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Homemade beef tips with mushroom gravy — as always with NO canned soups! My beef tips are ridiculously tender and easy to make in your slow cooker or instant pot. Serve beef tips over cauliflower mash, mashed potatoes, egg noodles, or rice!
Today I’m bringing on another round of homemade comfort food, loaded into a bowl over a fluffy cloud of creamy mashed potatoes.
My homemade beef tips are a family favorite. For good reason. Fall-apart tender beef in a simple homemade beef gravy.
When things are going a hundred miles per hour over here on weeknights, I need to get dinner on the table without having to babysit it. So I make a round of beef tips with mushroom gravy and serve it over a bed of fluffy, garlicky mashed potatoes and somehow, with every bite the troubles of the day slowly dissipate.
Hubby is happy because it’s man-food and I’m elated because fewer dishes! Although to be fair, hubby does dinner dishes. So my happiness stems more from the fact that this recipe requires minimum prep but produces maximum flavor.
Every time I share a new instant pot recipe, I’ll get a comment for the recipe to be converted for a slow cooker. And the reverse always proves to be true too. So this time, I’m sharing beef tips for all. This is crockpot beef tips and also instant pot beef tips, all rolled into one recipe card.
Let’s get our kitchen gadgets make us dinner.
The inspiration for slow cooker beef tips comes from a Mississippi pot roast. Brown gravy mingling with pepperoncini pepper — divine.
I avoid store-bought gravy mixes as much as possible. So I’m making a from-scratch gravy mix using simple ingredients that you can find in your own pantry.
This is a delicious, simple recipe that I served over mashed potatoes. Everyone that tries it says how amazing the flavor is.
Video for the Best Beef Tips
Ingredients for crockpot beef tips
- Butter: we’ll season the beef with flour, kosher salt, and black pepper before we sear the meat in the butter to help create a layer of fond in the bottom of the dish. This will help flavor the rest of the beef tips ingredients.
- Beef: For beef stews and beef tips, I prefer to use a well-trimmed beef chuck roast or round roast is my cut of beef of choice. Cut into 1-inch cubes. ‘Beef stew meat’ from the grocery store, works too and it’s already cut into chunks. Tougher cuts are ideal for this recipe as they require a longer cooking time. I promise it’ll be fork tender by the end.
- Flour: will help thicken the stew and create a crust on the beef when we sear it.
- Chopped onions: adds flavor to the dish.
- Mushrooms: gives the recipe a bit more bite. The umami present in mushrooms works beautifully with beef. We aren’t using a can of cream of mushroom soup. So this and the mushroom powder essentially make up for that.
- Seasonings: we’ll use garlic powder, sugar, onion powder, dried thyme, and mushroom powder. A lot of these ingredients are actually what is present in a store-bought dry onion soup mix. You’ll also need a bay leaf.
- Worcestershire sauce: bumps the umami in the dish.
- Pepperoncini peppers: adds a peppery acidity to the dish which helps cut through the richness of the beef and butter and gives you a satisfying flavor. Trust me, leftovers taste even better! The meat is melt-in-your-mouth delicious on day two!
- Beef broth or stock: is the liquid portion of the dish. The meat and veggies will cook in this. Low sodium beef broth works best. Swap for water and bouillon if you like.
- Cornstarch: we’ll mix a few tablespoons of cornstarch with water to create a cornstarch slurry with water and work to the lumps. This will help thicken the gravy. A thickening agent is usually present in brown gravy mix, but since we aren’t using a packet for this recipe, this does that for us!
Making easy crockpot beef tips (or instant pot)
- Start by getting in that free flavor. Season the meat with flour, salt, and black pepper. Heat the butter in the instant pot directly if you’re pressure cooking. If you’re using the slow cooker or crock pot, you’ll want to do this in a large skillet over medium high heat. Sear the beef in batches and then remove to a plate. Add the onions and use a wooden spoon to scratch and pick up the fond layer that the beef left behind.
