I prep this keto slow cooker steak and peppers the night before and let it go while I'm at work. Chuck roast falls apart into tender shreds with 63g protein per serving and just 3.8g net carbs. Fajitas, taco salad, cauliflower rice, you name it.
I started making this slow cooker steak and peppers when I needed something I could prep the night before and forget about until dinner. Five minutes of chopping, dump everything in the liner, and walk away. That’s it. I’ve made it dozens of times since, and it’s one of my most-used weeknight proteins.
The reason I use chuck roast instead of sirloin or flank steak is simple: chuck falls apart after 6-8 hours on low. You pull it out and it practically shreds itself. Sirloin stays chewy after hours of braising, which is fine if you want slices, but I want that pulled, tender texture that soaks up all the juices from the peppers and tomatoes. Shoulder roast and cross-rib roast both shred well too, but chuck has the most fat marbling, and that fat is what keeps the meat from drying out over 6-8 hours. If you like that shredded meat approach, my keto pulled pork and keto beef stew use the same dump-and-go method.
What keeps this keto dinner in my rotation is the versatility. I pull the shredded beef out and use it three or four different ways throughout the week. Fajita night with low carb tortillas. Taco salad with sour cream and avocado. Straight over cauliflower rice, which I cook in a dry nonstick skillet so it doesn't get soggy, or shirataki rice when I want more chew. Sometimes I just eat it out of the container standing at the counter. 63g of protein per serving at 3.8g net carbs means I don’t have to think about macros when I’m building meals around this.
One thing I started doing that changed my prep game: I bag everything raw the night before, stick it in the fridge, and dump the bag into the slow cooker in the morning. You can also freeze the bags flat and pull one out the night before to thaw. Two or three bags in the freezer and you’ve got keto dinners stacked for weeks. If you’re into that meal prep approach, my keto taco soup freezes the same way.
The seasoning here is simple on purpose. Liquid aminos, red wine vinegar, a few dashes of hot sauce. The long cook concentrates everything so you don’t need a big ingredient list. I’ve played around with adding cumin or chili powder and both work, but the base recipe is what I come back to every time. For more protein-heavy dinners, try my keto Philly cheesesteak or chicken stir fry with peppers.
Shredded steak and peppers over cauliflower rice, which is how I serve it most often.
Keto Steak and Peppers in the Slow Cooker Ingredients
Step by Step Instructions
1
Add ingredients
Add all ingredients to the liner of a slow cooker.
2
Slow cook
Cover and cook at low for 6 to 8 hours or high for 4-6 hours.
3
Shred
Before serving, shred the beef with two forks or by using an electric mixer. Serve over cauliflower rice or shirataki rice. Or use as fajita meat.
Nutrition
Per serving: 1/6 of recipe
Calories
611
Fat
37.5g
Protein
63.2g
Total carbs
5.3g
Net carbs
3.8g
Nutrition is an estimate calculated from the ingredients listed. Brands vary, so check labels if you track closely.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make this in an Instant Pot?
I've done it. Pressure cook on high for about 15-18 minutes, then let it vent naturally for 20 minutes. After you release any remaining steam, check if the meat shreds easily. You might need another 5 minutes depending on the size of your roast. It works, but I still prefer the slow cooker version because the peppers break down more and the sauce gets thicker. If you use the Instant Pot a lot, my keto Instant Pot shredded chicken is another good one for the rotation.
Is liquid aminos gluten-free? What can I use instead?
The Bragg's brand I use is gluten-free, which is one reason I reach for it over soy sauce. If you can't find liquid aminos, tamari is my next pick (also gluten-free). Regular soy sauce works too, but it does contain gluten if that matters for you. The flavor difference between all three is minimal in this recipe since the long cook blends everything together.
Can I add other vegetables to this recipe?
I've thrown in mushrooms and they work well because they can handle the full cook time. Zucchini and spinach are better added in the last 30-45 minutes so they don't turn to mush. I wouldn't overload the pot though. If you pack it too full, the liquid doesn't circulate and the meat takes longer to get tender. Stick to one or two additions beyond the peppers and onion.
How do I store leftovers?
I keep mine in a glass container in the fridge and it's good for 3-4 days. The flavor actually gets better on day two because everything has time to soak together. For freezing, I portion the shredded beef and sauce into individual containers and they hold up for about 3 months. I reheat straight from frozen in the microwave or in a skillet with a splash of broth.
Fire-roasted tomatoes instead of regular crushed, worth the swap. Made it during the kind of July heat where I was going to run the slow cooker no matter what, just grabbed what was already in the pantry. The smokiness settles into the liquid aminos and red wine vinegar while it cooks. By hour 7 there’s a depth the regular version didn’t have. Annie, you’ve got the acid balance right on this one. The peppers cook down to almost nothing by 8 hours, so I’d add an extra bell pepper next time.
