Easy Crock Pot Sweet and Sour Hawaiian Beef! This slow cooker Hawaiian Beef recipe is perfect for meal prep or feeding a crowd. It’s simple to make and full of flavor, paleo option included! This crock pot beef is also freezer friendly so you can make a double batch and save some for meal prep. ALOHA!!
Happy Aloha Friday y’all! Just Kidding, it’s Thursday. But I almost had you there for a second now, didn’t I? ALOHA is definitely the theme for this crock pot Hawaiian Beef, no matter what day you reading this. And I can totally say that because we used to live in Hawaii. Yep, lived there, worked in the fitness industry, spent all my money on paying for my 300 square foot apartment, food, and gas. Yes, it’s SUPER expensive but worth it! We even got married there….. on my father in law’s coffee farm! Ahh, the good ol’ days. So yes, we’re bringing back the ALOHA memories and ALOHA food. Food as in delicious slow cooker beef with all the Hawaiian food flavors. It’s a super chill recipe and super easy, just like life in Hawaii. Okay I’ll stop now.
EASY PREP with SLOW COOKER BEEF
Now, I don’t know about you, but come Friday, almost all my cooking efforts are getting depleted and I so need my crock-pot (or slow cooker, it’s all the same) to help with the cooking. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE cooking, it’s my passion, but I don’t want to do more dishes! You know you can relate! In order to clean less, I opt for an easy crock-pot meal or takeout. Let’s think of it this way, if we chose to cook in vs take out, we not only save money, but we could potentially make this slow cooker meal a meal prep meal , thus becoming SUPER efficient, even on a weekend. Overachievers, this one’s for you! Haha, I like it!
So here we go. Aloha kākou (welcome) to a recipe that is super satisfying, quick, helping and amazingly delicious! Yes, Crockpot Sweet and Sour Hawaiian Beef.
How to make Hawaiian Beef in the Slow Cooker (Crock-Pot).
This sweet and sour crock pot Hawaiian beef is probably the most flavorful dish I’ve made in a long time. I mean like a real dish. One that Rachel Ray would approve that. Colorful and MMM MM GOOD!
Ingredients you need for Hawaiian Beef.
- Beef Loin (diced lean stew meat works great)
- Pineapple and juice – diced
- Tamari or Coconut Aminos
- Apple Cider Vinegar
- Honey
- Onion and Garlic
- Bell Peppers and Celery
- Red pepper flakes
- Rice or Cauliflower rice
- Herbs and/or green onion
Now just brown the meat, mix up your sweet and sour sauce, mix, and dump (hate that word) into one crockpot! And it’s PALEO friendly. YEA for real food easy peasy meals!
EASY PREP and MEAL PREP TIP.
EASY PREP tip & Confession –> This so called sweet and sour sauce is KEY to making this dish shine. And it’s totally okay if you go the budget route. I did. Not gonna lie, I used canned pineapples (in their juice) and saved the juice. That my friends is called being lazy but effective.
MEAL PREP tip –> I highly recommend making a double batch so you can freeze half or more for later. This beef is soooo good with just about anything! Rice, Tacos, Salad, Eggs, you name it!
Now let’s DIVE onto this recipe. Mmm k?
Crockpot Sweet and Sour Hawaiian Beef
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 4 hr
- Total Time: 4 hrs 10 minutes
- Yield: 6-8 1x
Description
Slow cooked Sweet and Sour Hawaiian Beef {Paleo friendly}
Ingredients
Sweet and Sour Pineapple Sauce
- 16 ounces (two 8 ounce cans) of crushed pineapple (in juice not syrup) – drained and reserve juice in a small bowl.
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup gluten free tamari or coconut aminos for paleo option.
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp of fresh grated ginger or pinch of ground ginger (optional but delish!)
For the Slow Cooker/Crockpot:
- 2 lbs boneless beef loin cut into 1–2 inch pieces, or you can purchase stew meat precut. Best to trim excess fat for before cooking. See notes for other meat options.
- 2–3 tbsp Oil to brown meat
- black pepper to taste
- kosher salt to taste
- 1–2 tsp crushed red pepper
- 1 cup chopped red onion
- 1 bell pepper – diced, seeds removed. (see notes for substitutes)
- For plating – chopped green onion and/or cilantro to garnish. To serve with rice or cauliflower rice.
Optional Slurry to thicken:
- 1 tbsp Arrowroot starch
- 2 tbsp cold water
Instructions
- Drain the canned pineapple and reserve the juice. Place pineapple aside and juice in a small mixing bowl.
- Next, whisk together the pineapple juice, cider, gluten free soy sauce, garlic, ginger, and honey. Whisk until honey is combined (dissolved) with other ingredients. Set aside.
- Heat a medium size skillet with 2 tbsp oil. Lightly sprinkle the diced beef cubes with coarse kosher salt and pepper. Place meat in the pan and then brown meat on medium high, turning beef cubes to brown all sides. About 3-4 minutes.
- Place the browned meat in the slow cooker and sprinkle crushed red pepper flakes on top.
- Add the chopped onion and sweet and sour pineapple sauce to the crockpot/slow cooker. Mix together.
- Cover and cook on low setting for 5-6 hours or on HIGH heat for about 3 hours, or until the meat is cooked through and tender.
- After the meat has been cooked, mix in the crushed pineapple and bell pepper. *Note – if you would like thicken the stew/meat mix, add the arrowroot starch slurry here. First dissolve the arrowroot starch and cold water in a small bowl to create a slurry then mix into slow cooker.*
- Cook on high for additional 20-30 minutes or until peppers have softened and juice has thickened.
- Spoon meat and juice over rice or cauliflower rice. Garnish with chopped green onion and/or cilantro.
Notes
Feel free to use pork or turkey stew meat or pork loin as a beef substitute. Cooking times may vary.
1 cup diced celery may be used in place of pepper if desired.
- Category: dinner
- Method: slow cooker
- Cuisine: american
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 5 ounces
- Calories: 240
- Sugar: 12
- Sodium: 587 mg
- Fat: 7 g
- Saturated Fat: 2 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 15 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 26 g
Keywords: beef, slow cooker, crock pot, meat, gluten free, dinner
May your house smell like summer sweetness! Aloha!
Ever tried Hawaiian Beef or sweet and sour beef?
Scratch that–> Favorite HAWAIIAN meal? Yes, that’s a better Aloha Question.
MORE SLOW COOKER & INSTANT POT RECIPES HERE!
This recipe is part of our Best Slow Cooker Meal Prep and Instant Pot Recipes collection. Check it out!
