These restaurant-quality Crock Pot Shredded Beef Tacos are a little sweet, a little spicy with a strong beef flavor that makes a simple, delicious meal. The shredded beef is seasoned with Mexican flavors like green chilis, garlic, and cumin and is perfect for use in tacos, carnitas, burritos, enchiladas, and so much more.
If you love all things tacos, be sure to try our Birria Tacos, Chicken Tacos, Crispy Beef Tacos, Pork Carnitas Tacos, and our Carne Asada Tacos.
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Crock Pot Shredded Beef Tacos
There is something so simple and so perfect about good shredded beef. This recipe slow cooks the beef in the crock pot along with a simple marinade of green chilis, brown sugar, cumin, garlic, lime juice, and a little spice. To finish, we take the ultra-tender shredded beef and broil it, giving the meat a little more texture and flavor as the drippings reduce.
Toss the shredded beef into a flour or corn tortilla along with onion, cilantro, and lime, or load them up with any and all of your favorite taco fixings. Whatever you don’t finish, you can store in the fridge for up to 5 days or be tossed in a freezer bag and stored as a last-minute freezer meal for up to 3 months.
What to Serve with Shredded Beef Tacos
Looking for ideas of what to serve with roast beef tacos? Keep it simple! Think Tex Mex sides such as Spanish Rice, 5 MInute Salsa, Green Chile Rice Casserole, or this Lime Rice.
Key Ingredients
- Roast Beef - I will often use a chuck roast or roast beef that is on sale for this recipe. Rump roast, round roast, or sirloin roast all work great.
- Green Chilis - I love the mild heat and wonderful flavor of canned green chilis. You could substitute an equal amount of your favorite tomato sauce if you prefer.
- Brown Sugar - you can use either light or dark brown sugar.
- Lime Juice - fresh lime juice is the way to go. It has far better flavor than the stuff in the bottle.
- Cumin - cumin is a traditional spice used in Mexican cooking that adds a sweet, earthy flavor. Smoked paprika would also taste great if you wanted to add another spice to compliment.
- Red Pepper Flakes - these add great pepper flavor with subtle heat. If you want more spice, add a dash of chili powder too.
- Toppings - try topping your tacos with shredded cheese, Fresh Salsa, Refried Beans, Sour Cream, Pico de Gallo (Mexican salsa), shredded lettuce, and Guacamole.
How to Make Shredded Beef Tacos
- Prep the beef. Cut the roast beef into 1" chunks, trimming off any large pieces of fat.
- Marinade beef. In a large bowl, combine the green chilis, brown sugar, minced garlic, oil, lime juice, cumin, salt, and red pepper flakes. Add the beef and toss, then marinate for 2-24 hours. (Note: if you are in a hurry, you can skip the marinating process)
- Cook in the crockpot. Add the beef and the marinade to the slow cooker, cover and cook on high for 3 hours or on low for 4 ½ hours. or until you can easily shred the meat with 2 forks.
- Shred meat. Remove the beef from the slow cooker. Shred it using 2 forks or your hands (if it doesn't shred easily, return to the slow cooker and continue to cook).
- Broil shredded beef. Transfer to a baking dish and pour about 1 cup of the drippings over the beef. Broil in a preheated oven for about 10 minutes, stirring the meat every 2 minutes, or until the meat is lightly golden. You can use just about any kind of leftover roast to make quick shredded beef tacos.
- Serve. Serve immediately with corn or flour tortillas, shredded cheese, sour cream, hot sauce and any other taco toppings you love. Enjoy!
Cooking Shredded Beef in the Oven
If you would rather cook your shredded beef in the oven, follow the above directions exactly, except instead of cooking in the crockpot, add the beef and the marinade to an ovenproof dish. Cover with a lid or aluminum foil and cook in a preheated 350-degree oven for 2 hours.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can use just about any type of roast for Mexican shredded beef - sirloin roast, rump roast, round roast, chuck roast, or any roast you can find on sale.
