For weeknights where I need a delicious and convenient meal waiting for me when I get home from afternoon activities, these Slow Cooker Asian Beef Bowls with Broccoli are just the thing to serve for dinner!
If your family loves take out style foods, this is one recipe they are also going to love. Inspired by Disney’s all-new, live-action epic adventure The Jungle Book, I’ve partnered with the National Honey Board for its “Momentos de Oro en Familia” (“Golden Family Time”) campaign and created this delicious recipe, where the honey is the perfect addition to the savory flavors of the Asian inspired sauce. As you can see from this quick video, making this recipe is a breeze.
Takeout and frozen meals seem like an easy option to reach for when you’re short on time to make dinner. My solution to saving money and eating better is to remake some of our favorite meals at home, and the slow cooker is the perfect tool to use when I want the meal made for me.
I love my slow cooker. What’s not to love? All you have to do is throw in your ingredients at the beginning of the day, and a delicious homemade dinner is ready for you when you come home.
In this recipe, the beef cooks in the slow cooker in a delicious honey-based sauce. The honey gives it a thicker texture and a natural sweetness, and the Asian flavors compliment it nicely. I let it cook all day and it’s good to go! Before serving it for dinner, all you have to do is cook the broccoli and rice.
Sometimes I preset my rice cooker to end at the same time as the slow cooker, while other times I use leftover rice to make it even easier.
The best thing about “bowl” meals is that everyone can add as much of each ingredient as they want! While my boys don’t like the “trees” so big, my daughter loves broccoli. She nicknamed this recipe “Honey Forest Bowls.”
Leftovers freeze great, and I often freeze single serving portions of these honey forest bowls for my husband’s lunch. If you want to turn this into a freezer meal, you can place all the ingredients (except the rice and broccoli) in a freezer zip bag and freeze. Whenever you want to cook this terrific meal all you have to do is thaw and cook!
If you eat grain-free, cauliflower rice would be delicious as the base instead of regular rice. If you’ve never made it before, I’ll walk you through how to make cauliflower rice right here, with easy to follow instructions and a video!
So the next time your family asks for takeout, pull out your slow cooker and let it do the cooking for you! Everyone will go back for seconds of this Honey Forest Bowl.
What is your favorite way to use honey in a savory recipe?
Asian Beef and Broccoli Bowls Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup honey
- ½ cup reduced sodium soy sauce
- 1 cup beef broth
- 4 cloves garlic, grated
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger
- 1 teaspoon chili paste
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 2 ½ pounds boneless beef chuck roast, cubed
- Sesame seeds
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- 2 cups white rice
- 1 ½ pounds broccoli florets, about 2 crowns
Instructions
- Inside the slow cooker’s dish, whisk the honey, soy sauce, beef broth, grated garlic, sesame oil, vinegar, ginger, chili paste, onion powder, and pepper.
- Add the cubed beef to the sauce and toss to combine.
- Cover and cook on low heat for 8 hours or high for 4 hours.
- In the final 30 minutes of cooking, cook 2 cups of rice according to package directions. Steam the broccoli on the stovetop or in the microwave and season as desired.
- Prior to serving, sprinkle the sesame seeds and green onions, if using, to the beef, stir and cover.
- To assemble, scoop cooked rice into a bowl, top with beef and steamed broccoli.
Nutrition
From time to time, I work with awesome companies to develop recipes for this website. Today’s post was brought to you by the National Honey Board. All opinions are 100% my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that encourage my creativity.
Sarah Dodson
We all LOVE this recipe! It’s so easy to make too! Thank you!
Laura Fuentes
I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe, Sarah!
Rashelle
We Love Honey in our family. I use it as the sugar substitute in making waffles, and also in a fish marinade for baking white flaky fish like halibut or flounder, or on the side with a cup of hot tea.
This recipe sounds delicious.
Kate
I would love to try this recipe! What is chili paste? If I can’t find it, is there something I can substitute? Thanks!
Laura Fuentes
Hi Kate! Chili paste is also referred to as sriracha. Red bottle, inexpensive, in the Asian area of grocery store.
Zhertiam Gonzales
I love to drizzle honey over pears for a pre workout snack, and of course, with my kids favorite side! Honey roasted carrots.
Amy J.
I like to use honey in savory recipes like this one – as the sweetener in the sauce. I also use it a lot in baking, but that’s not usually savory :p.
