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Slow Cooker Mexican Shredded Beef Tacos are made with slow-cooked, shredded chuck roast and vegetables – all flavored with Mexican-inspired seasonings and herbs. Serve in taco shells with your favorite toppings for an easy and delicious meal.
Make Shredded Beef Tacos for Taco Night!
If you are looking for an easy and delicious dinner for Taco Tuesday, Game Night, or any family meal – these Slow Cooker Mexican Shredded Beef Tacos should definitely be on the list!
The star of this easy meal is the super flavorful Mexican Shredded Beef. You’ll season and sear a beef chuck roast – then pop it in a slow cooker with a variety of vegetables that are seasoned and deeply caramelized to ramp up the flavors.
Then – the slow cooker does the heaving lifting – cooking the beef until it is fork tender. Simply shred the beef for serving in your favorite taco recipe or use it in other delicious dishes.
We made our Slow Cooker Mexican Shredded Beef Tacos with soft, flour tortilla – but you can use soft corn tortillas, or crispy shells – plus your favorite toppings.
Why you’ll love Slow Cooker Mexican Shredded Beef Tacos
- After a little bit of prep – your slow cooker does all of the work.
- Served in flour tortillas, this Mexican Shredded Beef is absolutely delicious with loads of flavor.
- You can make many other recipes with the cooked beef – enchiladas, quesadillas, chimichangas, or sandwiches.
Key Ingredients & Substitutions
- Chuck roast – Choose a 5 to 6-pound chuck roast or two 3-pound roasts for this recipe. If you are cooking for smaller crowd, you can cook a smaller roast – but keep the quantities of other ingredients the same.
- Vegetable Oil – Used to sear the beef and vegetables.
- Vegetables – We cooked our beef with white onion, red bell pepper, fresh jalapeno and fresh garlic.
- Seasonings – You’ll use salt and pepper, ground cumin, coriander, cayenne pepper and paprika.
- Lime Juice
- Tomato Paste
- Beef Broth – You can make your own beef broth if you’d like, but canned or boxed is fine for this recipe.
- Cilantro – Buy a bunch of fresh cilantro. The stems will be added to the slow cooker while the beef cooks, and you’ll use the leaves for garnishing the tacos.
- Tortillas or Taco Shells – Choose hard or soft shells for your tacos. We made our tacos with soft flour tortillas, but you can lightly fry soft corn tortillas, or buy the crispy corn taco shells if you prefer.
- Other Toppings – For serving, top your tacos with shredded lettuce, shredded Monterey Jack or Pepper Jack cheese, diced red onions, diced fresh tomatoes, sliced fresh jalapeno, lime wedges and sour cream. Or – keep it simple and skip all of the extra toppings. (The slow-cooked Mexican Shredded Beef has tons of flavor already.)
Special Tools Needed
- Large Cast Iron or Carbon Steel Pan – To sear the beef and vegetables.
- 6-quart slow cooker
- Cutting Board and Sharp Knife
- Box Grater – For shredding the cheese
- Fat/Gravy Separator (we love this one)
- Two Forks – To shred the beef
How do I make Slow Cooker Mexican Shredded Beef Tacos?
- Season the beef with salt and pepper.
- Heat cast iron or carbon steel pan on high and sear the onion, red bell pepper, jalapeno and garlic until blackened, then move to slow cooker. (You should do this in batches.)
- Add oil to the pan, then sear the beef until browned on all sides. Add the beef to the slow cooker, placing the beef right on top of the vegetables.
- Add lime juice, tomato paste, cilantro stems, and beef broth to the slow cooker, cover and slow cook on low for 8-9 hours (or on high for 5-6 hours) or until the meat is fall-apart tender.
- Pour liquid into heat-proof pitcher and discard fat. (We used the gravy separator linked above.)
- Discard cilantro stems.
- Shred meat and vegetables. Add back just enough of the liquid to moisten. (Consider keeping the rest of the cooking liquid to reheat any leftovers.)