If there is a large vein of fat or padding of fat on one side of the roast, be sure to trim it off when you are cutting the beef into chunks. And if you don't get it all when you're cutting the raw beef into chunks, you can certainly trim it a little as you shred the beef.
The cook time depends on which cut of beef you use, how you cook the roast beef, and how much you are cooking at once. If you are making crockpot shredded beef, plan on 3 hours on high or 4 ½ hours on low. Or, if you want to bake it in the oven, a couple of hours at 350 degrees will do.
If your beef is a little tough and won't shred, put it back in the oven and give it 20-30 more minutes. Every cut of beef is a little different; sometimes, it just needs more time for the connective tissues to break down.
I have a ratio that has worked pretty well on many occasions when it comes to shredded beef tacos, ground beef, or chicken, for that matter.
If you have a group of big eaters, adults or teenagers, plan on ⅓ lb of raw meat per person. Or, if you have a mix of kids and adults, you can plan on ¼ pound of raw meat per person - especially if you plan to serve rice and beans with your tacos.
If tacos are a little overdone at your house, you can make a shredded beef burrito bowl or beef enchilada or fry it up as a beef chimichanga.
Storing and Reheating Instructions
- Refrigerator: store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Freezer: transfer cooled shredded beef to freezer bags and store frozen for up to 3 months. To thaw, transfer to the fridge overnight.
- To reheat: the quickest way is to reheat in the microwave. Or, transfer to an oven-safe pan, cover with aluminum foil, and reheat in a 350-degree oven for about 10 minutes until warmed through. You may want to add some beef stock, broth, or water to keep it moist as it reheats.
Crockpot Shredded Beef Tacos Recipe
Ingredients
Shredded Beef
- 2-3 lb Roast Beef chuck roast, rump roast, round roast, sirloin roast
- 1 4-oz can Green Chilis
- 3 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Garlic minced
- 2 Tablespoons Avocado Oil
- 2 Tablespoons Lime Juice
- 1 teaspoon Cumin
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper
- ¼ teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
Taco Toppings
- 8 Taco Shells corn or flour tortilas
- 1 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
- ½ cup Sour Cream
- ½ cup Salsa
- 1 head Lettuce shredded
Instructions
- Cut the roast beef into 1" chunks, trimming off any large pieces of fat.
- In a large bowl, combine the green chilis, brown sugar, minced garlic, oil, lime juice, cumin, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Add the beef and toss, then marinate for 2-24 hours (Note: if you are in a hurry, you can skip the marinating process).
- Add the beef and the marinade to the slow cooker, cover and cook on high for 3 hours or on low for 4 ½ hours. or until you can easily shred the meat with 2 forks.
- Preheat the oven to broil, then remove the beef from the slow cooker. Shred it using 2 forks or your hands (if it doesn't shred easily, return to the slow cooker and continue to cook). Transfer to a baking dish and pour about 1 cup of the drippings over the beef.
- Broil for about 10 minutes, stirring the meat every 2 minutes, or until the meat is lightly golden.
- Serve immediately with corn or flour tortillas, shredded cheese, sour cream, hot sauce and any other taco toppings you love. Enjoy!
Nutrition
More Delicious and Easy Beef Recipes
- Crispy Ground Beef Tacos
- Roast for French Dip Sandwiches
- Beef Taco Salad
- Crockpot Rump Roast
- Chipotle Carne Asada
- Homemade Beef Stew
- Slow Cooker Pot Roast
- Old-Fashioned American Goulash
- Steak Fajitas
- Beef Short Ribs Crockpot
- More Crockpot Recipes
- More Easy Dinner Ideas
- Even More Beef Recipes
These Shredded Beef Tacos are seasoned with Mexican flavors and topped with all of your favorite taco toppings. You can slow cook the beef in a crockpot or roast slowly in the oven.
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