Slow Cooker Cranberry Balsamic Beef

5 from 2 votes
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Slow cooker cranberry balsamic beef is an easy crock pot recipe, perfect to make on busy weeknights.

Slow Cooker Cranberry Balsamic Beef - just four ingredients in this easy slow cooker recipe for a tender, fall apart beef roast. #SundaySupper with #GalloFamily #ad | cupcakesandkalechips.com | gluten free

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Gallo Family Vineyards via Sunday Supper, LLC. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author, and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Gallo Family Vineyards.

As the holidays approach, life gets really crazy, so we need recipes that help us make it through the madness so that we can stop and take time to be thankful for all that we have. #SundaySupper and Gallo Family Vineyards are here to help you do that.

Maybe you need a super easy dinner or even a crock pot back to school recipe for those busy days. Or you need to feed the family, but just can’t take turkey leftovers anymore. If that sounds like you, toss together a few ingredients to make Slow Cooker Cranberry Balsamic Beef.

Wow, has it been a year! This time last year, we were packing up the last of the boxes in our old house in New Jersey, and about to move into our new home. In a completely new state, away from the only place I had known my entire life. I’ll be honest, last Thanksgiving, I didn’t feel like I had much for which to be thankful. Yes, we were moving to a beautiful new home, but that was just a place, a thing. I was leaving my heart and soul, my entire history.

It’s been a tough year learning to adjust to our new reality. We’ve had to endure a rough winter that kept us pretty much holed up in a house in an area where we didn’t know anyone, find new doctors, deal with unexpected leaks and minor floods (twice), get used to where things were located and how to navigate the traffic patterns. Daily life took twice as long as usual.

It was a tough adjustment for the boys too, and they dealt with it my challenging me and The Hubby. Last Thanksgiving and Christmas felt like such a blur that I don’t know if I even thought about giving back, much less, teaching my boys about giving back. But we are blessed, and we will be spreading those blessings, whether it is buying gifts for needy children, making extra donations at church, donating food to the local food banks, or simply making sure we show our family and friends our appreciation for all that they have done for us the past year. Without them, I’m not sure we would have survived. But we did.

And here we are a year later. Sometimes I still struggle, as I feel like a year is but a blip out of the entire thirty-six years of my life. But we are safe and healthy. I’ve had some amazing opportunities and experiences. My boys are happy and learning and growing. We are starting to get to know our surroundings – both the places and the people. I’m not sure when I will call the area home, but my house is starting to feel more like my home, and being in Maryland is starting to feel less like I’m lost in a foreign country without a map. And this Thanksgiving, we will gather around our dining room table for the first time (since it didn’t arrive until January), and I will be thankful to be surrounded by those I love.

Slow Cooker Cranberry Balsamic Beef - just four ingredients in this easy slow cooker recipe for a tender, fall apart beef roast. #SundaySupper with #GalloFamily #ad | cupcakesandkalechips.com | gluten free

You know what else I am thankful for? The fact that some time during the weekend after Thanksgiving, when I am turkey-ed out, but still have some cranberry sauce hanging around, dinner is done…

Slow Cooker Cranberry Balsamic Beef is a little sweet and tangy, with the savory flavor of a fabulous beef roast.

But the beauty of this easy crock pot recipe is that you toss a few ingredients in your slow cooker, head out for a day of shopping or spend the afternoon trimming your tree, then at dinner time you just shred it up and serve. Maybe you even have some leftover mashed potatoes from your family feast a few days ago. And if you want to share your love through food, a recipe like this is ideal.

Slow Cooker Cranberry Balsamic Beef - just four ingredients in this easy slow cooker recipe for a tender, fall apart beef roast. #SundaySupper with #GalloFamily #ad | cupcakesandkalechips.com | gluten free

You can easily double or triple the balsamic beef, and invite over company or package it up to send to someone who may need a little extra help this time of year, especially since it freezes well and the leftovers are very versatile – make sandwiches, top a salad, even put together some beef quesadillas.

While you can use beef broth, I added Gallo Family Pinot Noir to this slow cooker beef recipe to enhance the flavors. This is also the wine that I enjoyed with this dish. It is perfect for pairing with this shredded beef roast because the cherry and fruit flavors enhance the cranberry flavor, while the earthiness stands up to the richness of the beef. So when you pick up your bottle of Gallo Family Pinot Noir to open at your Thanksgiving feast, grab an extra one for when you make this for dinner later that weekend. Prefer a white wine? Gallo Family Pinot Grigio is a crisp and versatile white wine to serve at your holiday meals. It pairs nicely with acidic food, meaning that it will complement the balsamic vinegar in this recipe. Serve it with your salad course, or alongside that Thanksgiving turkey. After we’ve given thanks for all of the wonderful people in our lives, for our health, and the fact that we are all safe and well, let’s give thanks for some fabulous food and wine!

Slow Cooker Cranberry Balsamic Beef - just four ingredients in this easy slow cooker recipe for a tender, fall apart beef roast. #SundaySupper with #GalloFamily #ad | cupcakesandkalechips.com | gluten free
Shredded beef on a white rectangular platter.
5 from 2 votes

Slow Cooker Cranberry Balsamic Beef

A few ingredients, a few minutes and your slow cooker does all the work for this tender, flavorful, fall-apart beef roast.

Ingredients

  • 3 pound boneless beef chuck roast trimmed of excess fat
  • kosher salt and pepper
  • 1/2 cup cranberry sauce, whole berry or jellied
  • 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 1/2 cup beef broth or red wine

Instructions

  • Season your beef with salt and pepper and place in your slow cooker.
  • In a bowl, mix together the cranberry sauce, balsamic vinegar, and broth or wine. Pour over the beef.
  • Cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours.
  • Remove beef, keeping the liquid in the slow cooker, shred with a fork, and return to the slow cooker. Keep warm until ready to serve.
Nutrition Facts
Slow Cooker Cranberry Balsamic Beef
Amount Per Serving (6 oz)
Calories 347 Calories from Fat 171
% Daily Value*
Fat 19g29%
Saturated Fat 8g40%
Cholesterol 117mg39%
Sodium 202mg8%
Potassium 595mg17%
Carbohydrates 9g3%
Sugar 9g10%
Protein 32g64%
Vitamin A 30IU1%
Vitamin C 0.3mg0%
Calcium 33mg3%
Iron 3.7mg21%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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22 Comments
  1. I love switching up the dinners around Thanksgiving to keep everyone happy – especially when it’s an easy slow cooker meal like this. This looks so delicious! Gonna have to hide the rest of the cranberry sauce so I can give it a try!

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