Nothing is easier than this Keto Slow Cooker Mongolian Beef. Dump all the ingredients in your crock pot and in a few hours, dinner is served. It’s a delicious low carb meal the whole family will love. Better – and healthier – than takeout!
There are some slow cooker recipes that I like to call dump-and-run recipes. Meaning you can simply dump all the ingredients into your crock pot and walk away. There is nothing more to do, no pre-cooking or browning or sautéing required. These are my favorite kind of recipes because dinner practically cooks itself with minimal effort on your part.
This Keto Mongolian Beef recipe is exactly one of these dump-and-run sorts and it’s just such a relief sometimes to have a few good easy dinners like this. Ones that I know my kids will eat. And better yet, it dirties a single pot so I don’t have a lot of hand wash dishes to clean.
I am pretty sure I had never even had Mongolian Beef until I decided to make this delicious keto version. I may have had it once a million years ago at PF Chang’s, before I went low carb. I honestly can’t be sure.
But Chinese takeout has been mostly off limits to me for the past 9 years because it’s so shockingly full of sugar. It’s not a huge loss for me. I haven’t been sitting here craving it at every moment and I can usually pass it by easily in favour of healthier options.
But I kept seeing delectable looking Mongolian Beef recipes on Pinterest, and they caught my eye frequently enough, I knew I had to take a stab at it.
A Keto-fied Mongolian Beef Recipe
Replacing the sugar: The Mongolian Beef you get at most restaurants is almost tooth-achingly sweet. All the recipes I consulted were full of brown sugar, sometimes upwards of 1/2 a cup. I can feel my blood sugar rising just thinking about that!
I simply replaced the brown sugar with the new Swerve Brown Sweetener. It’s got all the same flavor as real brown sugar, but with no carb impact. I didn’t use nearly as much either, as I prefer my dinners not overly sweet.
Replacing the starch: Most recipes also typically contain a hefty amount of cornstarch to thicken the broth. Obviously that’s another big keto no-no.
I added no starch whatsoever, but I did thicken the sauce at the end with some glucomannan. It’s quickly become my favorite thickening agent. It’s made from konjac root, similar to shirataki noodles, and it thickens sauces and gravies really well. It’s less slimy in texture than xanthan gum, and a little goes a long way.
I find that the best way to use it is to whisk it into a cup or so of the liquid in a dish after cooking, and then to pour that back into the pot and mix it all together.
Soy sauce or coconut aminos: Many keto dieters avoid all soy products and that’s really up to the individual. Coconut aminos is said to taste a lot like soy sauce but I find it simply doesn’t have the true umami flavor and I have been disappointed in the results in most recipes.
Additionally, coconut aminos is actually HIGHER in carbs than soy sauce. Many people make this mistake, thinking that it’s lower carb, simply because it’s “keto-approved”. A tablespoon of coconut aminos can have 6 to 10 grams of carbs, depending on the brand, whereas most soy sauces only have 1 to 2g per tablespoon.
My choice for Keto Asian dishes is actually tamari, a fermented soy sauce. It’s thicker than regular soy sauce and often has no wheat (look for the gluten-free certified label!). And that’s exactly what I used in this Slow Cooker Mongolian Beef, to get that rich deep Asian flavor.
Mongolian Beef in the Slow Cooker
Of course you can cook Mongolian Beef on the stovetop in a large skillet or a wok, if you have one. That’s pretty easy as well. But when you’re working with tougher cuts of meat like flank steak, slow cooking provides an extra tenderness. Using a slow cooker also helps all those gorgeous flavors meld together.
Do be forewarned that using a slow cooker tends to release a lot of liquid from the meat. You want a fair bit of sauce but you don’t want to add too much liquid or it will be weak and watery.
Because we are having a little bit of work done on the house, my real slow cooker is packed away. I used the slow cook function on my Instant Pot instead. It worked fine but when cooking was done, the meat was in one big clump in the bottom and I had to break it up. I highly recommend using an actual crock pot or other slow cooker for this recipe.
There you have it, an easy slow cooker Mongolian Beef recipe that’s keto friendly. And it’s so so good paired with a little cauliflower rice!
