When I’m looking for a delicious and easy to make meal, Beef and Bell Pepper Gravy is a go-to recipe in my house. I love this recipe because it uses standard ingredients I often have on hand and combines them in a way that doesn’t require a lot of effort or extra thought. This is a great recipe to put on when I’m listening to a podcast or talking to a friend, because I can throw this together without paying a lot of attention to what I’m doing!
Kids love this because it doesn’t use a lot of fancy ingredients and it can be easily served over pasta, mashed potatoes, or rice – all kid-friendly foods.
This Asian beef gravy dinner is also very comforting and satisfying, making it a perfect meal to prepare when I’m in the mood for something that reminds me of home. Beef and Bell Pepper Gravy reheats easily and packs up nicely in lunches. It’s just super practical.
Finally, I love the way the flavor of the pepper steak blends with the broth and spices, and the crunch of the peppers makes it all perfect. When I want a crackpot beef meal with steak and peppers, this is one of the best slow cooker recipes I have.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Beef & Bell Pepper Gravy is the recipe that delivers and keeps delivering until the leftovers have all been eaten.
- Simplicity: This recipe is easy to make — just put the ingredients in the Crockpot and let it stew.
- Easy reheating: This recipe makes lots of leftovers and can easily be reheated and enjoyed again.
- Great textures: From melt-in-your-mouth beef to crunchy green bell peppers, this recipe has lots of great textures.
- Crowd-pleaser: Even picky kids tend to love this meal!
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
Meat: This recipe uses beef, but you can swap your steak for chicken if you’re seeking something heart-healthy.
Peppers: Green peppers are suggested in this recipe, but you can opt for different colors of bell peppers or – better yet – some spicy peppers.
Vegetables: Make this meal even more nutritious with potatoes and carrots.
Mushrooms: Steak and mushrooms go hand-in-hand, so if you’re a fan of mushrooms, toss them in! I recommend sautéing the mushrooms first to bring out their color and flavor.
Broth: You can swap the beef bouillon and water for beef broth or broth made from vegetables, chicken, etc.
Tips for Success
Beef & Bell Pepper Gravy is so easy to prepare, you won’t have trouble making it delicious every time. However, these steps can help ensure consistent results:
- Cut the veggies into uniform pieces: This prevents the vegetables from cooking unevenly. This is especially important when you’re adding the peppers at the end. Small pieces will easily become mushy, while bigger pieces may not cook all the way.
- Use quality ingredients: I use tender chuck roast for this recipe, but you can use a different type of beef. Using quality meat prevents it from getting tough when it’s cooking.
- Keep the seasonings simple: Salt, pepper, and garlic is all you need to make this recipe delicious. There’s no need to make it more complicated. The beef will release its own juices that will add to the depth of flavor.
- Make extras for tomorrow: Don’t worry about how much food this produces. Plan to eat more of it the next day!
- Complete the meal with pasta, rice, or mashed potatoes: This dish goes well over any of these foods.
Storage & Reheating
Store Beef & Bell Pepper Gravy in an airtight container for 3 or 4 days in the refrigerator. You can also store this meal in a freezer for up to two months, then thaw in the refrigerator overnight before reheating.
To reheat, place the mixture in a pan over medium-high heat and stir frequently until it’s hot. You may need to add more broth or water if the sauce seems to have dissipated.
You can also reheat this meal in the microwave using the “reheat” setting. Cover it with a paper towel to prevent splatters.
Serving Suggestions
Beef & Bell Pepper Gravy can be served on its own, but it makes a more complete meal if you serve it over pasta, rice, or over a bed of mashed potatoes. I personally love to serve with some warm rolls and a salad.
FAQs
How can I thicken the sauce more?
Adding more corn starch will thicken the sauce more, or you can choose a thickener of your own preference (such as flour).
Can you make this vegetarian?
You may choose to use a meat substitute for this meal, or replace the steak with Portabella mushrooms.
Can you make this meal ahead?
Yes, you can make this meal a day ahead! Cook the steak and then place all the ingredients except for the peppers into the Crockpot. The next day, put the crock pot on high for four hours or on low for 7 to 8 hours. Add the peppers an hour before serving.
Notes
I love how simple this recipe is. At its core, it’s a delicious pepper steak meal that goes well with so many other foods. It’s one of my favorite things to serve on a Friday night!
Beef & Bell Pepper Gravy
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. Sirloin steak sliced into thin strips against the grain (ensures melting tenderness)
- 2 Tbsp. Olive oil divided for batch searing
- 2 tsp. Minced garlic
- 1 cup Chopped onion
- ⅔ cup Hot water mixed with 1 Beef bouillon cube
- 3 Tbsp. Soy sauce
- 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp. Brown sugar
- 1 Can 14.5 oz Diced tomatoes (with their juices)
- 1 Tbsp. Cornstarch dissolved into the bouillon liquid
- 2 Large bell peppers sliced into thick strips (use a mix of red and green for visual contrast)
Instructions
- Heat half of the olive oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add half of your steak strips in a single, flat layer. Sauté for 2 minutes just to form a brown crust on the outside, then transfer to a plate and repeat with the second half of the meat. Pro Tip: Searing all 2 pounds of cold meat at once crowds the pan. This causes the meat to release its juices and boil/steam in its own liquid rather than caramelizing, which ruins the depth of flavor in the sauce.
- In a measuring cup, whisk the hot water, beef bouillon cube, and cornstarch together until completely dissolved.
- Place the seared beef, chopped onions, minced garlic, soy sauce, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, and the diced tomatoes with their juices directly into the crockpot. Pour the cornstarch-bouillon mixture over everything and stir well to lift any heavy starches from the bottom.
- Cover and cook on High for 3 hours or Low for 6 hours. During this phase, the connective tissues in the sirloin break down completely into the tomato-soy gravy.
- Exactly 1 hour before you plan to serve, lift the lid and fold the raw, sliced bell pepper strips into the hot steak mixture.
- Reseal the lid and cook for the final 60 minutes. Crucial: Slow cookers excel at softening food, but dumping the bell peppers in at the very beginning turns them into grey, mushy skins. Adding them in the final hour allows them to steam until tender while retaining their crisp edge and vibrant color.
- Turn the crockpot off and let the pepper steak sit uncovered for 5–10 minutes before serving. This cools the starches slightly, allowing the sauce to tighten up into a glossy, thick restaurant-style glaze.
