This homemade beef barbacoa recipe is easy to make in the slow cooker, and it’s SO flavorful and delicious! Perfect for burritos, tacos, salads, quesadillas and more.
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Homemade Barbacoa Recipe | 1-Minute Video
Barbacoa
This barbacoa recipe is simple to make in your slow cooker, and makes the most tender, flavorful, delicious barbacoa beef.
Ingredients
- 3 pounds beef chuck roast (fat trimmed), cut into 2-inch chunks
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 chipotles in adobo sauce, chopped
- 1 (4-ounce) can diced green chiles
- 1 small white onion, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon dried Mexican oregano (or standard dried oregano)
- 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 cup beef stock or water
Instructions
- Slow cook. Combine all ingredients in the bowl of a slow cooker. Toss gently to combine. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 3-4 hours, or until the beef is tender and falls apart easily when shredded with a fork.
- Shred and toss. Using two forks, shred the beef into bite-sized pieces inside of the slow cooker. Toss the beef with the juices, then cover and let the barbacoa beef soak up the juices for an extra 10 minutes. Remove the bay leaves.
- Serve. Use a pair of tongs or a slotted spoon to serve the barbacoa beef and enjoy!
Notes
Storage instructions: Any leftovers can be stored (with their juices) in a food storage container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or frozen for up to 3 months.
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
i have made this a bunch of times since we first tried it in october, we LOVE it!. tonight, i made grilled cheese with the leftovers and it was AMAZING! my husband said it’s one of the best sandwiches he’s ever had. a tuesday night whim turned into an awesome dinner.
Chipotles in adobo sauce are HOT and one or two of these in a big pot of any kind of stew are plenty for most people. But even the little cans have eight or ten chiles. When I open a can I chop up the whole thing (except the stems) sauce and all, and then cover an ice tray loosely with plastic wrap. Then I put a couple of teaspoons of the chopped chipotles in each cube and freeze it. Once it is hard frozen I turn the portions into a baggie and keep it in the freezer, ready to throw one or two into whatever recipe I like. Be CAREFUL what you touch after working with hot chiles. If you touch your eye or nether parts, you’ll burn the dickens out of yourself.
Hello!
I just decided to try your recipe for the first last minute the night before my work pot luck. As my meat was cooking in the crock pot, I read some reviews then got super worried that there was a chance I could ruin the recipe and end up with tough meat as some other people did. I put it on high and after 3 hours I checked the meat…sure enough it was super tough and would not shred! I began to panic because I needed this for work and it was already 11pm. So I did some research on tenderizing already cooked meat and basically found out that 3-4 hours is not a long enough time to get meat like this to be ready to shred. So I put the crock pot on low, let it cook for another 5 hours, and had very tender meat that easily shred with a light touch of the fork (whew!!! Was I relieved!)Mission accomplished! Thank you for this super easy and delicious recipe! I’m so glad that I did my research and didn’t waste 6lbs of meat! Can’t wait to share this dish at work!
Hi Danielle, thank you for sharing this with us! We’re glad it turned out great in the end. Definitely helpful to know lower and slower is better for this one. :)
Quick question, I see that the final result is mixed with cilantro but I can’t make out the other items. Can you share what your toppings would be for the tacos? Sorry to bother but thanks much for the recipe!
Hi Cherie! We used chopped raw onion, fresh cilantro and a little squeeze of fresh lime on these, but feel free to add/modify these to your liking. :) We hope you enjoy!
Dumb question, but…..2 chiptoles in adobo sauce, chopped (or more to taste) – is this 2 cans, 2 tablespoons, 2 what? Thank you.
Hi Cathy – not a dumb question at all! You just need one can but you won’t use the whole thing (there are a lot of chipotles in one can). You just need two peppers (or more if you like). We hope you enjoy the recipe!
This was super delicious and turned out amazing. It was quite spicy though. Was it my chipotle peppers? I only had 2 lbs of meat. How could I make it less spicy. I love spicy but my fiancé doesn’t. It was actually spicy for me
We’re glad to hear you enjoyed it Becky, though we’re sorry it was a little too spicy for you. We’d suggest next time just using one chipotle pepper, or omitting entirely.
I’m made this recipe a million times. Everyone is obsessed!!!
I want to double it this time. I’m sure I can do that.
Was wondering should I double the ingredients? I know sometimes doubling can change the flavor etc. Please advise!!
Thanks for sharing Crystal, we’re happy to hear that! And we think doubling this should be just fine! :)
I make this once every other month. It’s always turned out perfect! I can’t eat cilantro so this satisfies my Chipotle craving without risking an upset stomach. I pair it with Garlic Cilantro Lime Rice (minus cilantro) from the Food Network website. My half Mexican boyfriend has told me if this is all I make him the rest of his life he’ll be a happy man. This coming from a man who usually won’t eat leftovers!
Yeahhhhh, I love it! So awesome! :)
Have a ? Want to make this recipe. But could you use london broil. Instead of chuck roast.
Sure thing. I would just recommend boneless London Broil. Enjoy!
I had the same problem as Katie and Jane – my meat didn’t shred at all. The taste was awesome though, so I’ll definitely be trying this again. I cooked it on high for 4 hours… so next time I’ll try low for 6-8 and see how it does. Absolutely worth a second try!
Oh no, I’m sorry to hear that! Yes, different cuts of meat and different slow cookers can definitely vary. I would just cook it awhile longer until it shreds easily. Enjoy!