Slow Cooker Mexican Shredded Beef

This Slow Cooker Mexican Shredded Beef is tender, juicy and delicious! It’s perfect for tacos, burritos or soups and stews. Make a batch tonight, and you’ll have meals for the week!

This post may contain paid links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.

Tacos make regular appearances on our dinner menu here. However, most nights, tacos appear as an easy way to use up leftovers. Leftover rotisserie chicken? Tacos! Leftover pulled pork? Tacos! Leftover smoked brisket? What’s that? Leftover brisket!? That just doesn’t happen around here!

This recipe for Slow Cooker Mexican Shredded Beef is designed specifically for tacos. Sure, you could put this shredded beef in burritos or quesadillas, but tacos were the winner here in our house. And when I say this beef is delicious, I mean it’s delicious!

Slow Cooker Mexican Shredded Beef

This Slow Cooker Mexican Shredded Beef recipe is amazing for two reasons. #1) It’s easy. Like insanely easy. Just rub a combination of spices on a boneless chuck roast and put it into a crock pot along with a few other simple ingredients. On a side note, your house will begin to smell amazing around hour #5. In fact, you might have an internal debate on whether you can wait 3 more hours until dinner.

Reason #2 why this recipe is amazing? The flavor! This recipe is easy to make, but it’s still loaded (and I mean loaded) with flavor. The seasoned chuck roast simmers all day with onions, tomatoes and a jalapeno. Add in a handful of chopped cilantro at the end for brightness, and you’ve got a dinner that’ll have everyone going back for more!

And that cooking liquid gets repurposed before serving. Just strain out the onions and jalapeno (don’t let those go to waste!) and keep ~½ cup of the cooking liquid. Mix that in with the shredded beef, and you’ll have a big bowl of juicy, tender beef. Your stomach will definitely be growling by this point!

This shredded beef is fall apart tender, and it can be used in multiple ways. Make this recipe on a Monday, and you’ve got meals for the rest of the week!

Ways to Use Shredded Beef

• Tacos. Fill corn or flour tortillas with this shredded beef and then add toppings. For toppings, we went with diced tomatoes, sour cream, pickled red onions and cotija cheese. Guacamole would be a good option here, too. So good!
• Burritos or Burrito Bowls. Add some rice and seasoned black beans, and this Slow Cooker Mexican Shredded Beef can turn into burritos. If you’re looking for more flavor, add some roasted corn and/or a handful of shredded Mexican cheese.
• Quesadillas. Same concept as the tacos above, except layer the fillings inside of a flour tortilla with a bunch of cheese. I promise there won’t be any leftovers!
• Soups and Stews. Tacos, burritos and quesadillas are all similar. Want to mix it up a bit? Toss leftover shredded beef into a soup or stew. It would go well in a beef + veggie soup or as a replacement for the chicken in chicken tortilla soup.
• Nachos. Getting ready for a game or movie night? This leftover Mexican Shredded Beef goes great on top of nachos. (Bonus: Add in some salsa and homemade Pepper Jack Nacho Cheese Sauce for the ultimate nacho night!)

As much as I love cooking, I also love knowing that I’ve got leftover Mexican Shredded Beef in the fridge. I can (mostly) take the night off in the kitchen, but still create a delicious dinner. Win-win!

How to Store Leftovers

Leftovers should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. To reheat, just place the beef in a dry skillet and heat for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Leftover shredded beef can also be frozen. Just let the beef cool completely and then freeze in a freezer bag for up to 4 months. Let thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.

If you’re looking for an easy + tasty slow cooker recipe, then put this Slow Cooker Mexican Shredded Beef on the menu! Happy (slow) cooking!

Did you make this Slow Cooker Mexican Shredded Beef recipe at home? Leave a comment, or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog) – I’d love to see how you served it!

Slow Cooker Mexican Shredded Beef

This Slow Cooker Mexican Shredded Beef recipe is tender, juicy and delicious! It's perfect for tacos, burritos or soups and stews. Make a batch tonight, and you'll have meals for the week!

5 from 5 votes

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 8 hours hours

Total Time: 8 hours hours 15 minutes minutes

Servings: 12

Calories: 229kcal

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

For the Rub

• 1½ Tbsp chili powder
• 1 Tbsp ground cumin
• ½ Tbsp onion powder
• ½ Tbsp garlic powder
• ½ Tbsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp smoked paprika

For the Slow Cooker Mexican Beef

• 1 medium white onion sliced
• 3-4 lb. boneless beef chuck roast
• 1 cup low sodium beef broth
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 2 Tbsp lime juice
• 1 15.5-oz. can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
• 1 jalapeno diced {optional – see note}
• ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
• {for serving} diced fresh tomatoes corn tortillas or flour tortillas, pickled red onions, diced avocado

Instructions

• Lay the sliced onions on the bottom of a slow cooker.
• Using a small bowl, combine all of the rub ingredients together. Rub spices evenly over the chuck roast. Place roast on top of the onions.
• Using a medium bowl, whisk together the beef broth, tomato paste, lime juice, diced tomatoes and jalapeno. Pour this mixture over the top and sides of the roast.
• Cover slow cooker and cook on LOW for 8 hours.
• Check and see if the beef is fork-tender. If not, cover and continue cooking for 30-60 more minutes.
• Remove the roast and place in a large bowl. Leave ½-1 cup of cooking liquid in the slow cooker, but discard the rest.
• Using 2 forks, shred the beef, discarding any excess fat. Return shredded beef to slow cooker. Add chopped cilantro and stir until well combined.

Notes

For a milder version, use the jalapeno but remove the seeds and ribs. For a spicier version, leave the seeds and ribs in!

Looking for more slow cooker recipes? Check out these other favorites, too: