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
Do your kids like takeout? They will love this tastier recipe!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 4 – 8 hours
- Total Time: 4 – 8 hours + 10 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
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 or
- 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
- Serving Size: 1 bowl
- Calories: 542
- Sugar: 12.6g
- Sodium: 486.8mg
- Fat: 23.9g
- Saturated Fat: 4.7g
- Carbohydrates: 37.7 g
- Fiber: 3.1 g
- Protein: 44.3 g
- Cholesterol: 111.5mg
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!