the perfect richness. We’ve not tried these flavours using chicken but let us know how you get on!
if i cook in oven is 150 minutes at 160 enough
Hi Winston, thanks for your question. We’ve not tried it in the oven but yes, around 150 minutes at 160°C in a covered casserole dish should work well. Do check the beef is lovely and tender before serving and give it a little longer if it needs it.
The recipe was was super easy to follow. I made it with balti paste and added 2 red peppers. Very tasty
Hi Carys, we are so glad it was easy to follow and came out tasty! We love that you used balti paste and added a couple of red peppers, that sounds delicious and a lovely way to make it your own. Thank you for leaving your review.
All of it was good but the amount of curry paste definitely seems way too much. It’s usually a tbsp or 2 of paste, not a whole 200g jar, even according to instructions on the jar. When I used 200g it was way too strong and almost inedible, I saved it with a whole can of coconut cream and 1/2 tsp sugar and it was lovely, but this definitely seems to be an error in the recipe 🙂
Hi Kate, thank you for flagging this and we’re glad you rescued it so well! The recipe is written for a mild jarred cooking paste, like Patak’s, where 200g suits 1kg of beef for six. A more concentrated paste would explain the strength, so it’s always worth adjusting to the type you’re using. Thank you so much for your feedback.
I first made this curry about two years ago, and didn’t think it would be anything special, but it’s now my go to when making a curry.
The recipe is so flexible with flavours, I’ve used different flavour and strength pastes, and substituted the spinach for potatoes or cauliflower, giving it an Aloo Gobi feel.
Hi Andy, we love that it’s become your go-to! Thank you for sharing your variations too, the Aloo Gobi twist with potatoes or cauliflower sounds fantastic. It’s brilliant to hear how flexible it’s been for you.
hi there! can i use diced beef as opposed to strwing steak etc?? xx
Hi Vanessa, yes, diced beef works perfectly here. It is usually the same cut as stewing or braising steak, so it turns lovely and tender over the long slow cook. Just brown it well first for the best flavour
can you put all of this together and and marinate in fridge overnight before putting in slow cooker the next day?
Hi Joanne, we haven’t tested this one with an overnight marinade, but as there’s no browning or prep needed it only takes 5 minutes to mix on the day. If you do want to get ahead, you could chop everything the night before and keep it covered in the fridge. Hope that helps!