Restaurant-quality meal at home for a fraction of the cost!
Let’s just be honest here, a lot of Mexican-ish dishes get prepared at our house, A LOT! So combining the love of Mexican food and the slow cooker, I present to you: Slow Cooker Mexican-Style Shredded Beef! When we’re talking Mexican food, we enjoy it all, corn & flour tortillas, tortilla chips, guacamole, cheese … well, you get the idea! I just knew this recipe was going to be the basis for some delicious meals, I couldn’t wait to try it out. The beauty of this recipe is that you start by slow cooking a beef roast, letting it get all tender and juicy while slow cooking away. After it has soaked up delicious flavors along the way , you’ll shred it up and use at will, however you desire. What I personally did was slow cook and shred the beef on one day, package it up into Rubbermaid containers, refrigerate, then used it later in the week for both beef nachos and then shredded beef tacos. Both the nachos and tacos were flavorful and a HUGE step up from the standard ground beef versions.
Now if you enjoy your food on the spicier side, feel free to add additional spices, cayenne, hot sauce, or more chili powder to the recipe. As I’ve mentioned before I have little kids and keep things a tad milder, in hopes that they’ll actually eat what I prepare. Psst…the 5-year-old tried the tacos, we didn’t get a thumbs up or a thumbs down, but she did try! Mommy win! So spice it up if that’s what you prefer! The chipotle pepper does add a tiny bit of zing to the shredded beef, but nothing hot by any means. If you aren’t familiar with chipotle peppers, start embracing them! They have a rich smokiness which adds another flavor dimension into your cooking. Whatever route you take with this deliciously tender beef, think about pairing it up with a great side dish such as Roasted Corn Salsa and for mom and dad a Spicy Mexican Martini, it will definitely hit the spot.
This dish is part of our “7 Meals in 1 Hour” Slow Cooker/Freezer meals post! Click HERE for all the recipes!
Slow Cooker Mexican-Style Shredded Beef
Ingredients
- 2 lb top round roast
- 1 large onion, choppped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 T apple cider vinegar
- 2 8 oz cans tomato sauce
- 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (just one from the can)
- 1 1/2 t chili powder
- 1/2 t garlic salt
- 2 T lime juice
Instructions
- Place all ingredients into slow cooker & cook on low 6 hours.
- Remove meat from slow cooker & shred. Strain liquid, removing onions. Place shredded meat back into strained liquid and cook 30 additional minutes.
**If freezing, place all ingredients in gallon-sized freezer bag. Thaw overnight in refrigerator, cook on low 6 hours.**
Notes
Adapted from: Beef Burritos
Shredded beef tacos are the best ever! I don’t care for ground beef.
this looks delicious! shared on g+
So do you have to make the shredded beef and then freeze it? I am wanting to try the 7 meals in 1 hour but I guess I am a little confused.
The uncooked beef gets frozen as part of the freezer meals. Once slow cooked, it is shredded.
Does it need to thaw completely? I pulled mine out yesterday and I just pulled mine out and the meat is pretty hard? Should I put on HIGH for 1 hour and then switch to LOW? Any problems cooking frozen meat?
–Maricela
Maricela, I only thaw overnight in the fridge, and I’ve experienced no issues. The bag will be partially thawed by morning. Hope you enjoy.
Thank you Lori for your quick response!!!
It’s in the crockpot now, looking forward to it! On an aside — I love looking in the freezer and seeing the meals! I made the 20 about a month ago, next time I’ll pace myself with steps (chop and freeze onions, buy the meat ahead, etc.) I noticed in one of the post that the meat can be purchased and frozen ahead to take advantage of sales! That probably makes it more economical! Thank you for posting these great ideas and responding to those of us learning the ropes.
You’re welcome Maricela! Anything to make dinner times less stressful is a win in my book 🙂
Hello, I’m in Australia and we don’t have cans of tomato sauce. Is it just tomato sauce (we have bottles) or is it diced or chopped tomatoes (we have cans of this). The sauce obviously has sugar and other ingredients so I want to check if get those intended favour. Thanks.
Hi Emma, Our tomato sauce here in the US is more of a tomato puree, I hope this helps. Enjoy 🙂
Talk about a hit in our house. I’m making it again. The kids asked for it.
This is a hit in our house! It is out of this world! I’ve made it several times for different extended parts of my family and each time people devour it! We make it with a cilantro lime rice at our house and make Qdoba style burritos! Super yummy and picks up the lime flavor in the meat!
I love onions. Why do they need to be removed? I can’t just leave them in? Yes, I’m that lazy.
Hi Amanda, I removed them since they were larger chunks and my kids would have refused them anyhow, you can certainly leave them or chop into smaller pieces during prep! Enjoy 🙂
This sounds so good! I’m new to crock-pot/freezer cooking but would like to do a lot this coming winter. My question is about the cook time. From the time I leave home till the time I get back is 11 hours. If I were to put this in fully frozen, should it still be ok? That’s the biggest problem for me when it comes to crock-pots. I need things to cook longer than 6-8 hours. Thanks for your help!
Hi Jennifer, I’ve personally never tried leaving this dish cooking for that long. Perhaps a slow cooker with a timer that will switch to the “warm” setting after the full cooking time. Hope you enjoy!
Does the T stand for teaspoon or tablespoon?
T=tablespoon
t=teaspoon
Making this for the kids tonight. In the crock pot now and smells delicious. Thanks!
Hope you enjoy!
I have to know what kind of cheese is in the photo! It looks so good!!!
Hi Brandy, I believe I used Queso Chihuahua and shredded it, so good. Hope you enjoy!
Thank you so much for the reply!!
Just finished eating this now – DELICIOUS!!!
10/10 For sure – I can’t wait to try the rest!
🙂
David.
PS. For Tomato Sauce I used Puree, but added a little water in – maybe 1-1/2 cups (as in coffee cups – uk style)
So glad you enjoyed, it is a very tasty dish!
Day one of 7 slow cooker freezer meals was a total HIT! We didn’t put the meat back int he pan after shredding it. We placed the shredded beef over tortilla crisps with some nacho cheese. The sauce the meat cooked in doubled as a super flavorful salsa spooned on top.
In the crock pot now. What is the nutritional value?
Could you substitute something else for the chipotle pepper?