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This slow cooker beef brisket is fall-apart tender, so juicy and flavorful and you won’t believe how simple the ingredient list is! This slow cooker brisket had everyone’s seal of approval – rave reviews every time!
Crockpot beef brisket is great as a side dish with mashed potatoes or served as beef brisket sandwiches. The slow cooked mushrooms are just as delicious as the slow cooked brisket. You will savor every bite. This one is also awesome for meal planning because leftovers refrigerate REALLY WELL!
And it’s about time we share more SLOW COOKER recipes!! We love easy, juicy, melt-in-your mouth meat and it is my favorite way to use our slow cooker.
This Beef Brisket slow cooker recipe is adapted from theKitchn. Recipe updated 10/10/17 garlic amount reduced from 8 cloves to 6 to account for varying sizes of garlic cloves. Use 6 medium garlic cloves and be sure to chop the garlic (do not press garlic for this slow cooker recipe).
Ingredients for Slow Cooker Beef Brisket Recipe:
3 Tbsp Olive oil to sauté, divided
4 lb beef brisket
2 tsp salt and 1 tsp black pepper, or to taste
2 medium (1 lb) yellow onions, sliced into thick strips
1 lb mushrooms, thickly sliced
6 medium garlic cloves, peeled and chopped (not pressed)*
2 cups low sodium chicken or beef broth/stock
2 1/2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
*Garlic Tip: it is easiest to mince this quantity of garlic in a food processor. Do not use a garlic press for this recipe.
How to Make Slow Cooker Brisket:
1. Generously season brisket with about 2 tsp salt and 1 tsp black pepper. Heat a large heavy skillet or cast iron pan over high heat. Add 1 Tbsp olive oil and when hot, add brisket (fat side down). Sear 4-5 minutes per side or until browned on both sides. Transfer to slow cooker with the fat side facing up.
2. In the same pan, add 1 Tbsp olive oil and sliced onions. Sautee 5-7 minutes or until onions are caramelized. Place onions over brisket. In the same pan, add more oil as needed and saute mushrooms until softened (5 min). Place mushrooms into the slow cooker. Sprinkle chopped garlic over the mushrooms.
3. Combine 2 cups chicken broth with 2 1/2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce and pour mixture over the meat.
4. Cover and cook on low 7 to 8 hours or until cooked through and easy to pull apart with forks. Turn off slow cooker and rest for 15 minutes with the lid on. Remove and discard excess fat from the top** then pull the beef apart with forks and keep it in the slow cooker to soak up the juices which will add incredible flavor and keep the meat tender. Serve beef brisket and mushrooms, spooning the slow cooker brisket juices over the top.
**Picky Eaters Tip – I prefer my meat to be really clean and lean so I transfer the meat to a platter to make sure I have removed all of the fat, then return the shredded meat to the slow cooker.
This will thicken up when refrigerated but turns back into a beautiful broth when it is reheated ands YES, Leftovers keep super well in the refrigerator and can be warmed on a skillet or microwave, or the oven.
⬇ Print-Friendly Slow Cooker Beef Brisket Recipe:
Slow Cooker Beef Brisket Recipe

Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp Olive oil to sauté, divided
- 4 lb beef brisket
- 2 tsp sea salt , or to taste
- 1 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
- 1 lb yellow onions (2 medium), sliced into thick strips
- 1 lb mushrooms, thickly sliced
- 6 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped (not pressed)*
- 2 cups low sodium chicken stock or beef broth
- 2 1/2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Instructions
- Generously season brisket with about 2 tsp salt and 1 tsp black pepper. Heat large heavy skillet or cast iron pan over high heat. Add 1 Tbsp oil and when hot, add brisket (fat side down). Sear 4-5 min per side or until browned on both sides. Transfer to slow cooker, fat side facing up.
- In the same pan, add 1 Tbsp oil and sliced onions. Sautee 5-7 min or until onions are caramelized. Place onions over brisket. In the same pan, add more oil as needed and saute mushrooms until soft (5 min). Place mushrooms into the slow cooker and sprinkle chopped garlic over the top.
- Combine 2 cups chicken broth with 2 1/2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce and pour mixture over meat.
