Use beef stew meat, flank steak, or beef roast to make the easiest, most comforting slow cooker ragu any night of the week!
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Winter must-have’s!
The list of winter must-have’s is short and sweet, but make such a huge difference living somewhere that experiences cold and snow most of the winter season. Number 1 – winter clothing and gear to make going outside tolerable! Because it is a big time drag to be stuck indoors all winter! This crew of mine actually *lives* for the snow, but I think a big reason for that is getting them outside in the winter even as babies! Number 2 – the coziest blankets, a good book, a fireplace, and slippers for at home! What is better than a good book by the fire during a snow storm?! And number 3? Plenty of warm and comforting winter meals to enjoy!
A new slow cooker spin on a family favorite!
We made one of our family favorite dinners using the slow cooker instead of a Dutch oven this weekend. I recently had a conversation with some readers about wanting more slow cooker recipes, so I’m challenging myself to use mine a little more this season. I actually loved this process, and forgot how convenient it can be to have meals that can be dumped into a slow cooker in the morning so that dinner is done when you get home!
What is ragu, and what kind of beef do I use?
Typically ragu is a slow cooked beef in a rich tomato based sauce. Usually a beef roast is used. I have always used stew beef or flank steak because they are cheaper cuts of beef, and it helps me use up those cuts from the grassfed cow we have in the freezer! My take on a classic ragu has a little nutrient loaded spin…
Ragu…with a nutrient upgrade!
We love the nutrient density that grassfed beef offers meals like this. Recipes like this are also really easy to load up with extra fiber and nutrients that you normally might not be able to get the kids into on their own. This sauce not only has mineral rich pumpkin puree stirred in, I also used convenient, frozen riced cauliflower to add more fiber and volume, that you will never know is there!
The Method :: Marinade the beef
This step has 2 purposes. The first purpose is to tenderize the beef. Especially if you are using a tougher beef cut like stew beef or flank steak, an overnight marinade will not only make the meat much more tender, it will make it taste amazing. The second purpose for the overnight marinade, is simple…it takes some of the prep time off your plate for the morning! Taking 5 minutes to get the beef ready is 5 minutes that you don’t have to spend prepping in the morning. In fact, you’ll literally just be dumping the beef and the marinade right into the slow cooker the next morning!
The Method :: Assembling the Slow Cooker Ragu in the morning
The rest of the ragu ingredients will just be added to your slow cooker in the morning. Yes, it is that easy! Dump the sauce ingredients as well as the beef and marinade, then turn the slow cooker on low for 8-10 hours.
Prep Ahead Tips
I was trying to think ahead how I would make this slow cooker dinner if I had to leave for work the next morning. I think I would absolutely prep the shredded onion and carrot the night before when I prepared the beef marinade. That is the only other step that requires a little prep. That way, you can literally dump it all in when you wake up, turn it on, and leave. When you get home the ragu will be ready! I shred the veggies so that they give the ragu sauce lots of flavor without the veggie chunks. I like to use the shred attachment on my food processor to make it extra fast.
The Method :: Serving the Ragu
Once the ragu is done slow cooking, use a potato masher or a couple forks to shred up the beef. I find that a potato masher works well for stew beef chunks, and forks work well for flank steak or beef roast. While you are shredding the meat, you can cook the pasta, and then serve dinner.
Tell me about that pasta!
We have to be gluten free in our house, so I love to keep THIS PASTA on hand for this dish! It is the perfect wide noodle for this ragu meal! Truly, any pasta shape will do though.
Do I have to use the pumpkin and frozen riced cauliflower?
Nope! I started adding fiber and volume to meals like this when my girls were little since serving a typical side salad didn’t work well when they were toddlers! It still allowed me to get some fiber in. You can totally skip the extra veggies if you want, or do both the veggies and the side salad! We try to eat super seasonally, so adding winter veg like squashes, chopped greens, or the frozen riced cauliflower are too easy to skip, and don’t change the taste!
Leftovers?
Umm, yes please! This ragu feeds my family of 5 for a full meal, and then leftovers for perhaps 2 or 3. In fact, I often like to add another pound of beef (making it 3 pounds total), so that there are more leftovers, so definitely do that if you have teenagers or a larger family.
Slow Cooker Ragu
Ingredients
For the Beef Marinade:
- 1/4 cup red wine See Notes for swaps
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 – 1 tsp black pepper
- 2 lbs beef stew meat or flank steak
For the Slow Cooker Ragu:
- 1 28-ounce can whole peeled or crushed tomatoes
- 3-4 tbsp tomato paste
- 1/4 cup broth of choice or water
- 1 medium onion shredded
- 1 large carrot shredded
- 1 cup canned or fresh pumpkin or squash puree (this is tasteless, but optional for extra fiber/volume)
- 1 cup frozen riced cauliflower (this is tasteless, but optional for extra fiber/volume)
- 1-1 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 2-3 tbsp honey or regular sugar (this balances the acidity of the tomatoes – potentially could leave this out but it does make a flavor difference)
- Marinated Beef and juices from above
- Cooked pasta of choice and shredded parmesan for serving
Instructions
For the Beef Marinade:
- The night before you want to make the ragu, put the beef and marinade ingredients into a container with a lid or freezer bag to marinade over night. This should only take a few minutes to do!
For the Slow Cooker Ragu:
- Put all of the slow cooker ingredients into your slow cooker and use a potato masher to mash the tomatoes and mix the sauce together. (YES the beef AND the marinade ingredients go into the slow cooker too!)
- Put the lid on your slow cooker and cook on low for 8-10 hours.
- When the ragu is done, take the bay leaves out of the sauce, and use a potato masher to break up the stew beef. If you have flank steak, you can use forks to shred the beef. You can do all of this while your pasta is cooking.
- Serve your ragu over cooked pasta with sprinkles of parmesan. If you are not able to eat pasta, it is also delicious over a baked potato or sweet potato!
Notes
- The red wine is important for helping tenderize the beef stew meat or flank steak. If you cannot have red wine, use broth mixed with lemon or lime juice to help tenderize the beef.
- PREP TIME SAVER – Since you are getting the beef into the marinade the night before, you could also shred/prep the veggies the night before too. This will truly make it all a dump it all in prep in the morning.
- You could also use a beef roast for this recipe. The stew beef and flank steak are budget saving and prep time saving options.
- We like to use this gluten free egg tagliatelle pasta for this recipe, but any pasta will work for serving.
