This incredibly simple, melt-in-your-mouth tender slow cooker Passover brisket is even incredible in sandwiches the next day. This will be the star of all your Passover dishes.

Plus, if you have a newer slow cooker and have a hard time keeping it from getting too hot, I’m sharing my secret for keeping any slow cooker lower in heat than the low setting!

Shredded meat on a black cutting board.

Passover brisket is a dish steeped in tradition. As the hindquarters of a cow are not kosher, brisket is a cut that Ashkenazi Jews have made and enjoyed for many decades. It’s a tough cut of meat, therefore it used to be cheaper. It used to be served at Passover because it was a frugal choice that could feed a crowd, but it’s now also a beloved ongoing tradition.

🌟 Why You’ll Love This Recipe

  • Easy and stress-free Passover brisket: Cooking large pieces of beef to the correct texture and temperature can be intimidating, but this recipe makes it easy to master with only a few simple steps.
  • Slow-cooked brisket means minimal effort: The wonderful thing is that the slow cooker does almost all the work for you! Plus, you have more time to spend with loved ones over Passover while the brisket is cooking.
  • Tender, fall-apart beef brisket: Brisket is a large cut of meat from the lower chest of a cow. It’s tougher because the cow works this section of their body, so the meat has a lot of connective tissue. Despite being a tough cut of meat, this slow-cooked Passover brisket reaches a delicious melt-in-your-mouth tenderness as it’s cooked over a long period with low and consistent heat.
  • Unbeatable depth of flavor: There is nothing like the rich, deep flavor of a slow-cooker brisket. As it cooks, the meat absorbs all the flavors of the vegetables, herbs, and red wine to make each bite juicy and complex in flavor. The whole family will be fighting over any leftovers!

🧾 Ingredients in This Recipe

Brisket and other ingredients on a white countertop.
  • Beef brisket – Large meat cut from the lower chest of a cow. I ask my local butcher or grocery store butcher for a 4-5 lb. center cut for this recipe.
  • Searing Oil – Any flavorless oil with a high smoke point is perfect for searing meat. You can use canola, vegetable, avocado, sunflower seed oil, etc. For Passover cooking, make sure it is marked kosher for Passover.
  • Onion – I use red onion, but you can substitute it with white or yellow onions. Cut into quarters,
  • Fennel – Use the white bulb of the fennel and reserve the fronds for a side salad.
  • Carrots – Peel your carrots and cut them to a size that will fit nicely in the cooker.
  • Celery – Clean and chop into pieces.
  • Garlic – Use whole, fresh cloves of garlic from the bulb. Packaged pre-peeled garlic cloves also work.
  • Rosemary – Use fresh rosemary, not dried.
  • Bay leaves – Use fresh, whole bay leaves and remove these after cooking.
  • Red wine – Any red wine will work, as long as it’s one that you like the taste of. If it’s Passover, make sure it is marked kosher for Passover.
  • Salt & pepper – Use to season the meat all over before searing.
  • Optional soy sauce – You can use kosher for Passover soy sauce. This recipe also works with salt or coconut aminos instead of soy sauce. Use it to season to your preference.
  • Optional jalapeno – Add one jalapeno for an extra kick of spice.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

👩‍🍳 How to Make This Recipe

Onions sauteeing in a heavy-bottomed pan.
  • First, heat the flavorless oil in a heavy-bottomed sauté pan, dutch oven, or cast-iron skillet over medium heat.
Seared brisket meat on top of onions.
  • Season the brisket on all sides with salt and pepper. Sear the brisket, flipping once until it’s golden brown all over. Then, transfer to the slow cooker.

Pro Tip on Searing Brisket

Do not cook the brisket during this stage. You are only browning the outside. If you cook it too much, it will result in a tough brisket. Cook for no more than one minute per side.

