With sweet onions, zesty BBQ sauce, and tender beef, a Crock Pot brisket is the down-home supper your family will love! It’s perfect for weeknight sandwiches and Game Day meals.
This Easy Beef Brisket Slow Cooker Recipe is the Ultimate Crowd-Pleaser
This Crock Pot brisket is a cozy, Southern-style supper that practically cooks itself! The slow cooker transforms a tough cut of beef into melt-in-your-mouth, flavorful slices, thanks to a zesty BBQ rub, sweet onions, and a rich cooking liquid. Whether piled onto sandwich rolls with pickles or served alongside classic sides, this brisket is a family-friendly favorite that’s perfect for busy weeknights, casual entertaining, or game day gatherings.
Ingredient Notes and Tips for Success
- Flat-Cut Brisket: Look for a flat cut (also called “first cut”) that’s uniform in shape and easier to slice. Trim excess fat, but leave about ¼- to ½-inch for moisture and flavor.
- Spice Rub: A simple blend of chili powder, smoked paprika, garlic powder, and brown sugar enhances the meat without overpowering it.
- Beer Substitute: Not a fan of cooking with beer? Use beef broth, Coca Cola, or root beer instead. Each option adds unique depth to the sauce.
- Onions: Browning the onions adds an extra layer of flavor to the final dish.
- Cook Time: Brisket is ready when it reaches about 185–195°F and shreds or slices easily. Don’t undercook or it will be tough!
- Searing the Brisket: this step adds nice color, the caramelized surface of the beef gives the dish rich flavor, and the browning process helps lock in the juices. The browned bits from the bottom of the skillet also add extra flavor to the cooking liquid. That said, you can certainly skip the browning step if you’re in a hurry, or if you just don’t want to wash an extra dish.
How to Cook Brisket in a Crock Pot
- Trim the meat and pat it dry. Season with salt and pepper.
- Sear the beef in a large cast iron skillet. And since I know you’ll ask, yes — technically you can skip the searing step. But browning the meat and onions adds depth of flavor that’s worth the extra few minutes, in my opinion.
- Place the meat in the slow cooker. Season with the dry rub on all sides, and then arrange the brisket so that the fat side is up. This will allow that fat to drip down over the meat as it cooks, keeping the brisket moist and flavorful.
- Add bbq sauce and Worcestershire sauce to the slow cooker as well.
- Brown the onions in the skillet, and then transfer them to the slow cooker.
- Deglaze the skillet with beer, and transfer the liquid and browned bits to the slow cooker as well.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours, or on HIGH for 3-4 hours. Cooking the brisket at a low temperature over a long period gives the collagen fibers and connective tissues time to break down, and eventually results in a very fork tender piece of meat. Brisket is nice and juicy when it reaches 195°F. Keep in mind that the temp of the meat will continue to rise as it rests, so it’s best to remove the brisket from the slow cooker when it reaches about 185-190°F. It is possible to overcook brisket in a Crock Pot, which results in dry, chewy meat.
- Let the meat rest for about 15 minutes. This allows the juices to redistribute so that they don’t run out onto your cutting board. Pro tip: slice the meat against the grain (perpendicular to the fiber lines that you see running through the brisket). Cutting through the fibers shortens them, making the meat more tender and easier to chew.
Serving Suggestions
Serve this beef brisket recipe on sandwich rolls with pickles and extra barbecue sauce, or try classic side dishes like coleslaw or my grandmother’s easy potato salad recipe; cowboy baked beans or creamy baked mac and cheese; Southern cornbread or our favorite cornbread muffins; baked potato wedges, crispy seasoned roasted potatoes or mashed potatoes; Southern tomato pie, fried apples, Arkansas green beans, southern style green beans, or mom’s marinated cucumbers. Then, finish with a pear crisp for dessert.
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Slow Cooker BBQ Brisket
Prep: 30 minutes
Cook: 4 hours
Resting Time 15 minutes
Total: 4 hours 45 minutes
Tender and juicy Crock Pot brisket slow-cooked with BBQ sauce and onions for easy sandwiches and Game Day meals.
