Name: Crock Pot Mexican Shredded Beef
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 240 min
Total time: 255 min
Ingredients: 2 Tbsp avocado oil; 3 to 5 lbs beef chuck roast; 1 tbsp chili powder; 2 tsp paprika; 1 tsp sea salt; 1 yellow onion (diced); 5 cloves garlic (minced); 2 cups beef broth; 1 cup orange juice; 2 Tbsp coconut sugar (optional); 2 Tbsp fresh lime juice

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This easy Crock Pot Mexican Shredded Beef is simple to prepare and results in the most fall-apart tender, flavorful, delicious shredded beef! Use it for tacos, burritos, burrito bowls, taco salads, nachos and more!

Large crock pot full of shredded beef, ready to be used.

If you made my Crock Pot Mexican Shredded Chicken, you know what we’re about to get into here.

This easy recipe for Crock Pot Mexican Shredded Beef is your answer to your next family gathering or dinner party.

Make it for Taco Tuesday, the next time you’re craving Mexican food, or any situation necessitating burritos, enchiladas, and more!

This simple slow cooker shredded beef recipe results in remarkably rich and tender beef that is just positively loaded with flavor!

So flavorful, in fact, that it’s absolutely delicious on its own, even without any toppings.

Perfect for serving a large family or a lot of guests, or ideal for meal prep, this shredded beef recipe yields a lot of food!

Plus, there is so much versatility in how it can be served. My family uses it for shredded beef tacos and burrito bowls most frequently, but it can also be employed to make beef enchiladas, taco salads, or even served as a sandwich.

Instant Pot Shredded Beef Tacos are a magically flavorful and clean taco recipe. Super easy to make in the Instant Pot!

Let’s dive into the details!

What Type Of Meat To Use for Mexican Shredded Beef:

While there are a lot of options here, I like using a basic chuck roast. It’s relatively inexpensive, contains a decent amount of fat marbling for flavor, and in my opinion is just the right ratio of meat to fat.

That said, just about any beef roast will work for this recipe, so choose according to your personal preference.

Gauge the amount of chuck roast you buy based on the number of people you’re serving. 3 pounds feeds 6 to 8 people very comfortably, or even more individuals if you’re including plenty of sides like rice, beans, and tortillas.

Instant Pot Shredded Beef Taco Salad with mango salsa, queso fresco, avocado and cilantro-lime dressing

Ingredients for Crock Pot Mexican Shredded Beef:

Avocado Oil: Used to sear the beef prior to slow cooking, I use avocado oil because it is a great high temperature cooking oil with a high smoke point. If you typically cook with olive oil, feel free to use it instead.

Beef: Pick up a large beef chuck roast, or two beef roasts depending on how much food you’re trying to make.

Seasonings: Chili powder, paprika, salt, black pepper, and sugar are the only seasonings we need to add some flavor to the meat.

I use coconut sugar or pure maple syrup to keep it refined sugar-free but you can also use regular cane sugar or brown sugar. This adds the tiniest amount of sweetness that is almost imperceptible to the taste buds, but rounds out the flavor.

Yellow Onion & Garlic: Fresh onion and garlic go a long way in leveling up the fresh flavor of this shredded meat. If you have it on hand, add 1 tablespoon of garlic powder (in addition to the fresh garlic cloves) to add even bigger flavor.

Liquid: Beef broth, orange juice, and fresh lime juice. The broth brings more beefy flavor to the meal. Orange juice and lime juice provide a pop of citrus and sweetness that contribute greatly to the full palate of flavors.

Optional Additions:

If you have bay leaves on hand, you can add one bay leaf.
For tomato flavor, replace the orange juice with one 8-ounce can of tomato sauce or a small can of tomato paste.
Add one small can of red enchilada sauce instead of using orange juice for yummy enchilada meat.
Toss in 2 teaspoons of onion powder for more onion flavor.
If you don’t have limes on hand, replace the lime juice with apple cider vinegar.
Love the flavor of cumin? Add 2 to 3 teaspoons of ground cumin to the recipe.
Replace the chili powder with taco seasoning if it is what you have on hand.
For spicier beef, add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of ground cayenne pepper or one can of hot green chilies.

Now that we’ve covered the simple ingredients list for slow cooker Mexican shredded beef, let’s make some delicious shredded beef!

Ladle scooping shredded beef out of a slow cooker.

How to Make Crock Pot Shredded Beef:

Remove the chuck roast from its packaging, pat it dry with a paper towel, and cut it into many large chunks.

Heat the avocado oil over medium-high heat in a large cast iron skillet. Once sizzling hot, place the chunks of beef roast onto the hot surface of the skillet in a single layer (if need be, complete this step in two batches if there isn’t enough room in your skillet for all of the beef). Sear beef for 3 to 4 minutes on two sides.

Large chunks of beef searing in a cast iron skillet

Transfer the seared beef to the crock pot, along with the remaining ingredients. Give everything a stir, then secure the lid on the crock pot.

All of the ingredients for the barbacoa beef in a crock pot, ready to slow cook.

Cook on High heat for 4 hours or Low heat for 8 to 10 hours. While the beef slow cooks, you can prepare any side dishes or toppings you’ll be using to serve alongside the beef.

Cooked beef in a slow cooker with juices inside.

Transfer the beef to a cutting board and use two forks to shred it.

Hunks of cooked beef on a cutting board, ready to be shredded.

Cutting board with shredded beef on top.

Once all of the hunks are shredded, transfer the shredded beef back into the crock pot with all of the juices.

Horizontal image of a crock pot full of shredded beef.

Allow the meat to soak up the juices for at least 15 minutes before serving for the best result. If you have the time, you can continue cooking the shredded beef on Low heat for 1 to 3 hours. This step isn’t mandatory but will result in even more luscious flavor.

Use the Mexican shredded beef for tacos, burritos, burrito bowls, loaded nachos, Shredded Beef Taco Salad, and more!

Include your choice of side dishes and toppings, like Homemade Spanish Rice or cauliflower rice, refried beans, homemade guacamole, salsa, sour cream, black beans, corn tortillas, chopped red onions, pico de gallo, etc.

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 10 days. For the best result, keep all of the juices with the meat rather than draining it.

Instant Pot Shredded Beef Tacos with avocado, red onion and salsa. An amazingly flavorful, easy taco recipe!

How to Make Crispy Beef:

If you like crispy shredded meat, similar to carnitas, you can crisp up the shredded beef in a cast iron skillet.

To do so, heat up a cast iron skillet on the stove top to high heat and add a small amount of cooking oil.

Once the skillet is hot, carefully transfer small amounts of shredded beef to the skillet, creating a single layer of meat so that the shreds have plenty of space to crisp up. Stir occasionally and continue pan frying until the beef has reached your desired level of crisp, about 5 to 8 minutes.