Meghan
I use honey for sore throats. 1 spoonful does it.
Karlie
We use honey in a marinade for chicken.
Alex
Honey mustard chicken is one of our family favourites. Marinade the chicken in a mixture of honey, mustard, and a dash of smoked paprika. When you get home, just toss it on the grill for an easy weeknight dinner.
Melissa
I make honey ginger carrots to go alongside a Moroccan spiced grilled chicken that my family loves.
Elizabeth Kindler
I make a baked honey orange chicken and serve it over rice. I love how it adds a sweetness without being too sugary!
Michelle Mossey
I love this idea. Any crock pot ideas are ones I’m checking out because they are so easy!
Our favorite way to use honey is on a peanut butter and honey sandwich. So simple and so yummy!
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Heather
We use honey on so many things ! From food dishes to hot tea ! My favorite is using it for wellness ! Honey has so many wonderful benefits and it’s yummy 🙂
Linda Handy
I love honey on my thin bagel with almond butter.
Jacquie Parker
Oh honey! I can’t wait to try this recipe. We use honey in strawberry frozen yogurt and low fat general tso’s chicken. Thanks for the recipes!!
Virginia N
my favorite use for honey is just putting it on a fresh biscuit out of the oven
Liz Eaton
I like to use honey in my honey/lemon/ginger chicken. Its a family favorite!
Tammy Jones
Honey mixed with mustard over chicken is wonderful!
Annie
We love honey on our pancakes!
Paulette
I replace the sugar in most recipes with honey. A healthy alternative that tastes good too. It’s wonderful as a glaze on meats or in baking
Crazy Joyful Mama
Honey garlic roasted chicken. Yummy!
Christina
Making this in my crock pot right now! Can’t wait to try it! I love honey…. in tea, on toast… but my favorite way to use it is actually in your Breakfast Cookie recipe, Laura! When I have an early morning meeting, I make them the night before for a quick morning routine for the kids. They now look forward to those meetings!
lisa franklin
im like to make choc chip peanut butter balls with honey
Julie W.
Our favorite ways to use honey are to pour all over homemade cornbread (YUM…don’t even need butter!) and to make peanut butter and honey sandwiches on whole wheat bread. Simple but delicious!
Amy
I love to roast acorn squash with honey and coconut oil.
Julie H
I love easy meals that taste like take-out, because I want to know what’s in my food and I want to use organic/grass fed meats, but I get these cravings for things like beef with broccoli! I love honey – I use it in place of sugar in baking, and in my chai every morning. I hope we can bring back the bee population to what it used to be — every time I use honey, I think about how it’s a tough time to be a bee right now and I appreciate all that honey in the bottle that the bees made.
Lynann
I use honey most to sweeten my coffee. I tend to like my coffee quite sweet and I feel a tad better about honey than white sugar.
Staci Mitchell
I use honey for many reasons in my home. Sugar, honey, lemon scrub for blemishes. Lemon,honey and ginger for sore throats. Tea sweetener.To add to my smoothies. Honey chicken recipe
Kim Pieplow
Add some sweetness to bbq sauce for pork ribs!
Stephanie Hart
Honey, lime juice, and nutmeg make a great sauce for summer fruit.
Jennifer
I make a slightly different version of beef and broccoli on the stove. It’s the only Asian dish my husband will eat and I use honey in the sauce as well. No matter how you make it, beef and broccoli is still a yummy dish.
Debbie H
We just bought a new jar of local honey so this will be perfect to try out. Thanks for all the yummy recipes.
Stephanie
Congratulations!! You are our winner for this giveaway!
Please check your email 😉
Faith Sullins
My kiddos and I like to put honey in peanut butter and drizzle it on our fruit.
I also like to mix honey with Sriracha and put it on chicken wings.
Susan
I use honey in my “magic elixir” … Hot lemonade and Honey is what I use to soothe a sore throat.
By the way, this recipe looks wonderful. Can’t wait to try it out.
Krystal Watson
For a savory recipe, I love using honey for homemade honey biscuit ham sandwiches. Sinfully delicious!
Viviannette
I put a teaspoon of honey I. My homemade Italian dressing
mary berry
We love to use honey and peanut butter on waffles for breakfast!
Laura Fuentes
YES!!
Lori D.
I love honey as a natural sweetener. I use it in place of sugar. I especially love it in hot teas!