Prep the liner the night before, start it cold. First time with chuck roast and I watched the clock at hour 5 convinced it wasn’t doing anything. Hour 7 on low, it shredded with two forks, no effort. The liquid aminos and vinegar hit differently than I expected, more to it than the ingredients suggest.
Amy, the hour 5 stall gets everyone their first time. I still check on it right around then, nothing looks like it’s moving. The vinegar is what makes the liquid aminos punch that hard, it balances the salt in a way that takes a few bites to figure out.
That shred is what chuck does better than any other cut. The fat breaks down so completely by hour 7 or 8 that it just falls apart. I make a double batch once a month and eat it all week: over cauliflower rice with the braising liquid on top the first night, fajita-style the second. Mia, if you haven’t had it straight from the container on day two, the flavor gets way deeper overnight. Make extra this weekend.
Use the electric mixer to shred, it works better than it sounds and saves you from wrestling with two forks for ten minutes. What still gets me, about a year in, is when a recipe stops being an adjustment and just becomes what dinner looks like. 3.8g net carbs, solid protein, and nothing about it feels like a tradeoff.
I’m usually a ‘just sear some skirt steak’ person so I honestly wasn’t sure chuck roast would hold up as fajita meat (totally different cut). But it was in the 90s last week and I didn’t want the stove on, so slow cooker it was. The beef shredded apart and soaked up all those peppers and tomatoes in a way sliced steak just never does. Been putting it over cauliflower rice for three days straight and it keeps getting better. Four stars only because I don’t know why I waited this long.
Lauren, skirt steak would’ve tightened up in there. The fat in chuck is exactly what breaks down over eight hours and soaks into the peppers. Sliced steak can’t do that. Day three is my favorite bowl.
Started this before work and came home to my husband hovering over the slow cooker asking how much longer. He never texts me about dinner, but I had three messages by 4pm about whether the chuck roast was done yet.
Added a splash of red wine alongside the red wine vinegar and the sauce came out so much richer than I expected. Chuck roast was completely falling apart by hour 6 on low. After shredding, I reduced the liquid in a small pan for a few minutes and used it as a drizzle over fajita bowls. That extra step is worth every minute.
Reducing it down as a drizzle. I’ve been leaving that braising liquid as-is and that’s clearly a mistake. The wine on top of the vinegar makes sense too, all that depth without giving up the acid.
Almost grabbed flank steak because I figured chuck wouldn’t get tender enough, but it literally fell apart on its own. Every other fajita method feels pointless now.
I’ve tried four or five slow cooker beef recipes that all promised ‘fall-apart tender’ and got chewy strips every time, so I went into this one skeptical. The liquid aminos and red wine vinegar combo gave me pause too, felt like an odd direction. Made it Sunday, went to shred the chuck Monday morning and it basically dissolved, I had to stop for a second because that has genuinely never happened to me with slow cooker beef. Nothing else I’ve made in it has come close, and I’ve been throwing beef at it for two years. Cauliflower rice on repeat now.
Swapped liquid aminos for coconut aminos, added one chipotle in adobo for smoke. Sauce got richer. Low background heat that kept building as it sat. Four stars because the original works, but I won’t be going back.
Just got a Dutch oven and I’m converting my slow cooker recipes (counter space + more control). If I braise the chuck roast covered on low for the same time, will it shred just as easily?
Chuck roast will shred just as well, same fat marbling doing the work. Cut the time though. 3 to 3.5 hours at 325 covered, then start checking. Dutch oven low runs a lot hotter than slow cooker low.
Set this up Sunday and had four lunches sorted for the week. The beef reheats with all the pepper and liquid still in it so it doesn’t dry out like most slow cooker meat does. Trying it over cauliflower rice next batch.
The fat in the chuck roast is what keeps it from drying out on reheat – leaner cuts don’t hold up the same way. Cauli rice next batch is going to be good.
Set this out taco-bar style for a spring dinner, flour tortillas on the side for the non-keto guests. The beef was gone before the tortillas. Chuck roast, 8 hours on low, completely falling apart.
Thought slow cooker steak would come out tough, but this just falls apart. The liquid aminos add way more depth than I expected. My stovetop method hasn’t moved in weeks.
That’s exactly what the 8 hours does. Chuck just gives up at some point and you get this almost braised texture without any braising. And the liquid aminos surprise me every time too, way more complex than soy sauce.
Check out my video on how to make cauliflower rice. The key is to cook it without adding liquid in a dry non-stick skillet. https://youtu.be/EI8jQqxn8Yk
