• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to privacy navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Jo Cooks

Simple - Easy - Comfort

Join my free recipe email club!
Free eBook
  • Recipe Index
  • Cookbooks
    • The Big Book of Jo’s Quick and Easy Meals
    • 30-Minute One-Pot Meals
  • ABOUT JO
  • Contact
  • Facebook Instagram Pinterest Twitter YouTube
  • Dinner Ideas
  • Instant Pot
  • Slow Cooker
  • 30 Minute Meals
  • One Pot
  • Desserts
Home / Recipes
6 hours 10 minutes
4.44 from 30 votes
38 Comments

Slow Cooker Pepper Steak

Jump to RecipePrint Recipe
  • 512
by: Joanna Cismaru
07.21.20

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

This Slow Cooker Pepper Steak is a super easy slow cooker meal that’s packed full of flavor. All that’s required is 10 minutes prep time to you end up with one delicious meal. Always a favorite and better than take out!

Slow Cooker Pepper Steak served in a bowl over rice

This pepper steak recipe is as simple as it gets. It utilizes tons of fresh flavors, like onion, garlic, and bell pepper, and is all cooked down in a zippy pepper sauce. Cooked low and slow, this steak recipe produces a dish that is fork tender and completely drool worthy.

I love to serve this over fluffy white rice, with all that liquid in the pot spooned over generously. The best part? It only requires 10 minutes of prep time! Let’s get cookin!

What Is Pepper Steak?

Pepper steak is a Chinese American dish that is a take out classic. It uses strips (or in this case cubes) of beef that is cooked down with bell pepper and a sauce thickened using cornstarch. Now I didn’t dice up a filet mignon or anything of the sort, rather I picked up some well marbled beef tenderloin and cubed it up into bite sized pieces.

process shots of Slow Cooker Pepper Steak

Ingredient Notes

  • Beef – Tenderloin cubed up into bite sizes pieces, about 1 1/2 inches. We want a cut that will hold up well to a longer cook time.
  • Onion – Something that holds up well to long cooking, such as white or yellow.
  • Garlic – Use as much or little as you like.
  • Bell pepper – Any color you like, diced up into bite sized chunks.
  • Broth – I used beef today, because – well we’re cooking with beef! Low sodium please as we want to control our salt content.
  • Teriyaki – A little teriyaki sauce will go a long way flavor wise. If you don’t have any on hand it’s easy to make! It just requires soy sauce, honey, cornstarch and water.
  • Hot sauce – Whichever kind strikes your fancy, today I used sriracha.
  • Seasoning – I just used pepper today, we have more than enough salt in here already.
  • Cornstarch – This ingredient will thicken up our sauce.
process shots for Slow Cooker Pepper Steak

How To Make Slow Cooker Pepper Steak

  1. Prepare your dish: Trim the meat if needed and cut into small pieces. Place the meat in the slow cooker. Then throw in the rest of the ingredients and roughly stir. Cover and cook on LOW for 5 to 6 hours or on HIGH for 3.5 hours.
  2. Create the pepper sauce: To thicken the sauce, take a ladle of the sauce from the slow cooker and whisk it together with the cornstarch in a small sauce pan. Cook on low until the sauce thickens, then throw it back in the slow cooker and stir so that it all combines well.
  3. Finish the Pepper Steak: Garnish with chopped green onion, sesame seeds, or fresh parsley and serve hot.

What Else Can Be Used In Slow Cooker Pepper Steak?

Meat

I used beef tenderloin for this dish today but beef top round or sirloin cuts will also do just fine. Chicken can also be used instead of beef altogether, the cook time remains roughly the same so follow all the other directions just the same for a delicious chicken twist.

Veggies

While they aren’t traditional you can also use carrots, zucchini, tomato, or mushrooms. You can also serve this dish over cauliflower rice to add another serving of veggies to your dinner.

close up of Slow Cooker Pepper Steak served in a bowl over rice

Tips For Making The Best Pepper Steak

  1. You can skip the sauce thickening step if you’re in a hurry, it is by no means crucial! But I love it as I find whichever starchy base I spoon this dish over soaks up the sauce even better when it’s thicker.
  2. We don’t need to marinade the meat today as it’ll absorb lots of flavor as it cooks slowly but if marinating is key in your kitchen, by all means feel free to combine the sauce ingredients and allow the meat to soak in the fridge as long as you’d like. If time permits, you can also go ahead and brown the meat first.
  3. Slice your tenderloin against the grain to be sure each bite is incredibly tender to the tooth.