Sherry
Honey and lemon juice mixed into hot water…totally helped with my lengthy coughs every winter.
Mamiko Lewis
I love using honey and almost everything! Coffee, baked goods, slow cooker recipes, you name it! But my favorite recipe with honey is bread. Honey gives a distinct flavor and I love it!
Danielle Flood
We love honey sesame chicken! I think we’ll love this recipe more, though! Looks amazing. Going to try it this week!
Carin
Pb and honey!
Leah S.
I make a recipe that I call Asian Honey Chicken in the crock pot, which I serve in a bowl over rice, with mixed steamed veggies on the side. I use boneless skinless chicken thighs and the sauce includes soy sauce, honey, brown sugar, tomato paste, ground red pepper, garlic powder, rice wine vinegar and a couple other things. It takes about 8 minutes to prep, cooks in 4-5 hours, and I shred the chicken before serving. It stores well for leftovers, too!
kelia
We are big fans of using honey for seasonal allergies. I also use honey instead of white sugar in tea.
Traci
Honey in my smoothies and on my kids yogurt in their lunchboxes!
Trish
Wonderful recipes Laura!
My favorite way to use honey is drizzled over panco lemon baked fish!
Aubrey
We like to use honey to make granola and baklava!
Teresa
I use honey to sweeten smoothies and also when making gelatin gummies. Thanks for all your recipes!
Robyn
I love drizzling honey before roasting chicken, broccoli, and bell peppers. 🙂 I can’t wait to try this recipe.
Ambery Sobery
I love to use honey in my Slow Cooker Sweet Garlic Chicken! The recipe calls for brown sugar, but honey helps it’s glaze and gives it a richer taste.
Sharon E.
We like to put honey on our Hawaiian pizza.
Heather
I use honey in my tomato soup and salad dressings.
Lauren Pitz
I love using honey with sweet potatoes. When I tried this recipe with honey, chili powder, and lime juice, it quickly became a family favorite: http://eatingcleanrecipes.com/2010/10/ancho-roasted-sweet-potatoes/ The honey adds a touch of sweetness to balance the heat!
Martha Bison
I like to make a marinade with balsamic vinegar and honey for a yummy pork tenderloin.
Kristina
We use honey in several savory breads, and also for meat marinades, similar to above. Oh, and honey mustard or honey BBQ sauces..now I want to go make some!
Shannon Carino
Our favorite savory honey dish is Garlic Honey Chicken in the crockpot. It’s also a great freezer meal when you want to have something to defrost and cook!
Donna Braamse
I like using honey in chicken dishes — either honey mustard or with soy sauce and chili oil.
Dody
Honey adds such wonderful flavor to a variety of foods. I used it today making banana bread. So much healthier in smoothies. However, as a southern girl, my favorite way to eat honey is covering a hot, buttered biscuit.
Krissie E.
I like to make Honey Walnut Shrimp.
Carolsue
I have a recipe called Honey Garlic Salmon which I love!
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thuy n.
I like to make a honey & hot sauce dip for chicken fingers.
Cheryl P
We love to use honey to marinate/glaze salmon. My son calls the honey soy broiled salmon I recently made, “the bomb”! Can’t beat that. 🙂
Aline Grigorian
I love honey! One of the ways I love to eat it is to mix it into fresh cream and dunk lightly toasted bread into it. Great for breakfast!
Katie
Laura,
I love the sounds of this recipe and am looking forward to trying it! Our household loves honey to sweeten just about everything, but the favorites are atop Cheerios and mixed with plain yogurt and fresh fruit!
Monique
This sounds amazing! I love “trees” and thankfully my kids do, as well. I like to make honey garlic chicken in my crockpot. The honey is sooo warming with the garlic flavor. Its the best of both worlds when you pair the two together!
Stephanie
Congratulations! You are a winner of the Honey and Jungle Book giveaway! Please check your email.
Andrea Williams
I like to use honey to make Honey Teriyaki Chicken served over rice.
Stacy L
This recipe looks so delicious – can’t wait to try it! My favorite way to use honey in a savory dish is to mix it with an equal amount of ketchup and use it as a glaze over baked salmon. I started making this easy dish years ago and my entire family loves it!
Kate
I’ll sometimes make a honey-lemon chicken.
Juli Dees
I use honey, garlic, olive oil and balsamic vinegar as a marinade for pork tenderloin.
Shelly
I use honey in my chili!!
