This Slow Cooker Osso Buco recipe is super flavorful and tender. Serve it over noodles, creamy polenta or mashed potatoes for the most delicious and amazing dinner.
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Do you want to know one of the best feelings? Forgetting that you put something yummy in the crockpot, going about your business, then walking in the door being greeted by deliciousness!!! That’s definitely happened to me before.
Slow cooked osso buco is such a stunner of a dish. With its rich gravy, falling off the bone meatiness, and topping of zesty, garlicky, gremolata.
It’s tough to beat this one!
Ingredients notes
- Veal Shanks – You can also use pork shanks or beef shanks.
- Flour – This is used to coat the meat before browning. It also aids in helping to thicken the gravy.
- Butter
- Dry White Wine – Or, swap in some dry vermouth. If you prefer not to cook with alcohol, you can leave it out.
- Canned Tomatoes
- Bone Broth – I love making homemade bone broth in my slow cooker using kitchen scraps. If you don’t have any on hand, you can swap in chicken stock or beef broth.
- Onion – I used a red onion. But you can also use any yellow onion that you prefer.
- Carrot & Celery
- Fresh Thyme & Parsley
- Garlic
- Lemon Zest
How to make it
There are two keys to this recipe – browning the meat before it goes in the crockpot, and reducing the sauce before serving.
Be sure to get a nice brown on your veal shanks before they go into the slow cooker.
To make things easy, you can brown up your shanks the night before you plan on serving them. Then, that morning, place them in the your slow cooker along with the other ingredients. Turn the heat to low and cook for 6-8 hours.
Step 1
Brown the veal shanks
- Put the flour in a wide, shallow dish. Season the veal shanks all over with salt and pepper and dredge in the flour; shake off the excess flour.
- Heat a 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Add the butter, and when it foams, add the shanks to the skillet. Cook until golden, turning once, about 10 minutes. Transfer the shanks to a slow cooker.
Step 2
Deglaze the skillet
- Add the wine to the skillet. Scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet and pour the contents of the skillet into the slow cooker.
Step 3
Slow cook the osso buco
- To the slow cooker, add the tomatoes and their juices, chicken broth, onion, carrot, celery, and thyme.
- Cover and cook on low heat for 6 to 8 hours—the meat will be very tender and almost falling off the bone.
Step 4
Make the gravy
- Transfer the cooked osso buco to a platter and cover with foil to keep warm.
- Strain the sauce from the slow cooker into a large skillet. Simmer over medium heat until reduced to about 2 cups, 10 to 15 minutes.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Step 5
Gremolata
- Trust me, you don’t want to skip the gremolata. A sprinkle of this zesty, garlicky herb mixture adds the perfect touch of brightness at the end.
- In a small bowl, combine the parsley, lemon zest, and garlic to make a gremolata.
Step 5
Enjoy!
- Serve the veal shanks topped with the sauce and the gremolata.
Recipe tips
- For a thicker sauce, mix together 1 tablespoon cornstarch with 3 tablespoons water. Add that to your reduced sauce mixture and heat until sauce is thickened to your liking.
- You can also prepare this dish using beef shanks rather than veal.
What to serve with osso buco
- More → 20+ Sides for Osso Buco
- Plus → the BEST Italian desserts
Erin’s wine pairings
- I paired this Osso Bucco with a delicious Syrah.
- This would also pair wonderfully with a rich Italian wine such as a Chianti Classico, Barbaresco or Barolo.
More slow cooker recipes
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Full Recipe
Slow Cooker Osso Buco
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 pounds veal shanks (about 4 1 1/2-2" thick shanks)
- Salt and pepper (to taste)
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup dry vermouth ( or white wine)
- 1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
- 3/4 cup bone broth (or chicken stock)
- 1 red onion (chopped)
- 1 carrot (peeled and diced)
- 1 stalk celery (diced)
- 5 sprigs thyme
- 3 Tablespoons parsley (chopped)
- 1 Tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 clove garlic (minced or grated)
Instructions
- Put the flour in a wide, shallow dish. Season the veal shanks all over with salt and pepper and dredge in the flour; shake off the excess flour.
- Heat a 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Add the butter, and when it foams, add the shanks to the skillet. Cook until golden, turning once, about 10 minutes. Transfer the shanks to a slow cooker.
- Add the wine to the skillet. Scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet and pour the contents of the skillet into the slow cooker. Add the tomatoes and their juices, chicken broth, onion, carrot, celery, and thyme. Cover and cook on low heat for 6 to 8 hours—the meat will be very tender and almost falling off the bone.
- Transfer the shanks to a platter and cover with foil to keep warm. Strain the sauce from the slow cooker into a large skillet. Simmer over medium heat until reduced to about 2 cups, 10 to 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the parsley, lemon zest, and garlic to make a gremolata. Serve the veal shanks topped with the sauce and the gremolata.
Nutrition
This post was originally published in 2020. It was updated in 2024 to add new information. The crockpot osso buco recipe remains the same. Enjoy!
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