How To Serve

This dish is just beautiful served over fluffy white rice, mashed potatoes, or egg noodles. If you have different varieties of rice on hand and want to spoon this dish over something a little different, this handy guide should help.

Storing Leftovers

This dish will stay fresh in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 – 4 days. In the freezer it’ll keep for 2 – 3 months, just be sure it is completely cool before packing in a shallow airtight container.

Craving More Steak? Try These Delicious Recipes:

  • Easy Chicken Alfredo Pasta Bake
  • Garlic Butter Steak Bites
  • Pan Seared Steak
  • Best Steak Marinade
  • Steak Tacos
  • Asian Style Pepper Steak

Looking for more recipes? Follow on… My Newsletter Pinterest Facebook Instagram

a bowl full of rice topped with slow cooker beef and bell peppers

Slow Cooker Pepper Steak

4.44 from 30 votes
Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 6 hrs
Total: 6 hrs 10 mins
Author: Joanna Cismaru
Serves: 6
Print Pin Rate
This Slow Cooker Pepper Steak is a super easy slow cooker meal that's packed full of flavor. All that's required is 10 minutes prep time to you end up with one delicious meal. Always a favorite and better than take out!

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 pound beef tenderloin cut in 1 inch pieces
  • 1 medium onion roughly chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 bell peppers any color, roughly chopped
  • 1 3/4 cups beef broth low sodium
  • 1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
  • 1 teaspoon hot sauce I used Sriracha sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper or to taste
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
US Customary – Metric

Instructions

  • Trim the meat if needed and cut into small pieces. Place the meat in the slow cooker. Then throw in the rest of the ingredients and roughly stir.
  • Cover and cook on low for 5 to 6 hours or on high for 3.5 hours.
  • To thicken the sauce, take a ladle of the sauce and whisk it together with the cornstarch in a small sauce pan. Cook on low until the sauce thickens, then throw it back in the slow cooker and stir so that it all combines well.
  • Serve over rice, noodles or mashed potatoes. Garnish with some chopped onions or parsley and some sesame seeds.

Recipe Notes

  1. Although I used a tenderloin, you could use beef top round steak or beef sirloin steak. Stewing beef would also work.
  2. No salt is listed as an ingredient in this recipe because I find that the teriyaki sauce and beef broth together provide enough saltiness but if you want, feel free to add more as needed.
  3. This dish will stay fresh in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 – 4 days. In the freezer it’ll keep for 2 – 3 months, just be sure it is completely cool before packing in a shallow airtight container.

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 353kcal (18%)Carbohydrates: 7g (2%)Protein: 23g (46%)Fat: 24g (37%)Saturated Fat: 10g (63%)Cholesterol: 79mg (26%)Sodium: 667mg (29%)Potassium: 630mg (18%)Fiber: 1g (4%)Sugar: 4g (4%)Vitamin A: 1240IU (25%)Vitamin C: 53.2mg (64%)Calcium: 22mg (2%)Iron: 3.1mg (17%)
Course:Main Course
Cuisine:American, Asian
Keyword:pepper steak, slow cooker pepper steak
Tried this recipe? Rate it belowtag @jocooks on instagram and hashtag it #jocooks!
  • 512
  • 7

Meet Joanna Cismaru

I’m Joanna (Jo for short) and this is my blog where I share with you my culinary adventures. Here you will find a variety of recipes using simple everyday ingredients and creating wonderful, delicious and comforting meals, including some decadent desserts.

30 recipes from around the world cover.

Never miss a recipe!

