Slow Cooker Tri Tip Roast with Carrots & Onions

Tender tri tip ready and waiting when you get home from a busy day- with just 5-10 minutes of prep in the morning!

Life can be so hectic, and on those busy days, spending an hour in the kitchen is the last thing we have the desire (or time) to do. That's where this dump-and-go style tri-tip roast recipe comes to the rescue. With a trusty slow cooker and minimal prep, you can have a mouthwatering meal waiting for you at the end of the day. Let's dive into how to make a tender, flavorful tri-tip roast with all the fixings, almost effortlessly.

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Why You'll Love this Slow Cooker Recipe:

• Low Effort Cooking: Minimal prep and the slow cooker does the rest. No browning the meat or dirtying extra dishes today!
• Simple Ingredients: Seasoned with common spices, you probably have most of the ingredients on hand.
• Customizable: Make it your own with your favorite seasoning or switching up the veggies.
• Flexible Timing: Cooked through by hour 6, it can be ready at dinner with a late morning prep, or for more fall-apart beef, when you come home after a full day.

Let's Get Started! Here's What You'll Need:

Ingredients:

Tri Tip Roast- This triangular cut of meat is a whole muscle cut from the bottom of the sirloin area, that's more commonly found in grocery stores on the west coast. It's more tender than a sirloin, but a bottom sirloin roast is the next closest cut if you can't find tri tip locally. Sirloin tip roast sounds similar, but is from the leg and while slow cooking will still make it a delicious meal, they're quite different cuts.

Beef Broth- We're using 1 can, which is about 1 and ¾ cups. Beef stock would be a great choice too. You can use chicken broth or vegetable broth in a pinch, but a beef roast will go best with it's own.

Baby Carrots- You can use regular carrots too, it's just more chopping. Carrot chips are another great option, but shredded carrots are so small that they'll get mushy.

Onion- This adds flavor to our base, and provides an extra serving of veggies.

Worcestershire sauce- This one ingredient packs a huge punch flavor wise.

Sea salt, Garlic Powder, and Black Pepper- If you've not had Tri-tip before it's a well-marbeled, flavorful cut of beef, and these simple seasonings let it shine. You can always substitute your favorite seasoning blend though- after all, it's your kitchen!

Equipment:

For this recipe, I recommend using a 6-quart oval slow cooker. Round slow cookers might be a bit too snug for all of the ingredients. I opted for my Hamilton Beach slow cooker because it maintains a lower temperature than my other crock pot, but any 6-quart or larger oval slow cooker should work perfectly. While you can give your roast a quick sear over medium-high heat, if I'm going to dirty my large skillet I'll just cook the tri-tip in that, or in the sous vide.

How to Make This Slow Cooker Tri-Tip Roast:

Step 1: Prepare the Roast

A little fat is good (it adds flavor!) but if there are any large chunks or a fat cap on your roast you can trim those off. You should also trim any silver skin which is a tough membrane that doesn't break down during cooking. This particular roast didn't have much, so this photo is from a different tri tip I've made so that you can see the membrane better.

Then season both sides with your salt, pepper, and garlic powder, and put the meat aside to rest while we get the veggies ready.

Step 2: Prepare the Vegetables

Dump your beef broth and worcestershire sauce in the slow cooker and give them a quick stir. Did I use the measuring spoon for the worcestershire to stir to avoid dirtying another dish? Yes, yes I did. Then toss in your baby carrots and chop your onion in half, and then each half in thirds. Nestle those half circles of onion into the carrots and broth. The top of the vegetables will stick out some from the broth, and that's fine.

Step 3: Add Roast & Cook

Carefully place the seasoned tri-tip roast on top of the veggies, and turn on your slow cooker. Set it to low heat for 6-10 hours.

The photos below are of a roast cooked on low for 7 hours, but if you prefer it falling apart, you can cook it for longer.

Step 4: Serve & Enjoy!

I like to serve this with mashed potatoes, either homemade or from the refrigerator section. Or some simple dinner rolls complete the meal!

If you have any, you can store leftovers in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 3-4 days.  You can use them the next day in beef tacos, tri-tip sandwiches, or just eat the roast again!

FAQs

More Easy Dinners You Might Like:

Need more crock pot recipe ideas for next time? For another beef dish try this italian style pepper steak. Love the carrot and onion combo? This pulled pork recipe uses them too!

For a more extensive list, check out this compilation of over 30 dump and go crock pot meals.

Enjoy!

Tri-tip roast is a family favorite here, and making it in the slow cooker couldn't be easier. I hope your entire family loves it, and that letting the slow cooker do the heavy lifting gives you some breathing space in your day!

📖 Recipe