You may have seen a recent recipe post from me titled Savory Tri-Tip Marinade. I mentioned in that post that I often use my slow cooker to prepare tri-tip. By far, this is my favorite means of preparing meat. The trick is to lock in the fluids by wrapping the meat tightly in aluminum foil. Cooking it low and slow allows the meat to tenderize in it’s own juices, resulting in added flavor.
Your mouth will water as you tear apart the foil and watch the meat fall apart before your eyes. The best part might be all the leftover juices. You can simply strain them over the meat, or even get creative and prepare a gravy to serve on the side. Enjoy this recipe, it’s a favorite in our home!
Some helpful tips:
I recently upgraded my slow cooker to accommodate larger ingredients like these. After some research I purchased this Hamilton Beach 8-Quart Crock Pot on Amazon. It’s the perfect size for slow cooking large cuts of protein, or for preparing larger batches of your favorite recipes. I use it at least 2-3 times a week and love it!
This post contains affiliate links from Amazon, which means if you click on one of those links and purchase something, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Feel free to read my full disclosure here. Thanks in advance for your support.
Slow Cooker Tri-Tip
Ingredients:
1 Whole Tri-Tip (About 2 Lbs)
3 Tbsp Seasonings of Your Choice (See: My Favorite Tri Tip Marinade)
Instructions:
- Coat both sides of the tri-tip with seasonings.
- Wrap tightly in foil, so no juices can escape during cooking.
- Cook on low for 8 hours
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Letters To Dutch 
Interesting trick with slow cooker and aluminum foil! have to try it sometime. Thanks for the post!
You’re welcome, I’m glad you found it interesting. Enjoy!
I can’t wait to try this tomorrow!! I’m gonna start it in the morning, and my little ol house is gonna smell delightful 😊
Yum! Enjoy, and thanks so much for visiting me here. I’d love to hear your feedback, pop back in again soon 😊
Do you thaw roast first?
Hi Lisa, thanks for stopping by. Yes, if the meat is frozen let it thaw before cooking. I always thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
On low heat?
Hi Jessica, I prefer this cooked on low heat for 8 hours. You can cook it on high for 3-4 (depending on the size), but you won’t get that fall apart tenderness unless you cook it on low.
How many pounds was the tri tip that you cooked?
Hi Patti, about 2 pounds. Thanks for stopping by.
I’ve never cooked anything in my crockpot without liquid, so this is new to me. You just wrap it in foil and place it in the crockpot? Is it like steaming it??
Hey Shensi, thanks for stopping by. The meat creates its own fluids within the foil pouch. Wrapping it up allows those fluids to soak into the meat and tenderize it perfectly. Try it, you won’t be disappointed. Let me know how it goes. 😊
Thanks so much! I just put it into the crockpot. I hope there wasn’t a limit on how much foil to use, I wrapped it a few times just to be sure 😁, thanks for getting back to me so quickly!
The tighter the better! Enjoy!
It turned out great! We really liked it, super tender and juicy! With mashed potatoes and gravy and asparagus 👌👌
Sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing this awesome review. 😊
Thank you. I had not tried cooking in foil. OMG not only tender but the juice caught in the foil. Lifted it out & put it in the a bowl, opens the foil and let it sit & rest in the juice for 10 minutes. My friends were amazed at the juice.
Awesome Bekki, glad you and your friends enjoyed! Thanks for stopping by 😊
I made this tonight. 8 hours on low. It was very tender but it reminded me of a pot roast rather than a traditional tri tip. Either way my family ate it up.
Hi Sam, thanks for popping in and sharing your experience. I’m glad you enjoyed it. 😊
Hi SAM, just want to confirm that you leave the lid off the crockpot
Actually I Ieave the lid on for the entire cooktime.
So I am making this during the week. I just want to make sure that you don’t have to add a little water or anything to the crock pot? You just add the foil wrapped meat by itself? Thanks for the recipe and for info.
Hi Jennifer. That’s correct. Just season, wrap the meat in foil, then place it in the crock pot. No water needed. The meat will cook in its own juices inside the foil.
I made this recently and it turned out perfect and was delicious. Thank you so much for your easy recipe/instructions, I will be making this over and over.
Thanks Denise for that awesome feedback. So happy you enjoyed it. 😊
Aloha Lindsay,
Can I brown the tri tip in a hot skillet before adding the seasoning and wrapping the tri tip in foil and putting in the slow cooker??
Yes of course. I would season the meat first, then brown it, then wrap it in foil and place in the slow cooker. Let me know how it turns out, hope you enjoy!