This super easy Boneless Flanken Short Ribs recipe, slow cooker method, are decadent and delicious! This is a great recipe for for busy moms looking for an easy weeknight dinner or entertaining friends!
Having friends over for dinner? Looking for an easy Holiday meal? This Easy Boneless Flanken Short Ribs Recipe in a slow cooker are the perfect main dish because they are so impressive! They are decadent and taste like you slaved away in the kitchen for your guests. 🙂 The flavors from the onion, carrots, demi-glace, thyme, and garlic all seep into the meat, which is fall-apart tender and absolutely delicious.
These ridiculously simple braised beef short ribs in the slow cooker rather than the oven. That means, you are FREE!!! You can work, go to yoga, play with the kids, or run other errands. You no longer have to stay in the house watching the oven for 4 hours.
If you don’t have a Slow Cooker, click here to see the Crock Pot that I have and love!
Why You Should Try this Braised Short Ribs Recipe!
Easy One of the most popular items when I was catering was my Carrie’s Catering Braised Short Ribs. I would make them for weddings, private dinner parties, and on request, I would make them for friends and family. Traditionally, I would braise them in the oven for about 4 hours on high heat!
This recipe is easier because (1) the short ribs are boneless and (2) they cook in the slow cooker, you just set and forget! You can then head out for the day, coming home to that amazing smell and warm fall-apart meat just waiting to be eaten.
Boneless Flanken Short Ribs vs. English Cut
When you go to the grocery store, you will typically find bone-in English cut short ribs. These are cut between the bones and therefore, each short rib has a single bone with a layer of meat.
Flanken short ribs are cut across the bones, so each piece has several bones. These are generally 1-2 inches thick.
My store has boneless Flanken short ribs, so that’s what I used in this recipe. You can use boneless English cut short ribs, boneless Chuck short ribs, or even Country Style Ribs (which are not actually ribs at all, but have a similar flavor and texture from the marble and connective tissue making them also ideal for braising and long cooking).
Simple Ingredients
- Boneless Flanken Short Ribs – These can be flanken, English cut, or chuck ribs.
- All purpose white flour – this is for coating the beef before searing, which helps to thicken the sauce. You can also use cornstarch.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil – You can substitute with any neutral oil, such as vegetable oil, avocado oil, or even coconut oil.
- Carrots, diced – You can use whole carrots with the skin on or peeled. I peeled for this recipe. You can substitute with diced baby carrots, parsnips, or even radishes.
- Onion, diced – I used yellow onion, but you can use white onion, red onion, shallots, or even scallions.
- Fresh Garlic cloves, minced – Fresh is best in this simple recipe, but you can buy the pre-minced garlic sold in a small jar or use dried garlic flakes or garlic powder.
- Tomato Paste – Tomato paste gives that deep tomato flavor. If you don’t have it, you can skip it all together.
- Beef Broth – You can use beef stock, chicken broth or stock, or vegetable broth or stock. You can also add in red wine by reducing the broth to 3 cups + 1 cup red wine.
- Demi-Glace. Demi-Glace is a condensed broth made from simmering bones and flavors for days. This process extracts the gelatin from the bones, concentrates the flavors and thickens the sauce. You can substitute in chicken, beef base or vegetable base. These will have salt, so make sure to not add too much salt.
- Red Wine Vinegar (eliminate if adding red wine) – You can substitute in white wine vinegar.
- Worcestershire Sauce – You can substitute in soy sauce.
- Thyme, dried – You can use fresh thyme or substitute in oregano, margarom, or rosemary.
- Bay Leaf – if you do not have a bay leaves, you can simply leave it out.
- Fresh Italian Parsley, chopped – Fresh parsley is best. I would not even bother with dried parsley. You can substitute in other fresh herbs for more flavor, such as basil or cilantro.
Super Easy Slow Cooker Beef Short Ribs!
Into the slow cooker, you add the diced carrots, celery, and onion. Then add the garlic, vinegar (or wine), tomato paste, fresh parsley, bay leaf, thyme, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, and Demi-Glace.
Next, coat the meat in flour and sear in a pan on all sides. Add 1 cup of beef broth to the pan to get all meat bits up from the bottom of the pan, then add the meat and broth to the slow cooker. Add the rest of the broth and other ingredients, cover, set to 8 hours and that’s it! Set & Forget!