Nothing is easier than this Keto Slow Cooker Mongolian Beef. Dump all the ingredients in your crock pot and in a few hours, dinner is served. It's a delicious low carb meal the whole family will love. Better - and healthier - than takeout!
- 1 1/2 lbs flank or sirloin steak
- 1/3 cup Swerve Brown
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup tamari or soy sauce (or coconut aminos)
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/2 tsp glucomannan powder (or 1/4 tsp xanthan gum)
- 2 green onions, chopped
- Sesame seeds for sprinkling
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Slice the beef very thinly against the grain. This works best when it is semi-frozen (but not rock solid). Place the beef in the bottom of a slow cooker.
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In a medium bowl or glass measuring up, whisk together the brown sugar substitute, water, tamari, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes. Pour over the beef.
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Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours, OR high for 2 to 3 hours.
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When the beef has finished cooking, spoon some of the broth out of the pot into a bowl. Whisk in the glucomannan powder until combined, then pour the broth back into the pot and stir to coat.
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Sprinkle the beef with the chopped green onions and some sesame seeds and serve over cauliflower rice.
Lois MacKenzie says
I don’t have a slow cooker, so how long do I cook it in the oven with my Dutch oven?
Carolyn says
I would probably just stir fry it, it will be a lot faster. But I would imagine that a 300F oven for 4 hours would do if you want to pop your whole Dutch oven in there.
Lois MacKenzie says
I only have a Dutch oven. At what temperature and for how long do I cook this?
Lori A Kling says
Only 1.6 net carbs!! This will definitely be going on my list for next week! I bet it would be good with chicken and pork also.
Thank you for another amazing looking recipe!
Carolyn says
I know! If I’d used coconut aminos, it would be more like 5 carbs per serving, just FYI.
Jennifer says
I plan on making this tonight along side some cali rice! Thanks for the recipe
Jackie says
Does the glucomannan powder need to go into a hot liquid to thicken? Thanks. Love your recipe, always learning something new to try.
Erica B says
This looks great, Carolyn! Totally agree about coconut aminos. That stuff doesn’t taste like soy sauce at all. Because it’s so light and SO sweet, it’s really more like watered down teriyaki sauce than straight soy sauce. I’m surprised that it pops up in so many keto recipes, because it’s really just a source of sugar. I use tamari as well. Traditionally fermented soy in small amounts isn’t nearly as detrimental as the gobs of non-fermented soy western society consumes regularly en masse.
Carolyn says
Bang on, my friend! Glad someone agrees with me. I was in a group the other day and people kept telling one woman that she could reduce the carbs in a recipe by switching to coconut aminos. Um…. no. Way higher carb!
PDXGirl says
thank you for this. I won’t use the coconut aminos, but not just for carb count but because it’s also so ridiculously high in sodium. I used it one time and I literally looked like the Pillsbury dough boy. you poked my arm and water shot out of my eyes.
Erica B says
Wow. So what do you use as a soy sauce substitute? Even low-sodium soy sauce and tamari have, literally, six times as much sodium as coconut aminos.
Erica B says
My mistake: they have only double the sodium content of coconut aminos. (I misread the serving sizes on the bottles.)
Carolyn says
Oh my! LOL. What an image. I don’t seem to have any issues from sodium consumption but I know it’s not great for everyone. I think you can get reduced sodium tamari too.
Allyn Bamberger says
Interesting. My bottle of coconut aminos claims that it has 270 mg. of sodium per T and my gluten free less sodium soy sauce has 590 mg. per T. So, maybe the lady who tends to blow up with coconut aminos has an allergy to it or something because it is clearly lower in sodium than soy sauce. Also, my coconut aminos has no added sugar. It claims 1 g. of carb per T whereas the soy sauce is 9 g. per T. I’m a little confused by the previous comments about sugar and sodium.
