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Slow Cooker Mexican Shredded Beef

Slow Cooker Mexican Shredded Beef uses less than 10 ingredients for a delicious weeknight meal. It’s healthy, flavorful, with minimal effort. Try it over rice, in burritos, tacos, or nachos. Perfect for meal prep!

slow cooker mexican shredded beef mexican beef tacos

Slow Cooker Mexican Shredded Beef Recipe

Despite that I’m not even ready to jump straight into a brand new year, I’m totally ready for yet another January Sugar Fast, which I’ve done for the past several years. I somehow managed to get the entire fam on board with this sugar-free month thing. They may be just as wonky as I am. I’m not going to question it, I’ll take the teamsmanship any day. After all, around here we can all use a healthy reset for sure. Over the holidays, we ate Way. Too. Many. Cookies.

Which brings us to this Slow Cooker Mexican Shredded Beef. It’s my favorite kind of busy weeknight dinner: minimal effort with maximum flavors. It’s flexible in the way you serve it (rice, corn tortillas, etc.) and it’s perfect for meal prep. You can easily make a big batch of this Mexican Shredded Beef on Sunday night and enjoy it in various forms throughout the week.

slow cooker mexican shredded beef mexican beef tacos

How to make Slow Cooker Mexican Shredded Beef

  • Use a fresh cut of boneless beef chuck roast, approx 3lbs. Don’t worry if it’s a bit more or less; once you trim the fat, it kind of evens out
  • Trim the fat. I like to take the time to get rid of as much of the excess fat as possible. The remaining marbled fat within the meat is good for tenderness.
  • Always use paper towels to dry the chunks of beef. I do this with almost every dish that uses raw protein; getting rid of excess moisture prevents the entire dish from tasting watered down.
  • To cut down on cook time and ensure even tenderness, cut the roast into 2-inch pieces before cooking. This also ensures that the sauce flavors really get into the meat.
  • To save time for busy weeknights, we use 30 ounces of prepared green enchilada sauce. You can use your favorite brand or make your own.

Tips for Serving Slow Cooker Mexican Shredded Beef

  • My favorite way to serve this tender Mexican shredded beef is over warmed corn tortillas, with garnishes. We love chopped red onions, a splash of lime, and chopped cilantro.
  • Come to think of it, diced avocado and sliced radishes would be pretty divine as taco garnishes here as well
  • Mexican shredded beef tastes delicious as Chipotle Style Chicken Burrito Bowls except use this beef as your protein instead
  • Surprisingly or not, Mexican Shredded Beef is pretty yummy over Slow Cooker Garlic Mashed Potatoes – yeah, it’s not even Mexican style but def super tasty
  • Try this shredded beef over nachos and your fave fixings…YUM.
  • If you have any other ideas and Mexican recipes for using it, I’d love to hear them in comments below!
slow cooker mexican shredded beef mexican beef tacos

Why we love slow cooker mexican shredded beef

  • It takes less than 10 ingredients to make happen.
  • It’s fix it and forget it, slow cooker style. Perfect for busy weeks.
  • It’s healthy, flavorful, and simple.
  • It’s totally flexible in how you serve it — tacos, burritos, nachos, rice bowl, even mashed potatoes…you name it.
  • It’s easy on the budget. Anything that makes delicious use of an affordable chuck roast is a winner.
  • We love it for meal prep; make a big batch on Sunday night and serve it in various ways for several meals. Awesome.

Looking for similar dishes with these flavors? Try this carne asada recipe next.

Did you make this?

