This MEXICAN SHREDDED BEEF is the perfect answer to your next taco night! We start with a chuck roast, season it up with salsa verde, onions, chipotle, and other spices to make the an extra tender shredded beef that is packing a ton of flavor! This recipe is super simple – just put the ingredients in the slow cooker and let the magic happen!
I know I’ve been sharing a whole lot of low carb Mexican recipes with you lately, but Mexican food just makes me happy and if I can eat my favorite cuisines and still stick to a low carb diet…well, that’s a good thing all the way around.
We love American style ground beef tacos, but when we want something with more authentic flavors, we always go for this Mexican shredded beef. The beef is so tender and juicy and it really packs in the flavor!
Beef barbacoa:
If you’ve ever had the barbacoa from Chipotle or other Mexican restaurants, you’ll love this Mexican shredded beef.
Traditionally, Mexican barbacoa is a mixture of meat and organs cooked in an underground oven, but we’re doing a slow cooker barbacoa (or shredded beef) today using chuck roast.
The flavors are similar, but the method is different.
How to:
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We’re using the crockpot for this recipe, because I love how easy it is and how tender and flavorful the chuck roast will be after cooking away all day.
The Ninja multi-cooker is my favorite and I have A LOT of slow cookers. I like the shape, size, and even heating of this one. Plus, it allows you to sear the meat right in there so you don’t dirty an extra dish.
Speaking of searing the beef, it always adds more flavor to a crockpot meal if you sear the beef before slow cooking it. However, it’s totally optional and if you’re in a time crunch, go ahead and skip this step.
Add some salsa verde (this roasted tomatillo salsa is perfect here!) to your slow cooker along with some onion, chipotle peppers, garlic, cumin, salt, pepper, and beef broth.
Give that a stir and then add your chuck roast.
Every slow cooker cooks differently (some run hotter than others), but you’ll want to cook this until the meat easily shreds with a fork. If your roast is still tough and not shredding, just keep cooking it – it’s not done yet!
My slow cooker takes about 4-5 hours on high or 8 hours on low to get perfectly tender and shredded beef.
Once your meat is all shredded to your liking, season with a little more salt and sprinkle on some fresh cilantro and a squeeze of lime juice.
Serve it up with some of this restaurant style salsa!
Serving:
We love to make tacos out of this Mexican shredded beef. We buy low carb tortillas and fill them with beef, romaine lettuce, diced tomatoes, and sliced avocado.
This also makes a great burrito bowl using my Mexican cauliflower rice.

Mexican Shredded Beef
This shredded beef recipe cooks all day in the crockpot until it's perfectly tender and packed with flavor. Serve this in a low carb tortilla or over cauliflower rice for a flavorful twist on taco night.
Ingredients
- 3 pounds chuck roast
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
- 1/2 cup salsa verde
- 1/2 cup beef broth
- 1/2 yellow onion, diced
- 3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, minced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons cumin
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons black pepper
- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro chopped
- 1 lime, juiced
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat. When the oil is hot, add the beef and sear on all sides.
- While the beef is searing, add the salsa verde, beef broth, onion, chipotle peppers, garlic, cumin, salt, and pepper to the slow cooker and stir to combine.
- Transfer the beef to the slow cooker. Spoon some of the salsa verde mixture over the top of the beef.
- Cover and cook on high for 5 hours or low for 8 hours, until the beef easily shreds with a fork. See note.
- Shred the beef with two forks and sprinkle with cilantro and lime juice.
- Serve hot.
Notes
All slow cookers cook differently and some run hotter than others. If the roast is not easily shredding, it's not done cooking. Continue cooking until the meat easily shreds apart.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 454Total Fat: 30gSaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 2gUnsaturated Fat: 17gCholesterol: 141mgSodium: 818mgCarbohydrates: 4gNet Carbohydrates: 3gFiber: 1gSugar: 1gProtein: 43g
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Julie says
I made this last night in addition to the other ingredients for your Keto Burrito Bowl (Mexican Cauliflower Rice, amd Keto Guacamole). All of the components were outstanding and this Mexican Beef is a definite keeper!!!!! Thanks for the awesome recipes!
Karly Campbell says
So glad you enjoyed the recipes! Thanks, Julie!
Cat says
How hot/spicy is this?
Karly Campbell says
It’s not very spicy. Most of the spice is in the liquid in the slow cooker and the meat is just nicely flavored.
Jodi says
Just tried this and it is a keeper. Delicious!!
Karly Campbell says
Love to hear that! Thanks, Jodi!
Tracy Atwood says
What other pepper’s could be used instead of Chipolte?
Karly Campbell says
I’m not sure what a good sub would be since the peppers are in adobo sauce and that adds a lot of flavor. You could try just using jalapeno, but it’ll be a different flavor.
STEVE TURNER says
I used chicken broth instead of beef because i had an “old” moment and forgot it when i was at the store. Turned out delicious.
Karly Campbell says
Haha! Glad you enjoyed the recipe anyway!
Carol says
Delicious! I didn’t have chipotle chiles, so I subbed fresh chopped buena mulata (hot) and chipotle powder. The house smelled yummy and the meat was delicious!! I even saved and froze the resulting broth to use as a base for soup. I just bought another chuck roast to make it again! Thank you!
Karly Campbell says
Sounds fabulous! Thanks, Carol! 🙂
Julia says
I made this yesterday, put the meat on warmed corn tortillas with homemade salsa, cotijta cheese, shredded lettuce and sour cream, amazing! The fam loved them, made for an awesome taco night! Thank you for a great recipe that I will put into the rotation!
Karly Campbell says
Sounds delicious, Julia!
Pam says
This was a hit with my family. Last nite tacos, tonite burrito bowl! Thanks, Karly
Karly Campbell says
That’s awesome, Pam!
AJ says
Amazing, thank you Karly.
DAVID RUTTENBURG says
I’m assuming you mix in the garlic with the rest of the items at the beginning, but you forgot to include that in the recipe.
Karly Campbell says
That’s correct! Thanks for the heads up. 🙂
Erica A says
Are you adding the beef broth to the slow cooker with the other ingredients in Step 2
Karly Campbell says
Yep, sorry about that!