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!
The best recipe by far! I have made it so much I just eyeball everything now 😂 We add more chiles because we love spice, and serve it burrito style on whole wheat carb balance tortillas with crema, cilantro and monterary jack cheese! delish!
I love making and eating different kinds of Spanish cuisine, leaning more towards Mexican since my mother in law is from Guadalajara. This recipe doesn’t even touch the flavors of our favorite local mom and pop authentic Mexican taco place. Best Barbacoa I have ever had, and so easy to make. I just told my spouse this recipe is the epitome of “umami” flavor. So good. Recipe is going in my books to make again and again.
Amazing delicious family loved it will cook again soon
This is a fantastic barbacoa recipe! Serving over baked potatoes with fresh cilantro, guacamole. And all the fixings is even more delicious than serving in tortillas. LOVE this recipe!!
This was so flavorful and perfectly balanced. Served it as burrito bowls with cilantro lime rice and all the toppings. I substituted a beef bouillon cube for the 1/2 cup broth (decreased the salt by a smidge) just to decrease the amount of overall liquid at the end of cooking. This is a keeper.
I make this all the time and love it. My husband loves it and anytime I’ve had friends for dinner and made it, it gets rave reviews. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe with us!
I use this recipe to fill shredded beer burritos
Very yummy recipe! We love all of the recipes on this page!
This is one of my favorite recipes to make in the crock pot! The meat turns out so tender and flavorful. We keep coming back to this over and over.
I made this recipe last year for Christmas, and here I am planning to make it again this Christmas. I realized I never left a review, and it deserves a RAVING one! This was a total hit and easy to prepare. I typically like to stick to side dishes/desserts and leave the meat prep to others, but I felt very confident making this. Can’t wait to make it again!