Erica B says
Hi Allyn, I can only comment based on my observations. I’ve never seen coconut aminos with less than 3 carbs per tablespoon (1 carb per teaspoon, the common serving size) and I don’t think I’ve ever seen plain soy sauce or tamari with 9 per tablespoon. (Wow, 9 per tablespoon? Are you sure it’s plain soy sauce? Maybe check your ingredients and switch brands!) My tamari has 1 carb per tablespoon. If I were using coconut aminos instead of tamari, I’d be using enough to triple the carb count of the soy, and would likely need to add more to compensate for the aminos’ weak flavor. Regarding sugar, coconut aminos contain sugar already, without any being added. Remember that sugar is sugar, whether it’s added or naturally occurring in the product. Many labels now list grams of added sugar as if it’s more significant than the naturally-occurring sugar in the ingredients, which is a rather spurious approach. Regarding sodium levels, I’ve also never seen coconut aminos that have more sodium than soy/tamari.
Allyn Bamberger says
Thanks, Erica and Carolyn. You are right. I read the label wrong. My coconut aminos is Coconut Secret brand, and it has 1 g. carbs per teaspoon, not tablespoon. So, that’s 3 g. per Tablespoon. It has no added sugar, but it contains 1 g. of sugar, naturally occurring, per teaspoon. It has 90 mg. of sodium per teaspoon or 270 mg. per tablespoon. And, of course, I read the soy sauce bottle wrong, too. It has 3 g. carbs per Tablespoon, but it has 2 g added sugar and 590 mg. of sodium. I looked at a bottle of tamari at the store yesterday and it had over 700 mg. of sodium per Tablespoon. If sodium is a concern, tamari would not seem to be a good choice. And, you are right about coconut aminos being weak. Soy sauce might be worth the extra sodium.
Carolyn says
Try to find soy sauce with no added sugar. There are plenty out there that only have 1g total carbs per tablespoon.
Erica B says
Hi Allyn. Thanks for taking the time to reply. Labels are interesting reading, indeed! Personally, I don’t concern myself with sodium levels, so I use regular gluten-free tamari without concern. Reduced sodium tamari exists, though, if you’re worried about that. Either way, I think the flavor is worth it!
Carolyn says
I feel the same way but yes, those labels can be misleading if you don’t look carefully at the serving sizes.
Carolyn says
Hey Allyn. So I have Thrive market Coconut aminos in my cupboard right now and it’s 2g of carbs PER TEASPOON, whereas the tamari in my cupboard is 1g of carbs PER TABLESPOON. Since there are three teaspoons to a tablespoon, that means the coconut aminos has 6g of carbs per Tablespoon, so 6 times as much as the tamari.
Be sure you are reading the serving sizes correctly. That’s always a bit misleading.
Tamari certainly has more sodium than coconut aminos but again be sure you are making the sizes match, since coconut aminos is always given in TEASPOONS vs. TABLESPOONS.
SG says
What do you think of soy sauce for people with thyroid issues? I love the stuff but try to avoid any soy. I also don’t like the carb count in coconut aminos.
This recipe looks incredible! Can you do a General Tso’s recipe too sometime? 🙂
Cheryl P says
SG, traditionally naturally fermented soy (like Tamari) doesn’t have nearly the detrimental thyroid effect that non-fermented soy does. I feel comfortable using Tamari.
SG says
I’ll check it out, thanks.
Carolyn says
I don’t have thyroid issues or even pretend to know how they affect people, so I am not much guidance there. But as someone else responded, the fermented soy products are supposed to be a lot better for us than the plain soy. Now, I am not saying this is a reputable source but a simple Google search brought up this article with suggests that while you should avoid soy, miso and tamari are different because of the fermentation. https://shawellnessclinic.com/en/shamagazine/dietary-recommendations-to-hypothyroidism-and-hyperthyroidism/
SG says
Thanks, Carolyn, I’ll look into it.
Cheryl P says
Carolyn, this looks delicious! I love Mongolian beef. Unfortunately, I have everything but the meat! 😭 Delayed satisfaction. 🙂
PDX Girl says
fThe tamarai I use has less soduim, I don’t use soy sauce. I like the tamaria best.
Erica B says
Sorry to bother again PDX Girl, but I’m curious what brand of tamari you use that’s so low in sodium. Mind sharing?
Janet says
I can’t get the brown swerve. Plain swerve ok?
Carolyn says
Yes, it should be fine.