Please give us a rating and comment below. We love hearing from you!

slow cooker green chili beef

Easy Slow Cooker Mexican Shredded Beef

4.67 from 3 ratings
Slow Cooker Mexican Shredded Beef uses less than 10 ingredients for a delicious weeknight meal. It’s healthy, flavorful, with minimal effort. Try it over rice, in burritos, tacos, or nachos. Perfect for meal prep!
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 8 hours
Servings: 8 servings
Author: Amy Dong

Ingredients  

  • 3 lb beef chuck roast, boneless, trimmed
  • 2 whole onions, thinly sliced
  • 1 TB ground cumin
  • 1 TB honey, or brown sugar, if preferred
  • 1 TB smoked paprika*
  • 3 tsp kosher salt
  • 2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp chili powder, plus more depending on taste
  • 30 oz green enchilada sauce
  • Optional Toppings: Mexican blend shredded cheese, chopped red onions, chopped cilantro

Instructions

  • Use paper towels to dry excess moisture from chuck roast. Cut roast into large chunks, about 2″ pieces. Place beef into slow cooker.
  • Add all remaining ingredients into slow cooker, gently stirring to ensure all ingredients are combined. Set slow cooker on low for 8-9 hours OR 5-6 hours on high. 
  • When beef is fork-tender, use tongs to remove from slow cooker and gently shred as desired. Return shredded beef to slow cooker, warm through, and add more chili powder if desired. Serve with toppings of your choice, over rice or tortillas.

Notes

  • Ground smoked paprika is available at most major grocery stores. It provides a wonderful smokiness to the dish. If you cannot find it, you can sub with regular ground paprika, though you’ll miss that smoky flavor.
  • This Mexican Shredded Beef is delicious in burritos, tacos, or over rice.
If you enjoyed this recipe, please come back and give it a rating ♡

Nutrition (per serving)

Serving: 1g | Calories: 358kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 35g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 117mg | Sodium: 538mg | Potassium: 614mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 1247IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 40mg | Iron: 5mg
Course: Dinner, Main
Cuisine: Mexican American
Diet: Gluten Free
Method: Slow Cooker

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Recipe Rating




21 comments

    • Nati

    Everything you do looks so freking good! I can try but my version will never look this good! LOL

    • AlwaysCarryOn.com

    This recipe sounds delicious – and so easy to follow too! I may have to give this a try 🙂 x

    • travel618888

    Please. Not less than. It is fewer than. You are welcome.

    • Lisa

    I’m drooling over this recipe! it looks so delicious!

    • Stephanie Jeannot

    I have yet to wipe away excess moisture from raw meats but I know that it must have come out so juicy and flavorful.

    • Jasmine – LoveLifeLaughMotherhood

    this looks amazing. i’d like to try this in my slow cooker

    • dearmummyblog
    • 4 stars

    This Mexican Shredded Beef sound proper yummy and we’d serve it up in fresh wraps!

    • Yeah Lifestyle

    What a delicious slow cooker dish! This is definitely something I shall be trying, it looks so good.

    • Jenne Kopalek (@MooshuJenne)

    This looks absolutely fantastic. I’d like to try it in the instant pot.

    • Sophia Reed PhD NCC

    This looks so good and the meat looks so tender

    • Mom Life Optimized

    I have been looking for a good recipe for Mexican Beef! I can’t wait to try this one.

    • Zoe

    This is right up my street, yummy!

    • Stacie

    I can’t wait to make this! I’ve been looking for a new slow cooker recipe to mix things up.

    • Lydia Smith

    This looks so yummy. It’s so easy to make too. Thanks for sharing this recipe with us.

    • Jenny Johnston

    These recipes are fantastic thank you for sharing

    • ChelseaMamma

    I am so making it this, it looks and sounds delicious

    • Karly

    This looks so delicious!

    • Gail
    • 5 stars

    I was going to make the Mexican Shredded Beef in the am..I only have 20 oz of green enchilada sauce. I have a 4 oz can of fire roasted green chilies. I have a 3 lb roast. Do u think that will work. If not I am heading to the market in the AM. Can’t wait to try this. It looks delicious

      • chewoutloud

      Gail, that might work! I ended up with plenty of sauce, so with your 24oz, you should be fine…you’ll just have a bit less sauce. You can always add salt and chili powder to taste once it’s finished. Enjoy!

        • Gail

        Thanks for the quick response – I thought by the time I trimmed the roast 20 oz might be enough and I really didn’t want to go the market again and I didn’t want it to be too dry either.

          • chewoutloud

          Awesome, Gail! Hope you all loved it 🙂

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