Ingredients
- 1 (3 ½ – 4 lb.) flat-cut beef brisket (about 1 ½ – 2 inches thick)
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¾ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 cup beer (or sub with beef broth, Coke, or root beer)
- ½ cup bbq sauce
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce (or sub with soy sauce)
- 1 medium yellow onion, cut into ½-inch thick slices
- For serving: extra bbq sauce, coleslaw, sliced pickles, sandwich rolls
Instructions
- Spray a 6-quart slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. Trim the excess fat from the brisket, leaving a ¼-inch to ½-inch-thick layer. Pat the meat dry with a paper towel; rub salt and black pepper on both sides.
- Coat a 12-14-inch cast iron skillet with oil, and heat over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium. Add the brisket; cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes per side (adjust the heat as needed). Place the brisket in the slow cooker (do not clean out the skillet).
- In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, and cayenne. Sprinkle the seasoning rub on the brisket, turning to coat. Arrange the brisket fat-side up. Pour the bbq sauce and Worcestershire sauce around the sides of the brisket.
- In the same cast iron skillet, cook the onion over medium-high heat, just until browned, about 1-2 minutes per side. Transfer the onion to the slow cooker. Add the beer to the skillet and cook over low heat for about 1-2 minutes, scraping the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Pour the beer and other drippings from the skillet into the slow cooker.
- Cover the slow cooker and cook the brisket until tender, about 3-4 hours on HIGH or 6-8 hours on LOW. The meat should reach an internal temperature of about 195-200°F (just remember that the temperature will continue to rise as it rests, so you can pull it out of the slow cooker once it reaches about 185-190°F).
- Place the brisket on a cutting board; let it stand for 15 minutes. Slice the brisket against the grain. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper, if necessary. Serve on sandwich rolls with extra bbq sauce, the onions from the pot, coleslaw, and/or sliced pickles if desired.
Notes
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- Don’t be shy with the salt, pepper, and other seasoning. This is a big piece of meat, so it needs big flavor!
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- Every slow cooker runs at a slightly different temperature, so cooking times will vary. As a result, a meat thermometer is the best way to know when your brisket is done.
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- Slice the meat against the grain (perpendicular to the fiber lines that you see running through the meat). Cutting through the fibers shortens them, making the meat more tender and easier to chew.
Nutrition
Serving: 1/6 of the recipeCalories: 522kcalCarbohydrates: 17gProtein: 56gFat: 25gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 0.02gCholesterol: 164mgSodium: 1254mgPotassium: 1005mgFiber: 1gSugar: 13gVitamin A: 650IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 36mgIron: 6mg
Preparation and Storage Tips
- Make Ahead: Prep the brisket and onions the night before. Store everything in the slow cooker insert in the fridge and start it the next morning.
- How to Store: Leftovers keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
- Freezer: Freeze cooked brisket (with juices) for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight and reheat gently on the stovetop or in the slow cooker.
- Reheating: Add a splash of broth or sauce to prevent drying out. Warm in a covered skillet over low heat or in the microwave.
Recipe Variations
- Make it spicy by adding extra cayenne or crushed red pepper flakes.
- For smoky flavor, add a little bit of liquid smoke to the Crock Pot.
- Instead of making your own seasoning blend, use a store-bought bbq rub for a shortcut. You can also use a homemade bbq sauce in lieu of store-bought.
- Don’t have an onion? Just add onion powder to the seasoning blend.
- While brisket works best when thinly sliced, you can shred the meat with two forks (like you might with a chuck roast) if you prefer.
- Tex-Mex Style: Swap BBQ sauce for enchilada sauce and serve the slow cooker beef brisket in tortillas with slaw and crema.
- Brisket Bowls: Serve over rice or grits with collard greens and hot sauce.
More Crock Pot Beef Recipes
Slow Cooker Pot Roast with Coke
8 hours hrs 55 minutes mins
Crockpot Barbacoa
8 hours hrs 10 minutes mins
Slow Cooker Chili
6 hours hrs 15 minutes mins
Originally published in August, 2018, this post was updated in August, 2025.
Wow, Blair! That is one glorious photograph! Come and have a bite… and I sure would! I’ll have to check the price of beef these days. Failing brisket, what other cuts might work? Chuck?
Thank you, Marion! Given that this is a brisket-specific recipe, we don’t recommend replacing the meat. However, we have lots of other beef crock pot recipes you might enjoy!