- Let it cook. Transfer the meat to a slow cooker at this point, and add all the ingredients except the cornstarch, and let the pressure cooker or slow cooker run.
- Make a slurry. Grab some of the liquid from the instant pot or slow cooker when it’s nearly done and whisk it together with the cornstarch (or you can also use water.) pour and stir this into the gravy and let the slow cooker or instant pot simmer the beef tips a little longer until the gravy thickens. You can also use cold water here if you prefer more gravy.
- Serve this up – any way you like it! You can serve these beef tips over mashed potatoes (try my cheddar cheese variety) or you can use rice, mashed cauliflower or even egg noodles!
FAQs about this recipe
You can skip this step if you’d like, but know that searing the meat in batches in a pan creates a layer of fond in the bottom of the dish which is essentially ‘free flavor.’ By skipping this step, you do lose some of the flavor development.
Absolutely! Swap the flour for a 1-1 gluten-free baking mix. For this recipe, you’ll need a total of 2 tablespoons of 1-1 GF baking mix.
Leftover beef tips can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days. I do find that this is one of those recipes that taste better on day two, so trust me, you’re gonna love the leftovers!
Slow Cooker Beef Tips with Mushroom Gravy (and Instant Pot!)
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 2 pounds chuck roast trimmed+ cubed (or stew meat works too)
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 onion diced
- 8 ounces baby Bella mushrooms cut into thick slices
- 1½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1½ teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon umami seasoning or mushroom powder
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 large bay leaf
- ½ cup pepperoncini peppers thinly sliced
- 1 ½ – 2 cups low sodium beef stock see directions
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with a few tablespoons of water
Instructions
- SEAR: Season the beef with the flour, a big pinch of salt and pepper; mix well. Heat the butter in the instant pot on the sauté setting or a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. When it melts sear the beef in batches to form a brown crust, remove to a plate, and continue searing the remaining beef. Add the onions and switch to a wooden spoon. Sauté them for 1 minute, scraping the bottom of the pot to make sure no brown bits are left stuck on.
- SLOW COOKER: Place 2 cups of beef stock along with the remaining ingredients in the slow cooker (except the corn starch) and cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 5-7 hours. 35 minutes before the cooking time is up, combine ½ cup of the liquid from the slow cooker and the cornstarch in a small bowl, whisk until smooth. Add to the slow cooker and allow for the food to cook for the remaining 30 minutes. If the gravy is too thick, add a few tablespoons of water to thin it to your desired consistency. If you still find your gravy is thin, add more cornstarch mixed with a tablespoon of water. Adjust salt and pepper to preference and serve over rice/mashed potatoes/cauliflower mash, etc.
- OR INSTANT POT: Place 1 ½ cups of beef stock along with the remaining ingredients in the instant pot (except the cornstarch) and select the meat/stew setting. Cook on manual high pressure for 35 minutes. Once the stew is cooked allow natural pressure release for 10-15 minutes. This gives the meat a chance to really soak up all those flavors. Click the ‘sauté’ setting. Dissolve the cornstarch with 2-3 tablespoons of water and add that to the instant pot once the liquid starts bubbling. Allow the sauce to thicken, about 1-2 minutes, stir to combine. If the gravy becomes too thick, you can add a couple more tablespoons of water to thin it to your desired consistency. Adjust salt and pepper to preference and serve over mashed cauliflower, mashed potatoes, rice, or egg noodles.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like This? Leave a comment & rating below!
I have made this 2 times now! It is delicious! My husband loves it with noodles and I with mash potatoes! Please note, you can get the mushroom powder on Amazon! I do believe Amazon delivers to all 50 states! Thank you for this lovely recipe!!
Could you freeze this recipe
Made my own mushroom powder by thinly slicing mushrooms sun dried them then ground to a powder
I cannot wait to try this! Sounds Delicious. And, I have mushroom powder bought on the specialty food isle at my local TJ Maxx, been sitting on shelf a little bit not knowing how to use it. Will send an update after I try it this next week.
