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This Slow Cooker Beef Curry is everything you could possibly want from a dinner recipe! A naturally gluten free curry with melt-in-the-mouth beef pieces and a creamy tomato and yoghurt sauce with warming spices. Great for cooking batch cooking and freezing.
The Best Beef Curry Recipe Ever, In My Opinion…
- Why choose this recipe? This Slow Cooker Beef Curry is mildly spicy, rich and creamy, with tender chunks of melt-in-the-mouth beef. Cooking beef curry in the slow cooker makes this recipe super economical, with only 5 minutes’ prep time!
- Dairy Free? Simple remove the yoghurt or add coconut yoghurt for a creamy, gluten and dairy free beef curry instead.
- Serving Suggestion: This easy crockpot beef curry is best served with basmati rice, with some freshly-made gluten free naan bread for mopping up the sauce!
- Want more Slow Cooker Recipes? Slow cooked beef curry is just one example of how GOOD beef is in the Crock Pot. You’ll also love my Slow Cooker Beef Stew and my Slow Cooker Beef Goulash too!
Table of Contents
- The Best Beef Curry Recipe Ever, In My Opinion…
- Ingredients and Substitutions
- Want a Vegetarian Variation?
- How to Make Beef Curry In Slow Cooker
- Storing and Freezing Instructions
- More Easy Curry Recipes
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Slow Cooker Beef Curry Recipe
- More Slow Cooker Curry Recipes
- More Slow Cooker Recipes
Ingredients and Substitutions
There’s a printable recipe card for this Slow Cooker Beef Curry recipe below with quantities, but here are the main ingredients and ideas for any swaps:
- Natural Yoghurt: You could also use Greek yoghurt or a dairy free alternative like coconut yoghurt – or even a little coconut milk – if you prefer.
- Beef: I love using beef shin in the slow cooker as it’s perfect for this method of cooking. Chuck steak and beef skirt also works really well. Generally leaner cuts of beef don’t work as well as they can go tough when slow cooked.
- Aromatics: I use onion, garlic and ginger to give this curry a delicious base.
- Tinned Tomatoes: Chopped canned tomatoes form the base of the curry sauce and they’re a cheap and easy storecupboard staple.
- Curry Powder: I like to use medium curry powder, but you can use hot or mild if you prefer. Just double check it’s gluten free with no ‘may contain’ warnings.
- Red Chilli: I cut the chilli in half for the slow cooking then remove before serving – that way you get all the flavour of the chilli without it being too spicy. For a spicier curry, add chopped red chilli instead.
- Cardamom Pods: Just remember to remove them before serving!
Want a Vegetarian Variation?
Barbara left ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for her vegetarian take on this curry and said: “I ‘Stole’ this recipe for a veggie version 🙂 …. obviously doesn’t need such long cooking-time, but love the combo of ingredients – cooked the sauce, adding in a handful of red lentils, and then tipped in a couple of cans of chickpeas to warm through …. scrummy!!! Thank you, Sarah!!… love your gluten-free naans, too!!“
How to Make Beef Curry In Slow Cooker
Here are some step-by-step photos to show you how easy this slow cooker curry recipe is:
Add the beef, oil, onion, garlic and ginger to a large pan (or use the slow cooker pan if it’s hob-safe) and fry for 5 minutes on a medium-high heat, until the beef browns.
You can skip this step (and just add the beef and aromatics raw) if you’re short on time but it adds a great flavour and, in my opinion, definitely worth doing.
If you fried it in a separate pan, add the beef and onion mix to the slow cooker.
Add the tinned tomatoes, curry powder, garam masala, salt, chilli halves and cardamom pods. Half-fill the empty tomato tin with water and add to slow cooker.
Mix everything together well, place the lid on and cook on high for 4-6 hours or low for around 8 hours.
When ready to serve, spoon the yoghurt into the curry and mix together well, before dishing up with rice, gluten free naan breads and poppadoms.
Storing and Freezing Instructions
TO STORE: This beef curry slow cooker recipe is perfect for making in bulk – you can portion it out and freeze it for when you need it. Plus as with all good curries, the leftovers taste even better the next day! Any leftover beef curry can be stored in the fridge for 1-3 days after cooking.