- Cover and cook on low 7 to 8 hrs or until cooked through and easy to pull apart with forks. Turn off slow cooker and rest 15 min with the lid on. Remove and discard excess fat from the top** then pull the beef apart with forks and keep it in the slow cooker to soak up the juices which will add amazing flavor and keep meat tender. Serve beef brisket and mushrooms, spooning slow cooker juices over the top.
Notes
**If you prefer really clean and lean meat; transfer the meat to a platter to make sure all of the fat is removed then return the shredded meat to the slow cooker.
Note on Nutrition: the nutrition label will vary greatly based on how much you trim the fat from your meat. Also, keep in mind some of the salt and liquid may get discarded at the bottom of the pot.
Nutrition Per Serving
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
Garnish with chopped chives or green onion to fancy it up. Garnish adds a beautiful pop of color and fresh flavor to everything. It is the easiest way to make your dish more beautiful for a dinner party.
I hope you fall in love with this brisket recipe slow cooker style! It’s so juicy and flavorful. I look at that photo and want it all over again! 😉 Enjoy this my friends!
P.S. Crazy for crockpot recipes? If you loved this crockpot brisket, don’t miss our most popular slow cooker lasagna!
What if I wanted to make a bigger sized brisket. Would it be better in the oven or a roaster pan?
Hi Virginia, the oven is probably your best bet but you might do some research to get a proper bake time and temperature since it will need to be modified.
Do you have to shred the meat or can you slice it in whole thin slices. I was thinking with the mashed potatoes and broccoli casserole. Am cooking this for my Daughter visiting on Mother’s Day.
Hi Barbara, you can slice it if you prefer. That will work.
Thank you. Appreciate your help.
Hello,
I tried this recipe for Easter and it tasted good but something went wrong. When I went to try and pull the meat apart after letting it sit for 15 minutes after turning off the slow cooker, the meat was still hard… would not shred. I did do all the prep work the night before and refrigerated the meat and the next morning I turned on the slow cooker and followed the steps. Would that be that reason why?? Please tell me what I did wrong.
Hi Julia, Prepping the night before should not have caused that, but slow cooking a chilled brisket and liquid would require a longer cook time since it will take a little time to heat up. If meat is really overcooked, that could also be the culprit if you kept the slow cooker on too long. Also, did you possibly use a different kind of meat? I hope that helps to troubleshoot.
Natasha, when I was purchasing the meat I asked the butcher for 4 lb cut of Beef Brisket. I hope he gave me the correct meat lol. I don’t believe it could have over cooked. I turned it on at 6:30 AM and turned it off at 2:30 PM 8 hours on low in the slow cooker. I don’t know what happened, anyways it tasted good so I’ll try it again some day!
Hi Julia, try setting your crockpot on high next time. I always have to start on high because I feel that all crockpots are not created equal. Mine seems not to run as warm as others, so give this a try on your next brisket.
Hi! I love the recipes on your site!
I like that you have included the nutrition information with them, but did not see what the serving size is. Is there any way to find this information?
Hi Sheri, the entire recipe serves 8 to 10 as a side or sandwich.
Thank you for your reply. Rather than a broad 8-10 per recipe I was hoping for a more specific measurement. I have a friend with diabetes who could use help with portion control, and it would be a great help to her and those who watch for the nutrition information. Thank you again, I am enjoying the recipes.
Natasha, do you think instant pot will work for this recipe?
I haven’t tested that but I think it could work. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe
Made this overnight and followed the recipe exactly. It made the most incredibly flavorful pot of easily-shredded, tender brisket. One that made a tremendous difference was searing the beef in cast iron and then between beef, onions and mushrooms deglazing the darkened brown bits off the bottom of the pan with a splash of the broth/worcestershire sauce. Once added to the slow-cooker, those crispy browned bits made the gravy extra savory. Thank you so much for sharing your kitchen!
You’re so welcome, Evey! I’m so happy you have enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for that wonderful review!
Can you make this without the mushrooms and will it effect the taste much as I do not care for them?
Hi Jackie! you might try adding baby carrots instead of mushrooms and maybe increase the amount of caramelized onion.