Meat and vegetables in a black slow cooker.
  • Add the onion, fennel, carrots, celery, rosemary, garlic, bay leaves, red wine, and soy sauce/salt to your slow cooker with the brisket.
Close up of meat cooking in a slow cooker.
  • Cover with the lid and cook everything on low until tender, which should take about 6-8 hours.
Shredded meat on a black cutting board.
  • Once cooked, let the brisket rest for at least 20 minutes in the slow cooker on a warm setting.
  • Remove and slice the brisket against the grain to serve, or pull it apart with a fork.

🥗 What to Serve With Beef Brisket

Although this Passover brisket is delicious alone with the veggies it cooks with, I love serving it with these excellent kosher for Passover dishes that round out a great meal. Looking for more Passover recipes? Check them out here.

🏆 Tips for The Best Slow Cooker Passover Brisket

  • Leave some fat on the brisket. The fat adds flavor and tenderness, especially the fat marbled inside the cut of meat. Trim off the hard fat, leaving only the soft fat. 
  • Don’t skip the searing. Searing the surface of beef before slow cooking helps seal in the amazing beef flavor and adds a deep golden-brown color and caramelized flavor. Skipping this step will yield a more bland dish. However, the beef will still be cooked whether it’s seared or not.
  • Don’t worry about over-cooking. It is possible, but not likely to overcook brisket in a slow cooker. Over low heat, the meat gets more and more tender. However, once the brisket easily pulls apart (or reaches the magic temperature of 203F), then remove it from the heat so it doesn’t tighten up too much and get hard when cooling.

🔥 How to Prevent the Slow Cooker Getting Too Hot

Unlike classic crockpots, most new slow cookers get too hot on the low setting. This means they don’t truly allow for “low and slow” cooking. But I have a great hack for you! Use a timer that plugs into the outlet, and plug the slow cooker into the timer ($9). Then, set the timer so that every other tick is off. It helps keep the slow cooker lower than the low setting.

A Hydrofarm timer.

If you have an older crockpot, no need to do this. These days, I just use the slow cooker setting on my Instant Pot as described in the next section.

🍽️ How to Make Instant Pot Passover Brisket

To make brisket in an Instant Pot using the slow-cooker setting, follow all the same recipe steps as if you were making it in a slow-cooker. Here are additional steps to follow:

  • Get an Instant Pot glass lid to allow steam and moisture to escape while the brisket is cooking.
  • Press the Slow Cook button on the Instant Pot instead of a different setting.
  • Set the duration to 6-8 hours, and adjust to “Less” to mimic the low setting on a crockpot.
  • Your Instant Pot will beep when done, and automatically switch to “Keep Warm” for up to 10 hours.

😋 More Passover Recipes

Keep your chef’s hat on to make these fantastic Jewish recipes – happy cooking!

I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on INSTAGRAM, TIKTOK, and PINTEREST to see more delicious food and what I’m up to.

Shredded meat on a black cutting board.
Author: Candice Walker

Slow Cooker Passover Brisket Recipe

4.84 from 24 votes
Print Recipe Save
Looking for an incredibly simple slow-cooker passover brisket? Well, here you go! It’s simple, delicious, and even better in sandwiches the next day.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time8 hours
Total Time8 hours 15 minutes
Course: Main, Main Course
Cuisine: Jewish
Diet: Kosher
Servings: 6
Calories: 648kcal

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 4 lbs. beef brisket up to 5 lbs.
  • 2 tbsp flavorless oil like canola, avocado, vegetable, or sunflower seed.
  • salt & pepper to taste
  • 1 red onion quartered
  • 1 fennel quartered
  • 2 carrots peeled and cut into 2 inch chunks
  • 2 stalks celery cut into 2 inch chunks
  • 2 sprigs rosemary
  • 8 cloves garlic peeled
  • 2 dried bay leaves
  • 2-3 cups red wine
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce aminios, or just more salt
  • 1 jalapeño optional
US Customary – Metric

Instructions

  • Heat the oil in a heavy bottom sauté pan, dutch oven, or cast iron skillet over medium heat. Season the brisket with salt and pepper. Sear the brisket, flipping once, just until golden brown. Transfer to your slow cooker.
  • Add the onion, fennel, carrots, celery, rosemary, garlic, bay leaves, red wine, and soy sauce/aminos/salt to your slow cooker. Cover and cook on low until tender, 6-8 hours. Let rest for 20 minutes with the slow cooker on warm.

