This post may contain affiliate links.
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.
Made this for family and they absolutely loved it! So easy too. I added a chopped red pepper and a tin of lentils for some extra fibre and stirred in some sour cream at the end with the mango chutney and honestly was delicious 😋
Hi Elaine, we’re so pleased your family loved this! Thanks for sharing your tweaks, the red pepper, lentils and sour cream sound delicious and other community members will love trying them. Thanks for the five star review.
Fantastic I am back loving my slow cooker thanks to all your recipes and this one is another one to keep thanks
Hi Niamh, thank you for the five star review! We’re delighted you’re back to loving your slow cooker and that this beef curry is one of your favourites now. We hope you enjoy working your way through even more of our slow cooker recipes.
Whole family loved it wouldn’t change a thing
Hi Heather, we’re so happy the whole family loved the beef curry and that you wouldn’t change a thing and thank you so much for the five star review!
made this tonight my 24 year old said it was the best curry I’d ever made better than an Indian restaurant super easy to do didn’t brown the meat either so just put it alm in the slow cooker last night and brilliant tea tonight thank you Sarah your recipes save my life
Hi Kelly, thank you so much for the five star review. Praise like better than an Indian restaurant from your son is the best kind, and we love that skipping the browning made it so easy. We’re so pleased these recipes help you out.
Can I use a powdered spice mix and if so how much.
Hi Gill, yes you can. Depending on your spice mix and your taste, you could add around 2 to 4 tablespoons in place of the paste. We have not tested using spice mix as we do find the paste works a little better here, as beef needs a really robust flavour, but please let us know how it goes!
i made this curry for my wife and kids they absolutely loved it tried to keep some for my lunch for the next day but it all got ate very nice
Hi Billy, thank you so much for the five star review. We had a real laugh at the curry disappearing before you could save any for lunch, that is always the sign of a winner. We’re so pleased the whole family loved it.
about to make this. do I cut the meat into cubes before cooking? thanks.
Hi Helen, good question, yes we would cut the braising steak into bite sized chunks before it goes in, or you can save yourself a job and use ready diced braising or stewing steak, which works perfectly. We hope you enjoy it.
Utterly delicious. Scoffed down by the three of us, including our 2.5 year old son! So easy to make first thing in the morning and the house smells amazing all day.
Hi Aicha, we love that all three of you scoffed this down, including your 2.5 year old, and that the house smelled amazing all day. There’s nothing better than a fuss free morning prep. Thank you for the five star review.
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!