I think I may be one of the only people in the world who’s not a Chipotle fan. I know…judge away.
But. I absolutely love shredded beef tacos. They’re my absolute favorite thing to order at two of my favorite Mexican restaurants in town. So when I saw one of my favorite bloggers post a delicious photo and recipe of her shredded beef tacos a few months ago, I knew I had to give them a try!
In the past whenever I’ve tried making shredded beef, the seasonings have always seemed too bland. But sure enough, this recipe — rockin’ the chipotle peppers, cumin, smoked paprika, garlic and more — made for some totally flavorful tacos!!! And for leftovers later in the week…it starred again in some quesadillas and sandwiches as well. :)
So bring out your crock pot, and give this recipe a try! It’s definitely a keeper!
Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Tacos
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
- 2 pounds beef (I used a boneless chuck roast)
- 2 tsp. chili powder
- 1 tsp. cumin
- 1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
- 1 cup beef stock
- 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
- 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, minced (if you want extra flavor/heat, add an extra pepper)
- 1 small white onion, diced
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- Flour tortillas
Instructions
- Whisk together the chili powder, cumin, and smoked paprika in a small bowl. Rub the spice mix into the beef, covering each side evenly.
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Carefully place the beef in the skillet and sear on each side until browned, about 2 minutes per side. Remove the beef from the skillet and place in the bottom of a slow cooker.
- Add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and diced onion to the saute pan. Saute for an additional 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add the beef stock and stir the pan to deglaze it, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add tomato paste and minced chipotle, and whisk into the pan sauce until combined. Bring the sauce to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for a 3-5 minutes until the sauce has reduced and thickened slightly. Pour the pan sauce down over the beef in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 3-4 hours, until the beef shreds easily.
- Shred the beef with two forks, and toss to coat with any of the remaining juices. Serve the beef in the flour tortillas, topped with your favorite taco toppings.
Notes
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
Ali’s Tip:
If you’re like me and rarely make it through an entire can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, would highly recommend chipotle powder! It’s now available in most grocery stores, and is so fun to have on hand. For one pepper, I usually substitute in around 1/2 tsp. of the powder.
These are so delicious. I made them for myself & my husband. I put the left overs in a tupperware and the next day for lunch it was even better.
Thanks Whitney, we’re so happy you and your husband enjoyed them! :)
AMAZING. It was perfect! I have the tendency of upping spices when I make a recipe so I used quite a bit more paprika and garlic than what was called for. My husband was blown away :) thanks for the amazing recipe!
Thanks Ameera, we’re so happy you and your husband enjoyed these!
I just made this for dinner tonight, and it was fantastic! My hard to please 12 year old ate four tacos! I served it with avocados, home made salsa, lime, and shredded cheese.This is definitely a fav now. In fact, I will be making this for a potluck party next week. Thanks so much for sharing.
Thanks for sharing with us, we’re so happy it was a hit with your family! :D
it is so beautiful and it looks so delicious. I like it. Slow cooker fiesta shredded meat is so easy to do and it has many nutrition.
i know this was posted a while ago, but I have to comment… This recipe is amazing!!! I have made it three times in two months and am always sad when there aren’t more leftovers. I tweeted it a bit, adding 1 tsp Chipotle Powder and 1/2 tsp kosher salt in the rub for the meat before searing. After I have shredded the meat and tossed it back in with the juice, I squeeze one lime and add some fresh chopped cilantro and stir it all up. My husband says this is the best shredded beef he has ever had!!! Thank you for posting this recipe, it is my go to and so easy to put together. ?
That’s awesome to hear Christina, we’re happy you and your husband like these so much – thanks for sharing! :D
Made this for my boyfriend last night and he loved it!! The only thing I changed was chipotle chili powder instead of can of chipotle in adobo. I was going to buy the adobo seasoning but it’s just salt, garlic and onion powder so I decided to skip it since the recipe calls for onion and garlic. Anyway it was amazing and he cooks so he’s kinda hard to impress but he was amazed by this. Recipe is going in my recipe book :) Thanks!
Thanks for sharing Morgana, we’re so happy you guys enjoyed this!
Thank you for this delicious recipe! I made it for dinner tonight. Served it with corn tortillas, guacamole, raw onion, greek yogurt & cheddar cheese! Have a feeling, that I will be making it a lot!.
You’re so welcome Greta, we’re happy you enjoyed these! :)
Making this for dinner tonight, it looks delicious, just wanted to say Thank You!
Lupe, you’re so welcome! We hope you enjoyed the tacos!
These were fantastic! Thanks so much. There are just two of us and so we used half a roast and the same amount of everything else. Loved it.
Thanks Alissa, we’re glad to hear you enjoyed these!
What are the nutritional requirements on the Slow Cooker Shredded Beef tacos? Thanks!
Hi Karen! We’re sorry but we currently are not publishing nutrition facts on the site. The nutrition calculators available are not 100% accurate, and we never want to publish anything that might be misleading. But many of our readers love the My Fitness Pal nutrition calculator, so feel free to try that for an estimate! We hope this is helpful, and are sorry we’re not able to provide the nutrition info on these!