Video

Notes

Make sure you season well and sear the brisket before slow cooking. Searing the brisket helps keep it juicy and locks in flavor!
Leave the soft fat on the brisket. The fat adds flavor and tenderness, especially the fat that is marbled inside the cut of meat. Trim off the hard fat.
To make this recipe in an Instant Pot using the slow-cooker setting, you would follow all the same steps as if you were making it in a slow-cooker. See blog post for directions and things to consider.
Does your slow cooker get too hot? Use a timer that plugs into the outlet, and plug the slow cooker into the timer ($9). Then, set the timer so that every other tick is off. It helps keep the slow cooker lower than the low setting. If you have an older crockpot, no need to do this.
You can use kosher for Passover soy sauce. This recipe also works with salt instead of soy sauce. Season to your own preference.

Nutrition

Calories: 648kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 64g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 14g | Cholesterol: 187mg | Sodium: 448mg | Potassium: 1432mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 3476IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 65mg | Iron: 7mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Did you try this recipe?I’d love to hear what you think! Leave a Review to let us know how it came out, if you have a successful substitution or variation, or anything else.

19 Comments

  2. 5 stars
    I love this recipe! I make it twice a year for Rosh Hashana and Passover. I do it overnight before for easy prep. I remove the meat in the morning, let the meat rest and then slice it thin. I blend up all the juices and put the slices back in the puree mixture/gravy and reheat it for dinner in its juices to keep it moist. Everyone loves it! Thank you.

    Reply

  3. 1 star
    I was very disappointed with this. The meat came out tender after 8 hours in the slow cooker but the vegetables were still hard. The meat had absolutely no flavor.

    Reply

    1. To reheat brisket, preheat your oven to 350°F. Place the meat on a rack positioned over a baking dish containing about 1/4 inch of water (helps keep the oven moist instead of dry). Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake until heated through, which typically takes 45-60 minutes for a 1 1/2-pound piece.

      Reply

  5. I will be making this passover and had a question.
    Do you serve the brisket with the vegetables from the slow cooker or do you puree the sauce/vegetables and pour over?
    Also, if you add jalapeno do you add it sliced with no seeds?

    Thank you!

    Reply

    1. I usually just serve it with the vegetables, but the vegetables are mostly there to flavor the brisket. I think your idea to puree and pour over is actually better than what I do.
      I usually keep the jalapeno seeds and just slice the whole thing down the middle lengthwise. If someone will be at the table who doesn’t like spice, I’ll leave out the seeds.

      Reply

  7. Slow cooker hack. I got this. Inkbird makes a thermometer that uses probes to regulate your outlet on and off temperature as an aquirum or Beer making. Using a manual crock pot you can use that probe to keep the temperature set right at 205 or 210 without it going into burn. Or if you get older vintage Crock-Pot you can use it unregulated even lower easier but the vintage ones don’t get over 180/ 190. Blame the Feds.

    Reply

  9. 5 stars
    I was initially intimidated by brisket but this slow cooker recipe made it easy and it turned out mouth watering, will make again next year!

    Reply

  10. 5 stars
    Best brisket ever. Did no add as many garlic cloves and used celery instead of fennel because my kids don’ like the licorice flavor.. Awesome recipe.

    Reply

  11. 5 stars
    This recipe was fantastic! First time I ever made a brisket and I was so nervous… it came out incredible! My gut had me hold off on one less half cup of wine and it still was fall-apart-perfect! Highly recommend!!!

    Reply
4.84 from 24 votes (16 ratings without comment)

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