Subscribe and get a FREE dinner recipes ebook!

side view show of spanokopitas with one split in half exposing the center
Previous Post
Spanakopita
overhead shot of chicken jambalaya penne in a skillet with a serving spoon in it
Next Post
Chicken and Sausage Penne Jambalaya

Reader Interactions

Leave a Comment & Rate Recipe Cancel reply

Did you make this recipe? Rate it:




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Comments

  1. Angel says

    February 27, 2022 at 2:58 pm

    Hi! Question about thickening the sauce. Your note says take “a” ladle of sauce from the pan. Do I do all the sauce or just one ladle? Thanks so much!

    Reply
    • Joanna Cismaru says

      February 27, 2022 at 5:30 pm

      Just a ladle, you just need some liquid to mix in with the cornstarch. Alternatively you can mix the cornstarch with a bit of water. 🙂

      Reply
  2. Ron says

    July 16, 2019 at 2:19 pm

    You didn’t list the ingredient portions to make the teriyaki sauce Jo, could you please let us know

    Reply
    • Joanna Cismaru says

      July 16, 2019 at 2:48 pm

      I’m not sure what you’re asking. The recipe with the amounts and all ingredients are listed in the recipe card itself. You need 1/4 cup of teriyaki sauce. If you want to make your own teriyaki sauce here’s my recipe: https://cravinghomecooked.com/homemade-teriyaki-sauce/

      Reply
  3. Shea says

    June 4, 2019 at 9:30 pm

    5 stars
    Loved it! Quick and easy to make.

    Reply
  4. David says

    February 23, 2018 at 9:51 am

    5 stars
    I love your recipes, this one included, but on this one (“Virginia Says” and) I have to ask, why use the most expensive AND LEAST FLAVORFUL cut of beef in something that will be slow-cooked, rendering ANY cut that is used quite tender?

    As every beef lover knows, the beef scale runs from tender to flavorful; the more tender the cut, the less flavorful, and vice versa. The only real advantage of beef tenderloin in any application is that it is the extreme on the tender end of the scale. So for something that’s going to cook this long, wouldn’t something like sirloin, round, or even chuck or brisket be just as tender, but provide a lot more beef flavor at significantly lower cost?

    I understand not wanting to get a bunch of gristle in the meaty bits of the soup, but with most cuts, especially sirloin and eye of round, it’s very easy to spot and remove gristle (usually just one big, obvious streak that’s easy to fillet off using the same method as removing skin from fish with a fillet or boning knife) before cutting the beef into cubes. (And if you put the gristley bits in a cheesecloth bag and add them to the slow-cooker to be easily extracted before serving, they also add a lot of delicious gelatin to the broth that forms.) So if the end result is going to be tender regardless of the cut, for my own tastes and purposes it makes the most sense to spend less and get more flavor in the dish. Your thoughts, please?

    Reply
    • Joanna Cismaru says

      February 23, 2018 at 11:47 am

      Hi David! I really have no valid reason for this only that’s what I had in the fridge. As mentioned in the notes though, you could use a less expensive cut of beef as stewing beef.

      Reply
  5. Linda P says

    September 14, 2017 at 4:07 pm

    Can I use the teriyaki marinade?

    Reply
  6. Linda P says

    September 14, 2017 at 10:37 am

    Can I add mushrooms? And how much?

    Reply
  7. Becky says

    November 2, 2016 at 4:43 pm

    Hi – am I able to use the same recipe if I’m making it stove top?

    Reply
    • Fenne Kieken says

      November 3, 2016 at 6:54 pm

      Sure, just adjust your cooking time and heat accordingly.

      Reply
  8. Virginia says

    June 3, 2016 at 2:16 pm

    Wondering why you chose a normally tender cut of meat for this recipe. I would think, economically, speaking, a less expensive but equally flavorful cut would be a more wise choice

    Reply
  9. Jesse Goodson says

    April 22, 2016 at 11:33 am

    My Daddy cooked with pork , shrimp and taro.. its so yummy, i will try this recipe, thank you for sharing!

    Reply
Older Comments

Primary Sidebar

Joanna Cismaru

Hey there!

I'm Joanna (Jo for short) and this is my blog where I share with you my culinary adventures. Here you will find a variety of recipes using simple everyday ingredients and creating wonderful, delicious and comforting meals, including some decadent desserts.

