Slow cooker beef cheeks are not everyone's cup of tea, but they are surprisingly soft, tender, and tasty when cooked low and slow. Very slowly — which is exactly where a slow cooker earns its place on the worktop.

Simply trim the cheeks of excess fat, pat dry with kitchen paper, and season with sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, plus a pinch of red chilli flakes, and you are good to go.

Place it in a slow cooker on low for 8 hours.

If you want to thicken things up a little, then add a slurry of flour and a little water at the 7:30 mark.

Allow it to cool and skim off excess fat.

How to Serve Slow Cooker Beef Cheeks

A 1 kg pack typically gives you three generous pieces — enough for several meals. I had one piece with mashed potatoes, broke up the second with a fork for a beef ragù with pappardelle, and the third was shared with the dogs (no judgement). Slow cooker beef cheeks also work well shredded into tacos, piled onto crusty bread, or stirred through a simple tomato sauce.

Variation: add sliced onion, carrot, and a bay leaf to the slow cooker for extra depth.

Skim off excess fat before serving — Casa Adora

Why Beef Cheeks?

Beef cheeks are a working muscle, which means they're full of connective tissue that breaks down beautifully over a long, slow cook. The result is a beef cheek recipe that delivers meltingly tender meat with a rich, gelatinous sauce — all for very little effort. If you haven't tried tender beef cheeks before, this is the place to start.

This recipe is part of my Beef and Veal Recipes — a growing archive of beef and veal dishes from Casa Adora and the van's kitchen.

This recipe is also part of the Slow Cooker & Slow Cooking Recipes collection — every slow cooker recipe and slow-cooked dish from Casa Adora and the road, gathered in one place. Browse all recipes here.

Wonky photos, proper food, genuine adventures — The Flexible Chef