These slow cooker shredded beef tacos is summer slow cooking at its best! Pair it with your favorite toppings for a hands-free, fun, family and friends meal!
How about some summer slow cooking? We want something easy and hassle-free but good enough to feed a crowd or a family for a couple of days. So today we’re gonna be doing some slow cooker shredded beef tacos with some chuck roast seared lovingly before it’s slow-cooked for hours in a spiced tomato sauce.
The toppings are entirely up to you. Lettuce, cheese, beans, rice, tomatoes, onions, cilantro, lime, guacamole, pico de gallo, sour cream, or hot sauce. And don’t be limited by the title of the recipe. You can use this beef for burritos or enchiladas too.
There’s some cayenne and jalapeno in here, but when all was said and done, I didn’t find it spicy at all so don’t be turned off by those two ingredients. And if you want it super spicy, just add in more peppers, cayenne, or some hot sauce. We always have a bottle of Cholula handy at home for this. Alright, let’s cook!
How To Make Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Tacos (1 Min Video)
SLOW COOKER SHREDDED BEEF TACOS RECIPE TIPS
Use a cheap cut of beef for this, something perfect for slow cooking like a chuck roast. I seasoned it with salt and pepper and seared it for a while cause searing before braising is good. You can skip this step if you don’t want an extra pan to wash but read this before you do so you can make an informed decision!
Then in the slow cooker it goes and you top it with the diced onions and sauce mixture, which is beef broth spiced with cayenne, ground cumin, smoked paprika, garlic, tomato paste, lime juice and diced jalapenos.
If you want less heat, remove the seeds from the jalapenos. I did this, so my beef wasn’t too spicy. If you want more heat, leave the seeds in. And if that still isn’t enough, add more peppers or more cayenne.
It’ll look like a slab of beef with very little juices to go around before you start cooking. Don’t worry about this because after 8 hours of braising, the beef will break down you’ll end up with more than enough juices to coat your shredded beef. Slow cook for 6-8 hours on low or 3-4 hours on high and that’s it! I did mine on low for 8 hours. Then serve with your favorite toppings and enjoy!
MORE TACO AND MEXICAN RECIPES TO TRY
- Slow Cooker Mexican Shredded Beef
- Chicken Enchilada Casserole
- Mexican Ground Beef Casserole
- Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken Tacos
- Instant Pot Chipotle Chicken Tacos
- Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas
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Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Tacos
- Total Time: 8 hours 10 mins
- Yield: 22–25 tacos 1x
Description
These slow cooker shredded beef tacos are summer slow cooking at its best! Pair it with your favorite toppings.
Ingredients
- 2–3 lb. chuck roast
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon cayenne
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup beef broth
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 jalapeno pepper, diced
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
Instructions
- Season the chuck roast with salt and pepper to taste.
- In a skillet over medium-high heat, sear the chuck roast on all sides in some oil until browned, about 2 minutes per side. Remove and set aside.
- Combine cayenne, cumin, smoked paprika and garlic with the beef broth.
- Add tomato paste, jalapeno and lime juice and stir to mix.
- Transfer the roast to a 6 qt. slow cooker and top with diced onions.
- Pour the beef broth mixture over the roast and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours.
- Shred the beef with two forks and toss to coat with the juices.
- Dish and serve hot with tortillas and your favorite toppings.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Toppings: Lettuce, cheese, beans, rice, tomatoes, onions, cilantro, lime, guacamole, salsa, sour cream, or hot sauce.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 8 hours
Comments & Reviews
I needed to use brisket to get the best result. Using brisket I give it a 5 star! Does anyone know conversation for slow cooker.
That’s great to know a brisket works just as well with this recipe. Thanks for sharing, Melanie!
Followed it to a tee. Bland, soupy and difficult to shred. Nothing like the video. Sorry. I really thought this would turn out great from the reviews.
That’s okay and I’m sorry this was not to your tastes, but thank you for taking the time and ingredients to try it. Did you cook it on high or low? I have never had any problems shredding chuck roast that’s been slow cooker for 6-8 hours so I wonder if the shredding problem was on high heat.
It sounds like you prefer more pungent ingredients. A great way to up the flavor is to add some chipotle chili peppers in adobo sauce.
What should I substitute tomato paste for if there is tomato allergy?
I would skip it and leave it out. It won’t break the recipe as the tomato paste just enhances the beefy flavor.
This is OUTSTANDING! Added some chipotle pepper w/ adobo, fresh pico and a drizzle of cream… husband gave this a “10”.
