Slow Cooker Mexican Shredded Beef

Name: Slow Cooker Mexican Shredded Beef
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 480 min
Total time: 495 min
Ingredients: 3 pound beef roast; 1 onion (chopped); 2 teaspoon minced garlic; 10 ounce can diced tomatoes with green chilis; 4 ounce can chopped green chilis; 1 Tablespoon cumin; 1 teaspoon chili powder; 1 teaspoon salt; Lime wedges; Optional: toppings for tacos

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Slow cooker Mexican shredded beef is delicious, juicy, and easy to prep in only 15 minutes!

Use this easy recipe to make shredded beef for tacos, burritos, taquitos, nachos and more!

Serve up alongside slow cooker brown rice and some Mexican black beans, and you have a recipe that'll be your new family favorite.

A bowl of shredded beef with spices and tomatoes, surrounded by lime wedges, salsa and avocado.

We usually have a roast or four in our freezer since we raise our own beef. Here's more info you're interested in what to know about buying a side of beef.

I also happen to love easy Mexican food so this is a match made in heaven!

Why this recipe works

Versatile - I don’t know about you, but I love delicious recipes that can serve dinner and then another meal…or two! There are lots of different ways you can use this meat!
It's easy: This is what I call a “dump” recipe. I love slow cooker recipes like this and slow cooker chicken tacos. No browning, minimal chopping, and everything goes into the pot!

Ingredients

The full printable recipe is below, but I’ll walk you though some of the steps beforehand.

beef roast – the recipe calls for a three pound roast so I can calculate the nutritional value, but you can use a bigger roast if you’d like. I like to use a chuck roast.
onion – I use whatever I have on hand – white, yellow or red all work.
minced garlic – I keep a jar of minced garlic in my fridge to make life easy. If you have fresh garlic use about a clove, minced.
diced tomatoes with green chiles – sometimes called by the brand name Rotel, but of course there are many brands.
green chilis – these aren’t very spicy in my opinion, so don’t let it scare you!
cumin and chili powder– add that signature hint of smoky flavor we find in so many Tex-Mex recipes
salt – how much will depend on your individual taste buds.
lime wedges (optional) – for serving. Hit it with a little lime juice if you’d like at the end. It's also a great substitute for the salt to reduce the sodium a bit.

How to Make Shredded Beef in the Slow Cooker

It’s super easy to make this tender beef in the crock pot.

Step 1. Add the chuck roast to the crockpot.

f you really must go the extra mile (you over achievers know who you are....) you can brown the roast in a large skillet over medium high heat before adding it to the crockpot.

A chuck roast in a crock covered with chopped onion and garlic.

Step 2: Add the aromatics, meaning the diced onion and garlic.

Step 3: Add the remaining ingredients. Basically, everything goes in the pot with the exception of the ingredients you’ll use for serving. Give everything a stir and cook on high for one hour.

A roast topped with tomatoes, green chilis and dried spices in a slow cooker.

After an hour, reduce the heat to low and continue cooking for another 7-8 hours.

Now, I’m living in the real world….So I know that sometimes we just throw everything in the crockpot while we’re getting coats on little people, headed to work, or running in five different directions.

If you can’t wait for the hour to pass before switching it to low, just start it on low and get on with life.

Step 4: Let the slow cooker do its magic. You'll check back on the roast in hours when it's fork tender, flavorful and falling apart.

Ways to use Mexican shredded beef

Close up of shredded beef with spices, tomatoes and chopped cilantro.

Use the shredded beef to top Cilantro Lime Rice. Add fixins like guacamole, pico de gallo and melty cheese for the ultimate burrito bowl!
Replace the ground beef in this tater tot nachos recipe by using shredded beef instead.
Make beef enchiladas by adding to corn tortillas. You can use my green chili pork burrito recipe to get you going in the right direction.
Turn it into shredded beef tacos (my personal favorite!
Add shredded beef to your chili or use it to top Instant Pot baked potatoes.

How to store leftovers

Leftovers will keep, refrigerated in an airtight container up to 4 days.

You can also freeze cooked, shredded beef for up to three months. Add it to a gallon or quart sized ziplock bag, then remove as much air as possible before freezing.

Remember to label your bag so you know what it contains!

FAQS

What cut of beef should I use?

Today I'm using a chuck roast because we have quite a few roasts. You can also use a similar cut of meat like a rump roast (sometimes called a bottom roast) or a top round roast. The key is that we're cooking it slow to break up the connective tissue which makes delicious, tender meat.

What to serve with Mexican beef:

If you’re looking for sides to serve alongside, how about these delicious recipes??

Other Crockpot Recipes You'll Enjoy:

Give this slow cooked Mexican Beef a try, and leave a review. I'd love to hear what you think!