Read More…
cover for the big book of jo's quick and easy meals.

My Cookbook

Order Now: Amazon | Indigo | Barnes & Noble | Indie Bound | Books-A-Million

Never miss a recipe!

Subscribe and get a FREE dinner recipes ebook!

Sign me up

Dinner Favorites

black pepper chicken on a bed of rice on a black plate.

Black Pepper Chicken

a slice of pastitsio on a black plate.

Pastitsio (Greek Lasagna)

side view shot of a piece of eggplant parmesan with marinara sauce in a white plate garnished with parsley and a piece cut out and held by a fork

Eggplant Parmesan

side view shot chicken souvlaki skewers with a little tzatziki on a plate

Chicken Souvlaki

yakisoba noodles with chicken and vegetables in a large serving platter.

Yakisoba

pouring lemon sauce over fried chicken.

Chinese Lemon Chicken

a chicken gyro wrapped in paper and topped with lots of tzatziki sauce with another gyro in the background

Chicken Gyros

homemade hamburger helper lasagna from scratch in a skillet.

One Pot Hamburger Helper Lasagna

Air Fryer Recipes

a roasted chicken on a serving platter along some roasted root veggies.

Air Fryer Whole Chicken

apple pie bombs on a white plate with the top one cut in half.

Air Fryer Apple Pie Bombs

3 cooked chicken breasts on a cutting board.

Air Fryer Chicken Breast

air fried chicken drumsticks in a basket of an air fryer.

Air Fryer Chicken Drumsticks

cooked chicken thighs in the basket of an air fryer.

Air Fryer Chicken Thighs

eggs inside an air fryer basket.

Air Fryer Hard Boiled Eggs

lobster tails on a white serving platter.

Air Fryer Lobster Tails

hands pulling apart a mozzarella stick with the rest in the background

Air Fryer Mozzarella Sticks

freshly made bread in air fryer on a cutting board cut into slices.

Air Fryer No Knead Bread

bacon wrapped water chestnuts on a white serving platter.

Air Fryer Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts

Jo Cooks...

Flavors from around the world

No matter what household we have all grown up in, there is something that has brought us all together here and that is a love and appreciation of food. Food that is from cultures and cuisines across the world has always been a staple of the blog. I'm excited to bring you all a taste of each corner of the earth, every last bite seasoned to perfection and served up with love - from my kitchen to yours.
chow mein in a white asian bowl.

Asian

creamy chicken marsala pasta in a white platter.

Italian

chicken fajita taquitos with sour cream and salsa on a white platter.

Mexican

chicken and mushroom in creamy dill sauce over a bed of rice in a blue bowl.

Romanian

freshly made lamb korma in a beige braiser.

Indian

freshly made hummus drizzled with olive oil and garnished with tomatoes cucumbers and olives.

Middle Eastern

Trending Now

overhead shot of oven baked chicken breasts in a baking dish

Baked Chicken Breast

overhead shot of oven baked chicken thighs in a pan

Oven Baked Chicken Thighs

roast chicken with roast potatoes on a roaster.

Roast Chicken

a prime rib roast sliced on a plate

Prime Rib Roast

Browse All
  • Easy Dinners
  • Instant Pot
  • 30 Minute Meals
  • Chicken Recipes
  • Desserts
  • Recipe Index

Featured On

today logo.
huffpost logo.
the washington post logo.
jezebel logo.
countryliving logo.
good housekeeping logo.
lifehack logo.
buzzfeed logo.
mashable logo.
woman's day logo.
health logo.
better homes & gardens logo.
delish logo.
healthline logo.
nbc news logo.
blogloving logo.
university of washington logo.
shape logo.
Facebook Instagram Pinterest Twitter YouTube
  • Recipe Index
  • Cookbooks
  • About Jo
  • Contact
  • visit my other site: Craving Home Cooked
  • Privacy Policy
  • Accessibility Statement
© 2022 · All Rights Reserved · Back to Top
Opens in a new window Opens an external site Opens an external site in a new window

Subscribe and get a free dinner recipes ebook!