Love the addition of chipotle peppers. One of my favorite taco recipes is made with chipotle and can be used for chicken or pork, or just using the ingredients as a rough guideline when making it in the slow cooker, as opposed to the instant pot. Adding a dash of cream had to make this taste delicious – that’s a pretty genius idea!
Ive made them 4 times now!!! My birthday, my partners birthday, and then two more times just cause! (gonna make them a fifth time sometime in the next couple weeks!!! I still question how little water it calls for but it turns out perfect every time.. 😭 idfk what kind of kitchen witch made these tacos but I’ll be making them the rest of my life.
I hope you enjoyed the tacos just as much the fifth time! Kitchen witch made me giggle – I’ll take that title and wear it proudly. Also! To quickly explain why not much water or liquid is needed and the kitchen science behind it:
Cuts like chuck roast are fatty and will release this fat and moisture when cooked in the slow cooker so you end up with a lot more liquid than you started with. You just need a little water so the moist heat from the water helps break down the tough tissue in the beef to make it tender. Since the chuck roast is being steamed in the hot sauna that is the slow cooker, there is also no condensation so you don’t lose any liquid that way either. Hope this helps explain the voodoo magic behind it!
Really? does the roast beef really need beef broth? is it not beefy enough already? y’know, being a hunk of beef and all? charlatans, the lot of you.
Better use water then, dilute the beef flavor. The beef flavor that comes from the hunk of beef. Why use something that tastes like beef so it won’t dilute the beef flavor from the hunk of beef.
Fantastic recipe! The meat is sooo flavorful, and all my boys love it. I have found the best flavor comes when you let the meat burn/sear toward the end of the cook on the pan bottom (on both sides). You can add a little water after that to get the whole thing back to being more juicy.
Sounds like what you do for carnitas! If I recall correctly, they take the meat, spread it out evenly on a sheet pan then broil it until it’s crispy. After that, toss it back in with the sauce to get it all juicy again. Thanks for sharing, Andrew!
Came out great. Family loved it. Thanks!
Thanks Matt! Glad the recipe worked out and that your family enjoyed it as well! 🙂
This is fantastic! Is there nutritional info for this recipe?
I didn’t include one because the amount depends on how much meat you use per taco, and how big your taco is (normal vs. street taco). There are too many factors that affect the accuracy of a nutritional label for this recipe.
My mouth is watering at the thought of making them again 🤤
This is what I love hearing! I take great pride in making people hungry, whether it’s by talking about food, showing food, sharing food, or sharing recipes. 😀
Best I ever had!!!
That’s quite the compliment and I’ll take it! Thank you, Ellie 🙂
Do yourself a favor. Dip one side of the soft shell tortilla in the beef juice after shredding the beef. add the tortilla into a pan, wet side down. Add cheese and beef and fold into taco shape. Cook tortilla until crispy and open up once done to add toppings (onion and cilantro).
Unreal
Sounds like the makings of birria-style tacos to me which are DELICIOUS! Thanks for sharing this suggestion, I’m sure it will take things to the next level for anyone who tries it out.
Can I make if still frozen?
I would defrost the chuck roast first before slow cooking it. There are some recipes that cook straight from frozen but I have not tested the time with this one.
This turned out really great! We have been enjoying all sorts of tacos this week. Empanadas too. :D. The only change I did is omit the jalapenos and onion -they’re a migrane trigger. I subbed tomato paste for a bigg can of squashed tomatoes, mmmm red gold. I liked the loooong and low cook time, and can sear the pieces upon reheat later the week to delicious effect.
Searing or a quick broil on a baking sheet is a great idea to add some crispiness and texture! Just like carnitas 🙂
Hey! Can I make this without a slow cooker?! How do I adapt? Thanks so much±
I haven’t personally tested a chuck roast in the oven yet. If I were to try it, I would start out by putting all the ingredients in an oven-safe Dutch oven or braiser, cover with a lid or foil and cook at 325°F for 3-4 hours or until the meat is fork tender and you’re able to shred it. Good luck and let me know how it turned out for you if you attempt it this way!
Great recipe! I am making this tomorrow with a chuck tender roast and can’t wait to try it. As far as the oven question, I think you could just as easily slow cook it in the oven at 250. That’s what I do with pork shoulder. First I smoke it for a hour or so outside, then finish in a slow oven for 6-8 hours. It melts.
Thanks for weighing in! I love it when people help each other out in the comments. I hope the tacos turned out great for you too 🙂
Your pork shoulder sounds good… Marinade? Overnight?