Christy
I have not used honey in a savory dish before now. This is my first dish, but certainly not my last! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Sheena Y
My favorite way to use Honey in a savory meal is what my family likes to call cereal chicken. I know it sounds really gross but it’s amazing. It’s basically chicken that is battered in crushed cornflakes and almonds and then baked. But the ingrediant that makes it fantastic is a bit of honey. It adds the perfect amount of sweetness and helps the “batter” stick to the chicken.
Chelsea Reeves
I use honey in a marinade! Pork chops in honey, garlic, soy sauce, and a little pineapple juice. Then grill them along with rings of pineapple and brush honey on the pineapple when it’s still warm! Delicious!
Angela
I like to use honey in a chicken marinade
Lori
I love honey and can’t wait to try this recipe. I use it to sweeten my tea every day. My hubby keeps packets of honey in his gym bag as a quick pick me up between workouts (he’s a fitness instructor). Love your ideas!
Erin
Honey in my tea!
Stuti Patel
I absolutely love the combo of honey with peanut or almond butter. We use whole grain bread and spread it with natural peanut butter or almond butter (no sugar added in either) & thin slices of abanana or a red apple. Drizzle it with honey, put on another slice of whole grain bread and it’s delicious!
We also use honey to toast our nuts for snacking. Use any raw nut (almonds, pecans or walnuts are especially good for this snack), and drizzle with a bit of olive oil & salt. Bake in oven or cook in a dry skillet over medium heat, just for a few minutes until nuts are fragrant and hot. Remove from heat and put in a bowl. Drizzle with a bit of honey while still warm. Best served warm. Yum!
Ashleigh Davis
We use honey in smoothies, on biscuits, in tea. Whats not to love about honey!
Gerri
We use honey in anything one would normally use sugar in and then some- baking, sauces, with greek yogurt, granola, pancakes/waffles
Lara
I love making a beef and winter squash stew with honey, mirin, ginger and soy sauce. This looms delicious- can’t wait to try!
Carol Ann
My favorite use for honey is as a natural remedie for seasonal allergies. One teaspoon of honey twice a day does the job! I am lucky to have a beekeeper that sells at the local farmers market.
Patricia
This recipe sounds fabulous. I do not know if this is where one enters the NHB contest BUT if it is or not, I like to use honey in a Thai curry recipe for the sweetener.
Amanda Kennedy
My family loves when I make a savory chicken recipe called Salsa Cinnamon Chicken. I brown chicken thighs in olive oil and crushed garlic and then pour a mixture of salsa, honey, water, cinnamon, cumin, and dried cranberries over top and allow to simmer. We serve it with rice or couscous or quinoa and a steamed veggie. With 4 kids aged 4, 6, 8, and 10 it can be hard to please them all but this one always hits the mark. Oh, and if I’m feeling fancy I top with toasted pine nuts (doesn’t happen too often.) 😉
Tricia
Mmmmm honey. One of the ways we love to eat honey is on a piece of rye toast for a snack, or in our oatmeal at breakfast.
Val
Honey is a nice sweet touch in the recipe I use for almond rosemary biscuits!
Courtney
Can’t wait to try this! We use honey in everything from oatmeal to smoothies!
Jessica F.
I love using honey as a natural sweetener in place of sugar in cooking and baking!
Erin T
I love to use honey as part of a sweet-spicy glaze for pork tenderloin or sweet potatoes – so yummy!!
Cassandra
This recipe looks great. Would love jungle book pack, I always put honey in my oatmeal.
Annette Nelms
We slice cherry tomatoes in half & drizzle honey on top of them. We had our doubts too, but don’t knock it ’til you try it!
Laurie
Hi, Laura.
I love your recipes and ideas! I am allergic to soy and soy sauce so I cannot use it in recipes. What do you suggest for a substitution?
Thanks!
Laurie
Jenny
Hi Laurie,
Coconut aminos is a great alternative to soy sauce. You should be able to find it at your local health food store or online.
Cheryl P
I use coconut Aminos in most recipes that call for soy sauce and actually prefer the flavor.
Lisa Jones
Coconut Secret makes a soy free sauce that is a good replacement.
Kathy Templeton
We love to use honey on a pork roast slow cooked
Melissa
Try fish sauce. It’s usually available at any grocery store. I prefer the Red Boat brand (that Trader Joe’s just added to their stores!) because it doesn’t have any added sugar.