Description
Slow Cooker Beef Barbacoa is a tender, juicy, and flavorful shredded beef dish slow-cooked with chipotle peppers, spices, garlic, and lime. Perfect for tacos, burritos, bowls, or rice, this Mexican-inspired recipe is easy, versatile, and crowd-pleasing.
Ingredients
- 3–4 lbs beef chuck roast
- 2–3 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar or white vinegar
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1 cup beef broth or water
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tbsp olive oil (for searing, optional)
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Cut beef chuck roast into large chunks. Season with salt and pepper.
- Optional: In a hot skillet, sear beef with olive oil until browned on all sides.
- Place beef in the slow cooker.
- In a blender, combine chipotle peppers, garlic, onion, vinegar, lime juice, cumin, oregano, cloves, and broth. Blend until smooth.
- Pour sauce over beef in the slow cooker and add bay leaves.
- Cover and cook on low for 8–10 hours or high for 4–6 hours, until beef is fork-tender.
- Remove bay leaves. Shred beef with two forks and stir into the juices.
- Serve hot with tortillas, rice, or desired toppings.
Notes
Searing the beef adds depth of flavor but can be skipped for convenience.Adjust spice level by adding more or fewer chipotle peppers.Use orange juice along with lime for a citrusy twistFor thicker sauce, cook uncovered on high for 15–20 minutes after shredding.Freezes well for up to 3 months; reheat gently with added broth if needed.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup shredded beef
- Calories: 320
- Sugar: 2g
- Sodium: 480mg
- Fat: 20g
- Saturated Fat: 7g
- Unsaturated Fat: 12g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 4g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 30g
- Cholesterol: 95mg