Michelle Neill says
Thank you x 10. This is my favorite Chinese food And I have been trying to find a ketofied recipe.. And with the Instant Pot!!! You are my hero. Definitely putting this on the menu for this week. Yummy!!!
Michelle Neill says
I meant crock pot…I had Instant Pot on the brain! 😊
Lauren says
You used the slow cooker function on your instant pot to make this. Any guess how long to set if you wanted to do this under pressure instead of low and slow?
Carolyn says
No but I am sure there are some similar recipes you could find to guide you.
Cheryl says
I want to try making this in an Instant Pot. Do you think that any adjustments need to be made?
Carolyn says
Yes, of course adjustments need to be made. I can’t guide you, though. This is a slow cooker recipe. You may try googling it.
Betsy Stokes says
Thanks for another fun, easy, crowd-pleasing dinner recipe! We will try this one soon. I will be buying my meat fresh, so I suppose I’ll stick it in the freezer to firm it up a bit before slicing. Great tip!
Gabby says
I wonder, can this be made and then frozen? I like to have meals prepped and in the freezer for us to just take out as needed since we’re a family of night nurses who can’t always cook.
Carolyn says
I can’t see why not!
Amy W says
I made this today and it was scrumptious! My favorite kind of recipe, because I had all the ingredients already, including the flank steak, which was in my freezer.
I thawed the flank steak overnight in the fridge, and this morning, it was just frozen enough to make slicing easy.
I did not know about more carbs in Coconut Aminos. I never replaced my Tamari when I used it up but I guess I will get some more.
I made it in a real Crock-Pot, and my meat clumped together in the bottom too..
All the discussion of sodium in coconut aminos and tamari was interesting – the only change I made to the recipe was add 1 tsp salt to it.
I had some mushrooms to use up, so I sautéed them in a little butter and then mixed them into the beef mixture. That worked very well.
Amy W says
…and I forgot to add my thanks for another great recipe, Carolyn! This one’s a keeper.
Heni's says
Great recipe! Short on time, so used Instant Pot. Followed recipe exactly, however, had only 1 lb of sirloin tip steak. 10 minutes in IP on high pressure, quick release. Place IP on saute, added a bit more xanthum gum (as I only had 1 lb of steak) until desired consistency. Carolyn, your website is my only go-to! Made the chocolate donuts just before this, spot on. Thank you for sharing your creations!
Carolyn says
Good to know about the IP version!
Diane says
Thank you for the IP instructions.
Kristyn says
I love Mongolian Beef!! Love that the slow cooker does all the work! I’m adding this to the menu!
Jessica says
Yum I love Mongolian chicken! Thank you so much!
Steph says
Mongolian beef is my husband’s FA-VOR-ITE! Can’t wait to surprise him with this for dinner!
Anna says
Loving this low carb dish! So delicious!
Taylor says
So much flavor! Love that it’s made in the slow cooker!
Cheryl says
Eating this now. Delicious. Definitely on the dinner rotation
Carolyn says
Glad to hear it!
Amy says
Is the glucomannan powder/xanthan gum necessary, or mainly just used to thicken?
Carolyn says
To thicken. You will find the sauce very watery if you don’t use anything.
Michelle says
This is a delicious dish and it’s so easy to throw in the crock pot! I made it today and my husband is already asking me to make it again next week. Thank you, Carolyn!
Jeannie says
Hi Carolyn … Have your cook books, and love them.
I am confused though on the number of carbs per serving. The recipe says it serves 4. The amount of Swerve Brown is 1/3 C, which is six tablespoons, which is three teaspoons per tablespoon … so that means, for this recipe that serves 4, there are 18 teaspoons of Swerve Brown used. At 4 gm of carbs PER TEASPOON, that means just from the Swerve Brown alone there are 72 grams of carbs in this recipe, divided by 4 servings is 18 carbs per person/serving. I know I must not be seeing something, but how is this recipe only 2gm total carbs? I did go back to the Swerve Brown nutritional information and see that they remark that Swerve does not raise blood sugar, but the carbs would still be what they are … and how do we know FOR SURE that erythritol doesn’t affect blood sugar as they are claiming? Do you know of any legit studies that support that claim (I’m just thinking back to when a brand of pasta, I believe it was called Dream Field, claimed their product was low carb and did not raise blood sugars much, only to have scientific studies show that it raised blood sugars exactly the same as regular pasts … so … I’m always a bit leery about claims like this). Anyway, thanks for all the hard work and tasty recipes.
