Slow cooking is perfect for beef cheeks. It turns this tough meat into a wonderfully melt-in-your-mouth, rich, tender delicacy.
This is an effortless dish where your slow cooker does all the work. And as is usually the case with slow-cooked meats, the leftovers are absolutely wonderful.
Just like goulash and lamb shoulder chops, beef cheeks are a tough cut of meat. This is not the cut you'd want to quickly sear. But when slow-cooked, they are incredible.
Their meat becomes incredibly rich, and it's so tender you could literally eat it with a spoon. It's a satisfying entree that my entire family loves. I think it's even better than pot roast!
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Ingredients
The list of ingredients needed to make this recipe is delightfully short. The exact measurements are included in the recipe card below. Here's an overview of what you'll need:
Beef cheeks: I usually order them online at US Wellness Meats.
To season: Kosher salt, Black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and ground cumin.
Variations
The best way to vary this recipe is to experiment with different spices. Good options I tried and enjoyed include a teaspoon of chili powder, a pinch of cayenne pepper, and a pinch of dried thyme. You can use these spices in addition to those used in the original recipe.
Instructions
The challenge when cooking beef cheeks is that they are wonderfully flavorful but relatively lean and tough. The only way to make them edible - and delicious - is to cook them low and slow and use moist heat.
You can't, for example, roast or pan-fry them. But slow cooking turns their tough meat into a wonderfully melt-in-your-mouth, rich, and flavorful dish.
The detailed instructions for making this recipe are listed in the recipe card below. Here are the basic steps:
Mix the salt and spices in a small bowl. Layer the cheeks in your slow cooker, sprinkling each layer with part of the spices.
Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours.
Thicken the cooking liquids. Mix a cornstarch slurry into the liquids, then cover and cook for 30 more minutes on HIGH until the liquids are thickened.
Spoon the pan juices over the cheeks and sprinkle them with parsley.
Serve. You can see in the photo below how wonderfully tender the meat is!
Expert Tips
- I don't add liquid to the slow cooker pan before cooking. The meat releases plenty of liquid as it cooks. Adding liquid before cooking could result in the meat boiling instead of braising. However, there's no harm in adding a small amount of beef broth to the slow cooker pan. I experimented with adding ½ cup of broth with excellent results.
- It's difficult to tell precisely how many beef cheeks this recipe will yield because their size varies. They can be as small as 8 ounces (raw weight) or as large as 16 ounces. Most are around 12 ounces when raw and 6 ounces when cooked. I consider a serving size as one cheek or 6 ounces of cooked meat.
- The amount of cornstarch I use slightly thickens the cooking liquids. If you want them thicker, double the amount of cornstarch and water.
Recipe FAQs
Also called ox cheeks, they are literally the cheek muscles of the cow. This meat is very tough since the cow uses it continually to chew. The only proper way to cook it is low and slow, and then it becomes wonderfully rich and tender. 
Since it's a slow-cooked meat with a deep, rich flavor, you can compare it to other slow-cooked cuts such as oxtails or pot roast.
Perhaps you didn't cook them long enough, or maybe you tried to use a dry cooking method such as roasting.
The only way to make them reliably tender is to cook them low and slow using a moist cooking method such as braising. The slow cooker is perfect for that.
Serving Suggestions
I like to serve this saucy dish on a bed of mashed cauliflower. It's the ultimate comfort food! Another excellent option is cauliflower rice. Both work well to absorb cooking liquids.
I also add a vegetable such as honey-glazed carrots, caramelized shallots, roasted asparagus, or steamed broccoli.
Sometimes, I serve beef cheeks with a simple salad such as arugula salad or cucumber tomato salad.
Storing Leftovers
The leftovers keep well in the fridge, in an airtight container, for 3-4 days. I reheat them, covered, in the microwave at 50% power.
Sometimes, I shred the leftover meat and use it to top a salad the next day for lunch. Or I add it to a sandwich wrap.
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Recipe Card
Slow Cooked Beef Cheeks
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt or 1 teaspoon of any other salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 4 pounds beef cheeks (6-8 cheeks)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon of cold water
Instructions
- In a small bowl, mix the kosher salt, black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and ground cumin.
- Layer the cheeks in the slow cooker pan, sprinkling each layer with part of the spice mixture. There’s no need to add liquids. The meat will release liquid as it cooks.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours, until the cheeks become very tender (the smell will be amazing!).
- Mix the cornstarch and water to create a cornstarch slurry. Gently mix the slurry into the cooking liquids at the bottom of the slow cooker pan. Cover again and cook on HIGH for 30 minutes.
- Divide the meat between plates, spoon the pan juices on top, and serve.
Video
Notes
- Nutrition info is from this USDA entry. Sodium was adjusted to reflect the amount of salt that I use. Calories and carbs were adjusted to account for the cornstarch.
- I don't add any liquid to the slow cooker pan before cooking. The meat releases plenty of liquid as it cooks. However, there's no harm in adding a small amount of beef broth to the slow cooker pan - no more than ½ cup.
- It's difficult to tell precisely how many beef cheeks this recipe will yield because their size varies. They can be as small as 8 ounces (raw weight) or as large as 16 ounces. Most are around 12 ounces when raw and 6 ounces when cooked. I consider a serving size as one cheek or 6 ounces of cooked meat.
- The amount of cornstarch I use slightly thickens the cooking liquids. If you want them thicker, double the amount of cornstarch and water.
- The leftovers keep well in the fridge, in an airtight container, for 3-4 days. Reheat them, covered, in the microwave at 50% power.
Add Your Own Notes
Nutrition per Serving
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Vered DeLeeuw, LL.M., CNC, has been following a low-carb real-food diet and blogging about it since 2011. She's a Certified Nutrition Coach (NASM-CNC), has taken courses at the Harvard School of Public Health, and has earned a Nutrition and Healthy Living Certificate from Cornell University. Her work has appeared in several major media outlets, including Healthline, HuffPost, Today, Women's Health, Shape, and Country Living. 
Heidi
Fantastic! Made this today, exactly as per recipe with half a cup of bone broth. Could not believe how tender it was. And the recipe is so simple, yet so effective. Thanks for posting!
Vered DeLeeuw
You're very welcome, Heidi! Glad you enjoyed it.
Bee Winfield
Hi, thanks for this recipe! Can't wait to try it. Beef cheeks were all the rage in the best restaurants several years ago. I've never cooked them. Someone told me that the cheap slow cookers have a lot of lead in them. She said there in one brand which does not have the lead. Would you know the brand?
Vered DeLeeuw
I don't, but here's a good article with useful information about lead in slow cookers.