What if I wanted to slice it instead of pull it apart? Would cooking time be different?
Hi Mona, I haven’t tested that but I think it could work with less cook time, being sure the meat is cooked through of course. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe
I tried your recipe recently – FANTASTIC! A couple of additions/ changes that I made successfully…After sauteing the mushrooms for a few minutes, I tossed in the garlic and cooked them together for about a minute before putting them in the crock pot. Used beef broth instead of chicken. Since brisket is so fatty, I did pull it out of the crock pot to remove the fat as you suggested. I also used my grease/fat separator to pull as much fat as I could out of the juice in the crock pot. Mixed the meat back in with the juices and veges, serving it up with green beans and mashed potatoes. We raise beef and I try many recipes – this is the BEST one I have found for brisket so far! For those of you with smaller families – don’t worry about making too much. I portion things out into containers and freeze them for another day.
Thank you so so much for this wonderful review and for sharing your changes with us!!
Tried this last night – so simple, yet sooooo good.
Thank you
You’re so welcome! I’m happy you enjoyed that!
Would like to know if you have tried the recipe without mushrooms. Have family members who want a recipe without them. Not sure how it will affect the taste.
You can omit them or, you might try adding baby carrots instead of mushrooms and maybe increase the amount of caramelized onion.
Can I make this recipe in a pressure cooker? If yes how would I do It? Thank you. Also would you be willing to post more recipes using a pressure cooker?
Hi Tanya! I imagine it would work in the pressure cooker but I haven’t tried this recipe in one specifically. If you experiment I would love to know how you like it!
Loved making this! Very easy to make but it didn’t come out as juicy and flavorful as I wanted… maybe I wasn’t so generous with the salt and pepper? Is there anything that I can do to the meat now that its cooked to make it dry and juicier? Would a marinade work? More Worcester sauce?
Hi Marina, salt is usually the culprit in meats. You could absolutely add your favorite marinade, or even something like a barbecue sauce. To take it a step further, you could transfer some of the sauce into a saucepan and flavor it to taste then bring it to as simmer (and even reduce it down for stronger flavor), then pour that sauce over the meat. I hope that helps!
dos the water have to cover the meat?
Hi Gene, we used 2 cups of chicken broth along with 2 1/2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce to cover the meat. No need to cover it all the way.
delicious and very easy recipe! loved it!
Thank you for the great review Natalie! 🙂
Hi Natasha – do you know how long this will stay good in the fridge? I plan on cooking this as a meal prep for 2 weeks worth of lunches. Thanks for any information you can share!
Hi Khazer, most cooked meats should not be refrigerated more than 3-4 days unless they are intended to be such as cured meats.
Can’t wait to try this. I was wondering, can I replace half the stock with 1 cup of mushroom stock/buillon, to intensify the flavor, or might it be too much?
Hi Gaby! I personally have not tried that. It sounds like it may work. If you experiment please let me know how you like the recipe!
Hi Natasha would the recipe turn out the same if I doubled the recipe and cooked it the same amount of time?
Hi Yelena, I haven’t tried doubling this but you would have to have a huge slow cooker to fit that much meat into it, or use 2 slow cookers.
Hi Natasha your so right! I don’t think I need to double the recipe. Last question, do you think this recipe would work with a different kind of cut? I currently have on hand Beef lion tri tip roast.
Thanks so much!
Hi Yelena, I think that should still work with this recipe.
what is lion tri tip?
I thought lions were protected.
lol Randy. I think you’re right about that.
Wow, I cooked the slow roast brisket in my slow cooker today, (following your instructions). It was delicious!
Easy to do and was a great family meal. I put it with various veg, Yorshire puddings, tortilla etc for people to help themselves. My husband loved it (as did my kids)… constant noises throughout, then he phoned his parents to invite them round to have brisket with us another day! I’m definitely in the ‘good books’..cheers 😉
That is the best when the family loves what we moms make. That’s so great!
This sounds delicious — everything except the mushrooms for us. If those are left out, would you add or compensate with anything else to make up for any potential lost depth of flavor?
Hi Kel, you might try adding baby carrots instead of mushrooms and maybe increase the amount of caramelized onion.