I love to serve these Easy Slow Cooker Short Ribs with Creamy Parmesan Polenta, so check out that recipe by clicking here.
When the short ribs come out of the slow cooker, they will have become fork tender so that the meat easily pulls apart and then melts in your mouth. The sauce is hearty from the carrots and onions but thin so that you can (and you should!) soak it up with the polenta or a nice crusty bread. Make sure to make plenty as everyone will definitely want seconds.
Slow Cooker Short Ribs Recipe FAQs
Can I make these in the oven?
If you don’t have a slow cooker, you can make these in the oven. Add all of the ingredients to a dutch oven, or large casserole or baking dish that’s approximately 13×9 inches or similar.
Can I add any other vegetables to this Short Ribs Recipe?
This recipe for Slow Cooker Beef Short Ribs has carrots, but if you want to replace the carrots or add more veggies, here are some ideas. You can use green beans, butternut squash, potatoes, sweet potatoes, celery, or parsnips.
What can I serve with these Boneless Beef Short Ribs?
These Boneless Beef Short Ribs are wonderful over Creamy Parmesan Cheese Polenta or over mashed potatoes or even Roasted Garlic Cauliflower Mash! Of course, pasta or rice work too.
What can I do with leftovers?
If you have leftovers (and I do recommend making more than you need just to have leftovers!) here are some ideas. Make a Short Rib Sandwich with Chipotle Mayo, add to tacos or nachos, or add to an omlet.
Have you tried this recipe? If so, please leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star rating in the recipe below! I love to hear your feedback and your rating helps others to find this recipe. Thanks so much!
Easy Slow Cooker boneless Beef Short Ribs
Ingredients
- 2 pounds Short Ribs, boneless
- ¼ cup All purpose white flour
- 1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 cup Carrots, diced
- 1 Small yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves Garlic, minced
- 1 Tablespoon Tomato Paste
- 4 cups Beef Broth (or 3 cups + 1 cup red wine)
- 1.5 ounces Demi-Glace
- ¼ cup Red Wine Vinegar (eliminate if adding red wine)
- 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 teaspoon Thyme, dried
- 1 Bay Leaf
- Salt, to taste
- Fresh Ground Pepper, to taste
- ¼ cup Fresh Italian Parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Dice the Carrots and Onion. Mince the garlic. Chop the parsley. Place all in the slow cooker – but save some of the parsley for garnish.
- Cut the short ribs into 2″ pieces. In a bowl or baggie, mix the flour with a pinch of salt and pepper. Coat the outside of the short rib pieces on all sides. Shake off excess and add to a preheated pan with 1 tbls Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Sear on all sides.
- Once seared, add 1 cup of beef broth and scrape all of the yummy beef bits up from the bottom of the pan. Transfer the meat and broth to the slow cooker. Note: if using red wine in this recipe, replace this 1 cup of broth with 1 cup of red wine
- Add the rest of the ingredients to the slow cooker: remaining broth, tomato paste, demi-glace, red wine vinegar(eliminate if using red wine), Worcestershire Sauce, thyme, bay leaf, pinch of salt and pepper.
- Stir to combine ingredients, then turn slow cooker on for 8 hours.
- At 8 hours, test for seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed. Test the meat to ensure that it is tender and easily pulls apart with a fork. Serve over mashed potatoes, polenta, rice, or noodles.
Notes
- My original recipe called for red wine, but this version was adapted based on my children’s preferences. Both with and without wine are delicious. For the wine version, you would replace 1 cup of the broth and the vinegar with 2 cups of Red Wine.
- If you don’t have a slow cooker, you can make these in the oven. Add all of the ingredients to a dutch oven, or large casserole or baking dish that’s approximately 13×9 inches or similar.
- This recipe for Slow Cooker Beef Short Ribs has carrots, but if you want to replace the carrots or add more veggies, here are some ideas. You can use green beans, butternut squash, potatoes, sweet potatoes, celery, or parsnips.
- These Boneless Beef Short Ribs are wonderful over Creamy Parmesan Cheese Polenta or over mashed potatoes or even Roasted Garlic Cauliflower Mash! Of course, pasta or rice work too.
- If you have leftovers (and I do recommend making more than you need just to have leftovers!) here are some ideas. Make a Short Rib Sandwich with Chipotle Mayo, add to tacos or nachos, or add to an omlet.
Chef Mimi says
This is one kind of meat I really like making in a slow cooker. It works magic on the ribs!