- Serve with your favorite toppings. We used shredded Monterey Jack cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, cilantro leaves, red onion, fresh jalapeno slices, and sour cream.
Tips & Tricks
Any large pieces of fat can be removed and discarded after the beef cooks. Or you can trying trim the fat before cooking. (We find the fat adds flavor, plus it’s easier to remove it after the beef has cooked.)
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can I make Slow Cooker Mexican Shredded Beef Tacos ahead of time? Yes, we think the meat actually tastes better the day after it is cooked, so feel free to cook the beef ahead of time.
- What cut of beef is best for pulled or shredded beef? A chuck roast is ideal for making shredded beef – for tacos or other dishes – because it is very flavorful and gets super tender when it is cooked for a long time. It’s also fairly budget friendly.
- How do I store leftovers? Store in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to three days.
- How do I reheat leftovers? Reheat with a little of the reserved liquid in a pan (stirring frequently as it heats) or in the microwave.
- Can I freeze the beef? Yes, freeze in a zipper seal bag, being sure to squeeze out the air to avoid freezer burn.
You might like these other Taco Recipes:
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Slow Cooker Mexican Shredded Beef Tacos
Slow Cooker Mexican Shredded Beef Tacos are made with slow-cooked, shredded chuck roast and vegetables – all flavored with Mexican-inspired seasonings and herbs. Serve in taco shells with your favorite toppings for an easy and delicious meal.
Ingredients
5–6 pounds boneless chuck roast (could use two 3-pound roasts or cut the quantity down for smaller yield)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large white onion, trimmed, peeled and cut into four thick slices
1 large bell pepper stemmed and seeded and cut into four quarters. Flatten each quarter with your hand so they cook flat
1 large jalapeno pepper stemmed and seeded and cut in half and flattened
3 large garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
Juice from one fresh lime, about 2 tablespoons
1 cup beef broth or stock
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 bunch of fresh cilantro, stems separated from leaves (tie stems with twine and save leaves for tacos)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
Topping suggestions
Soft or hard taco shells
Shredded iceberg lettuce
Diced fresh tomatoes
Shredded Jack cheese
Diced red onion
Fresh cilantro leaves
Sliced fresh jalapenos
Lime wedges
Sour cream
Taco sauce
Or any of your favorite toppings
Instructions
- Pat the roast dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper on all sides. Set aside.
- Heat a large cast iron skillet or a carbon steel pan on high and when smoking hot, add the sliced onion, red bell pepper pieces, jalapeno pieces and whole garlic. May need to do in batches depending on your pan size.
- Remove the garlic just as it starts to brown and place in the slow cooker. Keep cooking the other vegetables until they are slightly blackened and charred. Also add to the slow cooker.
- Add the vegetable oil to the hot pan and add the beef to sear on all sides. Once the beef has browned (about 8-10 minutes), add to the slow cooker, placing the meat over the charred vegetables.
- Pour lime juice in pan to deglaze, then add beef broth and scrape up brown bits and pour into slow cooker.
- Add all other ingredients to slow cooker but tie the cilantro stems with twine so you can easily remove them at the end.
- Slow cook covered for 8-9 hours on low or 5-6 hours on high or until the beef is fall-apart tender. Slow cookers vary so you will need to monitor yours for total cooking time. We cooked on low and the beef was tender in nine hours, but we did flip the meat over half way through cooking.
- Remove and discard cilantro stems.
- Pour off liquid into a fat separator and remove and discard fat that floats to the top.
- Shred the beef and vegetables with two forks and using the liquid, moisten just enough of the shredded beef to serve. Save any remaining liquid to reheat leftovers.
- Serve in soft or hard shells with your favorite toppings. We used two six-inch flour tortillas and sprinkled on jack cheese to melt, added chopped red onion, cilantro leaves and fresh jalapeno slices then served lettuce, tomato, lime wedges and sour cream on the side for guests to top on their own.
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