Carolyn says
Hi Jeanine. Please see the nutritional disclaimer at the bottom of my post. As a diabetic, I test my own blood sugar and erythritol doesn’t raise it one little bit. Not one iota, and I am not kidding. Did you know that carbs in foods are calculated simply by subtracting the weight of ALL the other nutrients? Which means the only place that they can put the “carbs” in erythritol is in the carbohydrate category. But it simply doesn’t behave like a carb so I won’t count it as one. If I did, it would be misleading to diabetics who do take insulin, as they would bolus for it and their blood sugar would drop alarmingly.
And yes… tons of LEGIT studies to support this claim. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8039489
Mo says
Hi!
We were going to try out the recipe tonight but noticed the carbs in the swerve brown sugar were pretty much the same as regular brown sugar (4 g per 1 tsp). With 1/3 a cup of this, how does it turn out low carb? Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks!
Carolyn says
Okay so you need to research erythritol because although it has carbs, they have zero impact on blood sugar and thus are not counted as one.
rachel says
I couldn’t find swerve brown at Whole Foods, could I use regular swerve or maybe swerve with a splash ofmy kept friendly maple syrup?
rachel says
keto friendly
Rachel says
Looks like a great recipe! Has anybody tried this without the sweetener? I know it won’t taste quite the same as Mongolian Beef, but wondering if it still might taste like a good dish. I’m new to Keto and have some mixed feelings about using the sugar substitutes. Thanks!
Carolyn says
Should still be fine!
Lisa says
Thank you for a delicious recipe. I used coconut aminos instead of soy sauce as soy sauce seems to be a migraine trigger for me. The coconut aminos I use (Coconut Secret Coconut Aminos) have 1g of carbs per tsp so it added 6g of carbs to the recipe or 1.5g per serving). Have you tried Monkfruit sweetener with this? I may try that next time in place of the sweve.
Carolyn says
If by “Monkfruit Sweetener”, you mean Lakanto, then be forewarned that it’s mostly erythritol. So in that regard, it is not very different from Swerve.
Doreen says
I look forward to making this dish. I’m happy that Monkfruit sweetener will work in this recipe. I don’t know why, but when I use this in baking, my family doesn’t complain about the flavor. I know everyone is different and some say it tastes awful, but it tastes like sugar to me. I love cilantro… no dish water flavor for me, but my genes really don’t like rosemary. Go figure. I love your recipes.
Diane says
Thanks so much for this recipe. It’s on my to-do list!
YolandaTomaszewski says
I read that potato starch would not turn into glucose and could be beneficial on a keto diet. Would this be an acceptable studtitute for the glucomanin?
Carolyn says
I have never used it and am leery of these claims so I can’t really advise.
Leslie George says
Hello Carolyn, Yesterday I made your recipe for the Mongolian Beef and the aroma was incredible. I put the crock pot / slow cooker at 4 hrs low and waited. I kept looking through the glass lid and after about an hour I said to self this looks done, but I let it go. After the 4 hours was up the sauce looked and smelled amazing. I pulled a piece of the meat out to taste and it was WAYYYY over cooked and dead dry. As always when I follow a recipe I do it exactly to get a feel for it. I was disappointed to say the least. I looked at another similar recipe I copied and there again with almost the same ingredients and procedure was the 4 – 6 hour time on it for the low setting. I also have another recipe that is made in a skillet / wok. I am hoping that this one comes out better. BTW it is not my slow cooker, I make other things in it which come out wonderfully.
Carolyn says
Could possibly be the cut of meat? What were you using?
Holli Krebs says
Hi Carolyn, I am wondering on step 4 when you whisk in the glucoman and pour over, how does the sauce thicken without boiling it like gravy? I am looking forward to trying this recipe. Thanks!
Carolyn says
Because it’s not cornstarch. Glucomannan doesn’t need boiling to thicken.
Philippa says
Was missing my Chinese take-away, but have now found my fake-away….. thank you, love it !