Slow Cooker Boneless Beef Short Ribs Recipe

By
Diana Rattray
Diana Rattray
Diana Rattray
Southern-cuisine expert and cookbook author Diana Rattray has created more than 5,000 recipes and articles in her 20 years as a food writer.
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Updated on 12/12/21
Slow cooker boneless beef short ribs recipe

The Spruce / Nita West

Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 8 hrs 15 mins
Total: 8 hrs 30 mins
Servings: 6 servings

These juicy, melt-in-your-mouth beef short ribs are served with delicious gravy for a fabulous meal. Serve with garlic mashed potatoes and your favorite vegetables, or serve them with hot cooked noodles or rice.

Make this dish with boneless or meaty bone-in short ribs. Or make the dish with a lean chuck roast, cut into chunks, or cubed. If you use short ribs on the bone, allow about 1 pound per person, depending on how meaty they are.

Short ribs are from the lower part of the rib cage and are known to be tough and heavy with connective tissue. Cut short—generally 3 to 4 inches long—they will fit nicely in your slow cooker. While the most common way to cook short ribs is braising them, cooking them slowly in the crock pot makes these meaty ribs just fall off the bone tender. 

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Ingredients

  • 3 pounds boneless beef short ribs

  • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour

  • 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

  • 3 tablespoons olive oil

  • 1 cup coarsely chopped onion

  • 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced

  • 1/2 cup red wine, such as cabernet or pinot noir

  • 1 cup beef broth

  • 1/4 cup red wine vinegar

  • 3 tablespoons brown sugar

  • 2 cloves garlic, minced

  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch

  • 2 tablespoons water

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Ingredients for slow cooker boneless beef short ribs

    The Spruce / Nita West

  2. Trim excess fat from the short ribs. 

    Trim excess fat

    The Spruce / Nita West

  3. Combine the flour, salt, and freshly ground black pepper in a food storage bag or a wide shallow plate. Mix well.

    Combine flour and salt

    The Spruce / Nita West 

  4. Shake or dredge the beef pieces with the flour mixture. 

    Bread beef

    The Spruce / Nita West

  5. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the floured beef short ribs and cook for about 6 to 8 minutes, turning to brown all sides.

    Heat the olive oil

    The Spruce / Nita West

  6. Transfer the ribs to the slow cooker.

    Transfer ribs to slow cooker

    The Spruce / Nita West 

  7. Add the onion and mushrooms to the skillet and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes, or until onions are softened.

    Add the onions and mushrooms

    The Spruce / Nita West

  8. Add the wine and scrape up browned bits.

    Add the wine

    The Spruce / Nita West

  9. Continue cooking, stirring, for about 2 more minutes, until the wine is reduced by half.

    Continue cooking until wine reduced by half

    The Spruce / Nita West

  10. Add the beef broth, vinegar, brown sugar, and garlic. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring, for about 1 minute.

    Add the beef broth

    The Spruce / Nita West

  11. Pour the wine and broth mixture over the ribs in the slow cooker.

    Pour the wine over beef

    The Spruce / Nita West

  12. Cover and cook on low for 7 to 9 hours or until the beef is very tender. 

    Cover and cook on low

    The Spruce / Nita West

  13. Remove the beef and vegetables to a platter and keep warm. Put all of the liquids in a gravy separator or skim to remove excess fat. 

    Remove the beef and skim off fat

    The Spruce / Nita West

  14. Put skimmed liquids in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Continue boiling, stirring, for 5 minutes, until reduced by about one-third.

    Put skimmed liquids in saucepan

    The Spruce / Nita West

  15. Combine the cornstarch with about 2 tablespoons of cold water.

    Combine cornstarch with water

    The Spruce / Nita West

  16. Whisk the cornstarch mixture into the liquids and continue cooking, stirring, until thickened.

    Whisk mixture until thickened

    The Spruce / Nita West

  17. Serve the short ribs with the gravy.

    Serve short ribs with gravy

    The Spruce / Nita West

  18. Enjoy.

    Slow Cooker Boneless Short Ribs

    The Spruce / Nita West

Tips

  • Plan to serve at least 2 short ribs per person, if they're adults.
  • These cooked ribs will last in the refrigerator for three to four days in an airtight container or plastic bag.

Are boneless short ribs as good as bone in?

  • As with any type of meat, bones provide that extra flavor, so bone-in short ribs are preferred over boneless short ribs.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
858 Calories
58g Fat
20g Carbs
60g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 6
Amount per serving
Calories 858
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 58g 75%
Saturated Fat 24g 119%
Cholesterol 227mg 76%
Sodium 628mg 27%
Total Carbohydrate 20g 7%
Dietary Fiber 2g 6%
Total Sugars 8g
Protein 60g
Vitamin C 4mg 19%
Calcium 55mg 4%
Iron 8mg 42%
Potassium 810mg 17%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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