That’s where I bought mine! I think it worked well.
Hi. I just made this and am glad I did. I had never heard of mushroom powder before, so that had me even more excited. And, because I live in Portland, Oregon I had no trouble finding mushroom powder. But, I did discover that you can make your own powder by getting dried mushrooms and then grinding them. Anyways, thanks for the great recipe and a new ingredient for my future recipes.
Delicious I made this dish tonight and my husband loved it! This recipe will definitely be in the rotation!
Can I make this a day ahead? Sounds delish and I want to serve to my sister and her husband but I want to have everything all set to just warm up
Not using peppers; can I add red wine for flavor?
I put my freeze-dried white and porcini mushrooms thru the food processor for a moderately fine powder (I invested $$$$ in a ‘home freeze dryer’ that has been worth EVERY $$$$!), keeping it in a mason jar with an oxygen absorber; the aroma is absolutely incredible upon opening the lid even 2 years later…I make mushroom beef tips almost identically to your recipe but can’t wait to try pepperonicini, in fact I’m making it tonight! I just discovered your site and am looking forward to using many of your recipes. Thank you
Question…do you put the seared beef & onions in the crock pot with the other ingredients and continue cooking? Or do you set aside while other items cook and just arrange on individual plates before serving?
The seared beef and onions go into the crockpot as well! Hope you enjoy it to the fullest 🙂
This really was a 5 star recipe. I made a few “tweaks” based on my personal preferences and made it on top of the stove and it was excellent. I used london broil, which goes on sale frequently in our local supermarket, and which I usually cut up and freeze for future meals, making it very economical. I dredged in gluten free flour, since one of my family members cannot have gluten or soy, and I used regular white mushrooms and fresh garlic instead of garlic powder. This was my first time using mushroom powder and it was a winner. I left out the peppers because I had littles eating the meal and I didn’t think they would tolerate the heat. When I make it again, for myself, I will put them in. Thank you for a great recipe!
I love this recipe. It was excellent . The flavors was just awesome. To make the beef cubes more flavorful marinate the meat the night before. I started my dinner around 7am this morning (since I am retired). When the gravy was ready, I had buttered egg noodles and spinach.
Ridiculously tender beef tips sound delicious will this have the same results if I do it on top of the stove.
Thank you
I altered the recipie a smidge (I deglased the pot I was using to brown the meat with cognac) and it’s bubbling away now… and it already smells delicious and the sauce is spectacular. I have no doubht this is going to be awesome.
I am a fellowTexan and I love beef tips. I also enjoy any recipe that helps me use my instant pot! I hate buying gadgets and not using them so thank you so much for you IP recipe. This looks amazing and I will be making it as soon as I get home from TJ with my mushroom powder. I have never heard of that btw and am so excited to learn something new in the flavor world. Thank you for sharing this and teaching us all something new ❤️
Several decades ago there was a little place called “Spuds” on South Pearl Street in Denver. The main attraction was a baked potato smothered with various things and Beef Tips with Mushroom Gravy was one of them and my favorite. It was only in business for 2-3 years. This recipe brings it back, good work. I’ll be making it again. No mushroom powder where I live but dried Porcinis and a spice grinder did the job until I can order some Umami Bomb from Chefshop in Seattle.
My favourite instapot recipe!
How much mushroom powder do you add and when ?
The recipe states ONE tsp…. it’s in the list of ingredients.
Thank you for this delicious recipe. I did have the mushroom mix from Traders and did buy it in Wisconsin. If you can’t find it most stores have mushroom broth paste where you find the jarred chicken broth paste.
I made it in the instant pot using sliced beef I had leftover and only cooked it for abut 15 minutes since the beef was already cooked. I can see how amazing this would be with a lesser grade of beef, like chuck roast which has a lot of flavor. The flavor was great and I’ll use this recipe often.
You won’t regret trying it. I served it over german noodles.
Excellent!! Great flavor. Good over mashed anything.