TO FREEZE: To freeze, portion up into tubs and freeze for up to 6 months, then reheat from frozen when needed. Always reheat thoroughly before eating!
More Easy Curry Recipes
My favourite way to enjoy this slow cooker beef curry recipe is to serve it alongside a full spread of other delicious dishes! My favourite other gluten free curry recipes include:
- Slow Cooker Chicken Korma
- Slow Cooker Chickpea and Potato Curry
- Coconut Chicken Curry
- Slow Cooker Chicken Satay
- Chickpea Curry
- Slow Cooker Sweet Potato and Spinach Dhal
- Cauliflower and Chickpea Curry
- Slow Cooker Chicken and Chickpea Curry
- Leftover Turkey Curry
- Slow Cooker Butternut Squash and Chickpea Curry
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some FAQs about this easy slow cooker beef curry recipe. If you can’t find the answer to your question here or in the post above, please comment and I’ll try answer!
Yes, you can! In this beef curry recipe I do recommend browning the beef and aromatics off first because I think it just really improves the flavour. That being said, you can also chuck everything in and let the slow cooker work its magic. There’s nothing wrong with putting raw beef straight into the slow cooker.
Yes of course – simply omit the yoghurt or swap it for a dairy free alternative like coconut yoghurt instead. Then you’ll have a gluten and dairy free beef curry.
Have you tried this recipe?
I have a huge favour to ask! It’s getting more and more difficult to get my recipes out there to the world – so if you try this and love it, it would mean a HUGE amount if you’d come back and leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review and a little comment telling me what you thought! Just 30 seconds of your time would be such a huge support! 💛
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Slow Cooker Beef Curry
Equipment
Ingredients
- 500 g diced beef shin
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 onion, (chopped)
- 4 tsp chopped garlic
- 3 tsp chopped ginger
- 400 g tin chopped tomatoes
- 2 tbsp curry powder, (I use medium, but go for mild if you don't want it too spicy)
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 red chilli, (halved lengthways and deseeded)
- 2 cardamom pods
- 150 g natural yoghurt, (or coconut yoghurt for dairy free)
Instructions
- Add the beef, oil, onion, garlic and ginger to a large pan (or use the slow cooker pan if it’s hob-safe) and fry for 5 minutes on a medium-high heat, until the beef browns. You can skip this step if you’re short on time but it adds a great flavour!
- Add the beef and onion mix to the slow cooker. Add the tinned tomatoes, curry powder, garam masala, salt, chilli halves and cardamom pods. Half-fill the empty tomato tin with water and add to slow cooker.
- Mix everything together well, place the lid on and cook on high for 4-6 hours or low for -10 hours.
- When ready to serve, spoon the yoghurt in and mix together well before dishing up with rice, gluten free naan bread and poppadoms.
Video
Notes
- Short On Time? You can skip step 1 and just add everything straight into the slow cooker if you don’t have time to brown it off. It’ll still be delicious – I just think browning the meat with the aromatics intensifies the flavours.
- Variations: Want a spicier curry? Add some chopped red chilli instead of the halved chilli. Want a dairy free curry? Use coconut yoghurt instead of natural yoghurt.
- Storing and Freezing: Any leftovers can be kept in the fridge or frozen, then reheated thoroughly before eating. I actually think this tastes better the next day as the flavours mature in the fridge overnight!
- Step-by-Step Photos: Check out the blog post above for step-by-step photos to guide you through this recipe, or the video in this recipe card.
- Like this Recipe? It would mean SO much to me if you could leave a 5* rating and tell all your gluten free friends about this Slow Cooker Beef Curry – a little comment telling everyone what you thought really helps support my website! xx
Nutrition
More Slow Cooker Curry Recipes
More Slow Cooker Recipes
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‘Stole’ this recipe for a veggie version 🙂 …. obviously doesn’t need such long cooking-time, but love the combo of ingredients – cooked the sauce, adding in a handful of red lentils, and then tipped in a couple of cans of chickpeas to warm through …. scrummy!!! Thank you, Sarah!!… love your gluten-free naans, too!!
I made another batch of this during the weekend and we’ve been eating it from the freezer this week. So good! Let me know if you give this recipe a go?? xx
If you love this recipe please let me know by leaving a comment! We make this most weeks then freeze extra portions for a quick meal 😀