Slow Cooker Recipes – Sweet & Sour Steak

There’s nothing more cozy than the smell of dinner cooking in the kitchen. This slow cooker steak recipe takes low cost cuts and turns them into fork tender beef pieces with the best flavour, all with little effort.

Unlike other sweet and sour beef recipes that involve more hands on time, this version requires no corn starch and hence results in a thinner, runnier sauce. Perfect for serving with rice or potatoes.

These sweet and sour meatballs are another example of how easy and delicious cooking beef can be in the slow cooker!

Ingredients You Will Need

• round steak
• salt and pepper
• diced tomatoes
• brown sugar
• white vinegar
• onion
• green bell pepper
• bay leaf

How to Make Sweet and Sour Steak in The Slow Cooker

Gather your ingredients. Place cubed beef into the slow cooker, add remaining ingredients.

Stir all ingredients well. Cover and cook on low for 7 to 8 hours or on high for 4 hours.

Ingredient Notes

What cut of beef is best for sweet and sour steak?

While the recipe does call for 2 pounds of round steak, I have been known to cut prep time even further by purchasing pre-cut stewing beef at the butcher when it is on sale, and they are happy to divide it up into 2 pound packages for me.

Use canned diced tomatoes

Canned diced tomatoes work well in this recipe, but if you want to ramp it up a bit try San Marzano (D.O.P -Denominazione d’Origine Protetta) canned tomatoes. They taste as fancy as they sound!  Preferisco San Marzano Tomatoes are an excellent brand.   The flavor is out of this world. San Marzano cost a bit more, but every once a while I splurge on a can or two!

What’s the best vinegar to use for sweet and sour sauce?

For this recipe, plain white vinegar is all you need. Along with the tomatoes, it’s the perfect balance to the sweetness of the brown sugar and bell peppers.

About those onions

You can pick up a large bag of pre-chopped onions at many warehouse food stores such as Costco.  It saves a ton of time (and tears) in the kitchen.  Another option is to purchase or borrow a food chopper and bulk chop your own onions.  Simply place them in freezer bags and squeeze out all the air before zipping the bag.  This helps to decrease ice crystals from forming.

Prepping vegetables

It is always a time saving idea to wash and cut vegetables as soon as  you bring them home from the grocery store.  If you have made your weekly meal plan (which I highly recommend) you can prep your veggies according to the meals you are preparing for the week and store them in the refrigerator.  They are ready to go when you are!

Tips & Variations

• while this can be cooked on high for a shorter period of time, I do recommend taking advantage of the low and slow cook method to achieve the most tender beef
• add a drained can of pineapple chunks for an extra pop of sweet flavour
• add a bit of freshly grated ginger for a bit of a warm, spicy flavour

Serving Suggestions

• with its thin broth, this is perfect served over hot cooked rice as the rice absorbs the liquid enhancing the flavour.
• serve over mashed potatoes
• get in some extra vegetables by serving with a fresh garden salad or steamed broccoli
• drain some of the juice and serve on a toasted Kaiser roll
• toss it with your favourite noodles

Storing Leftovers

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two days. Reheat in a sauce pan over medium-high heat, until heated through. Or, freeze leftovers in an airtight container for up to one month. Thaw in the refrigerator and reheat as above.

The scent of the sweet and sour sauce is really mouth watering.  The beef cooks up fork tender and just melts in your mouth.  You get a taste of sweet and a taste of sour in every bite!