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Top down photo of a blue-rimmed bowl with shredded beef, yellow rice, avocado, and slaw inside for the most delicious burrito bowl.
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4.41 from 5 votes

Crock Pot Barbacoa Beef Burrito Bowls

Delicious tender shredded barbacoa beef made in the slow cooker turns out so flavorful and perfectly seasoned! Use it for your bowls, burritos, tacos, and more!
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time8 hours
Total Time8 hours 15 minutes
Course: Beef Main Dishes
Cuisine: American
Servings: 6 to 8 Servings
Calories: 554kcal
Author: Julia

Ingredients

Barbacoa Beef:

Easy Cabbage Slaw:

  • 4 cups red cabbage thinly sliced
  • 1.5 cups grated carrot
  • 3 tablespoons lime juice to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon sea salt to taste

For Serving:

Instructions

Prepare the Barbacoa Beef:

  • Sprinkle the beef roast liberally with sea salt it in your crock pot. Note: if your beef has netting around it, remove and discard the netting.
    Sprinkle the beef with sea salt to dry brine it overnight in the refrigerator
  • Add the broth, chilis in adobo sauce, ground cumin, and lime juice to a blender and blend until smooth. Pour this mixture into the crock pot and cover. Set on low for 8 to 12 hours.
    adobo sauce for barbacoa beef
  • When the barbacoa beef is ready, transfer the beef roast to a cutting board and use two forks to shred it. Transfer the shreds back to the crock pot for 15 minutes (or more) to absorb the juices.
    Shredded beef on a cutting board.

Prepare Cabbage Slaw:

  • Place the thinly sliced cabbage in a large mixing bowl and drizzle with lime juice and sea salt. Use your hands to massage and squeeze the lime juice into the cabbage - this will help break down some of the fibers in the cabbage and make it easier to chew. Taste slaw for flavor and add more lime juice and/or sea salt to taste.

Make the Bowls:

  • If you love crispy barbacoa beef, heat a cast iron skillet to medium-high. Transfer some of the barbacoa beef (just enough for 1 layer) to the hot skillet and allow it to cook, stirring every 2 minutes or so, until the beef is nice and crispy, about 6 to 8 minutes total. Repeat this process until you have enough crispy beef for serving. If you're fine with tender shredded beef, you can skip this step and go straight to bowl formation.
  • Load up bowls with Ginger Turmeric Aromatic Rice (or rice of choice), shredded barbacoa beef, cabbage slaw, avocado, radishes, microgreens, and cilantro. Drizzle with Maple Bourbon Barbecue Sauce, and serve!

Nutrition

Serving: 1Bowl | Calories: 554kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 67g | Fat: 21g | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 4g