Slow Cooker Shredded Beef transforms beef, onions, garlic, fire-roasted tomatoes, red wine, sun-dried tomatoes, capers, and green olives into a rich, Italian-inspired shredded beef made in your crock pot. This comforting dish is full of bold, savory flavors and makes excellent leftovers.

My usual cooking instincts tend toward Asian flavors—ginger, garlic, soy, and a little heat—or toward Tex-Mex with garlic, beans, meat, and often a generous amount of cheese. I’m perfectly content there, but every so often I push myself to try something different. The result is almost always worth it. Case in point: Slow Cooker Italian Shredded Beef.

I had a boneless eye of round in the fridge and nearly reached for ginger, then decided to go Italian instead. I seared the beef, placed it in the slow cooker, then sautéed onion and garlic in the same pan. I added fire-roasted diced tomatoes, beef broth, red wine, sun-dried tomatoes (with their oil), crushed red pepper flakes, capers, and chopped green olives to the pan and brought everything to a boil, scraping up the flavorful browned bits. That mixture was poured over the seared roast in the slow cooker.

The aroma filling the kitchen as it cooked was irresistible, and while the 4 to 8 hours of slow-cooking felt long when hunger struck, the wait paid off. When the roast was fork-tender, I shredded it and mixed the meat back with the flavorful cooking liquid until everything was well combined.

We served the shredded beef over soft polenta that night, but it’s equally delicious over rice, pasta, or piled into crusty rolls for sandwiches. The next day my husband declared it one of his favorite things I’ve made—“perfect food” in his words—which convinced me I’d made the right choice branching out.

Slow Cooker Shredded Beef

Boneless eye of round is an economical cut and works beautifully in the slow cooker. Trim excess fat before searing to keep the finished dish balanced in flavor and texture.

Fire-roasted tomatoes add a slightly smoky depth that complements the wine and sun-dried tomatoes. If you can’t find them, a can of petite diced tomatoes is an acceptable substitute. For sun-dried tomatoes, those packed in oil bring extra richness; if you use another kind, adjust the liquid accordingly.

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Slow Cooker Italian Shredded Beef

Rebecca Lindamood

Ingredients

• 3 to 4 pounds boneless beef eye of round trimmed of excess fat
• 1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil
• salt and pepper
• 1 large onion peeled, trimmed, and roughly chopped
• 6 garlic cloves peeled and smashed
• 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes optional
• 1 can (14.5 oz) fire-roasted diced tomatoes or petite diced tomatoes or about 1 1/2 cups
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1 cup dry red wine
• 1 jar (8.5 oz) julienne-cut sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil
• 1 jar green olives about 5.75 oz, drained and roughly chopped
• 1 jar capers about 3.5 oz, drained and rinsed
• 4 to 5 strips jarred roasted red peppers

Instructions

• Season the trimmed beef round generously with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed frying pan over high heat and sear the beef on all sides until well browned. Transfer the roast to the slow cooker. Lower the heat to medium-low and add the chopped onion and smashed garlic to the pan; sauté until fragrant. Add the beef broth, red wine, sun-dried tomatoes with their oil, green olives, capers, roasted red peppers, and the canned tomatoes. Raise the heat to high and bring the mixture to a boil, scraping the pan to loosen browned bits. Boil for about one minute, then pour the sauce over the beef in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on HIGH for 4 to 5 hours or on LOW for 6 to 8 hours.
• Carefully transfer the cooked beef to a rimmed plate. Shred it with two forks, return the shredded beef to the slow cooker, and toss to coat with the sauce. Serve over polenta, noodles, rice, or on crusty rolls.

Nutritional information is an estimate and provided as a courtesy. Calculate nutrition using the exact ingredients you use with your preferred nutrition tool.

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