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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!
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Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Tacos
5 Stars4 Stars3 Stars2 Stars1 Star4.9 from 20 reviews
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 0 About 3-4 servings 1x
Description
This slow cooker shredded beef recipe is packed with flavor, simple to make, and the beef is delicious in all sorts of other recipes as well.
Ingredients
Scale
- 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
Favorite taco toppings:
- guacamoleor sliced avocado
- salsa
- Mexican rice
- grated cheese
- fresh lettuce
- tomato
- onion
- cilantro
- lime wedges
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
Recipe adapted from My Kitchen Addiction
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.
posted on February 4, 2010 by Ali
Crock-Pot (Slow Cooker), Game Day, Halloween, Main Dishes, Occasions
241 Comments »
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241 comments on “Slow-Cooker Shredded Beef Tacos”
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Sameena — January 29, 2018 @ 6:03 am Reply
I made this once before and absolutely loved it, only thing was that it was SO spicy. I want to make them again for Super Bowl but am worried about the spice for so many people. I see no one else commented about how spicy they are, is there a mild version of chipotle peppers and maybe I bought a hot version? Or are these just VERY spicy? Wondering if I could not use the actual chipotle pepper but just maybe some of the sauce from the can and still get the same great flavors?
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Julia — February 18, 2018 @ 10:52 pm Reply
I’ve made these a few times, always delish…but, I forgot the tomato paste at the store and snow is coming down hard…can I do without it or do you have substitution recommendations?
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Sydney — May 11, 2018 @ 4:00 pm Reply
Hi!
I want to make this for about 15 people. What size roast and how long would you suggest?
Thank you!
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Brittney — June 2, 2018 @ 3:06 pm Reply
Hot damn! I just realized I have never left a comment! We made this for the first time on cinco de mayo (I used the link you left another commenter to do this in the oven), made again two weeks later by SO request. He has been bugging me the last few weeks about when we’re gonna make this again :) we’re going to try in the instant pot tonight since it’s too warm to run the oven for a few hours today
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Kristen — October 23, 2018 @ 8:59 pm Reply
This was so so good! I only used one pepper as my husband doesn’t like spicy but I definitely think I could have used more. The whole family loved this (which is unusual as it seems there is always one that doesn’t like what I make). This will definitely be a repeater!!
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Aysun — December 9, 2018 @ 7:09 pm Reply
Made this this morning for dinner, we ended up eating it for lunch and making another batch for dinner! I omitted the chipotle peppers since I forgot to get some and it was soooo darn good!!! Added sauted bell peppers with onions and rice pilaf to toppings and it was delicious! Thank you for this recipe!!
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Aysun — December 9, 2018 @ 7:10 pm Reply
Forgot to rate :)
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Nicky — December 30, 2018 @ 3:20 pm Reply
I make this whenever we have a large group of people around for dinner. Its amazing! Totally recommend :)
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Breana Akerberg — January 12, 2019 @ 6:37 pm Reply
Just made this tonight! We thought it was really good, but next time I’m going to add more chipotle peppers – not hot enough for our taste :)
I cooked it in the oven at 275 for about 4 1/2 hours.
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Anam — March 15, 2019 @ 3:02 pm Reply
Made this in my Instant Pot, cooked on high pressure for 1 hour and used the quick release method. Turns out perfect everytime!
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jasmine — March 31, 2020 @ 5:08 am
I was wondering if anyone had tried this in the instant pot! Was your meat frozen or fresh when you put it in the instant pot? Thanks!!
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Christine — May 5, 2019 @ 12:00 pm Reply
I have made this recipe several times. It is easy and delicious!
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Sabrina — July 1, 2019 @ 1:12 pm Reply
Can I substitute boneless chuck roast for boneless chuck steak? I couldn’t find the roast.
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Claire Lowry — March 12, 2020 @ 9:32 am Reply
Yes.
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Rebekah Lee — April 14, 2020 @ 7:16 am Reply
I have made this recipe before and it was great! But I’m wondering, do you think this would work with chicken instead of beef?
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Candy Loadman — July 28, 2020 @ 9:53 pm
I do something similar with chicken. I use 3 chicken breast and pour my favorite hot sauce or picante sauce over it. Cook on high in crock pot for 3 hours. Easy way to shred it is in your Kitchen Aid Mixer.
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Ranya — April 21, 2020 @ 3:23 pm Reply
Has anyone tried making this without the pepper in Adobo? I’m not familiar with adobo sauce, but I have a kiddo who can’t handle any amount of spice and I want to try this. Is it possible to just skip that, or is there adobo without pepper and is it spicy at all? Like, at all at all she’s super sensitive to heat of any kind. Tia.
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Mindy — April 27, 2020 @ 10:25 pm Reply
Perfect combination of spices
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Claire — May 5, 2020 @ 12:32 am Reply
If I have premade shredded beef, unflavored no spices, how would I go about cooking this?
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Jaimie — May 6, 2020 @ 5:39 am Reply
Amazing! Made for Cinco de Mayo with pineapple cucumber salsa on top. Meat was spicy and delicious.
Super easy too! -
Lauren — July 9, 2020 @ 6:52 pm Reply
Delicious!
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Candy Loadman — July 28, 2020 @ 9:56 pm Reply
Has anyone made this and substituted petite diced tomatoes instead of tomato paste?
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Jodi Lyn — August 22, 2020 @ 12:00 pm Reply
I have made this multiple times and everyone loves it!! I was wondering can you make this with pork shoulder?
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Kathryn — August 27, 2020 @ 6:04 pm Reply
Would you need to change anything if this was made in a pressure cooker?
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Deb — October 15, 2020 @ 1:59 am Reply
I’m with you on Chipotle. This looks delicious—thanks for sharing!
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Deanna Johnson — March 8, 2021 @ 12:29 pm Reply
Is it okay if we don’t use tomato sauce?
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Jessica — September 7, 2021 @ 1:07 pm Reply
This recipe is amazing. Exactly what we were looking for. Had it with cilantro lime slaw and dressing on grilled tortillas. Making it for the second time right now🤤 only think I added was salt this time
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Dayna — February 6, 2022 @ 9:17 am Reply
Made this for a crowd yesterday, it was a big hit. It took 1 hour in the instantpot; and I reheated the beef in the oven to crisp some if the top bits.
Will definitely make again! -
Lisa — July 18, 2022 @ 3:14 pm Reply
I’ve made this a few times in my crockpot and it was amazing. This last time I made it in my instapot on the slow cooker setting. It didn’t work as well by any means. The beef was not fork tender. Anyone else try and and have success? I’d love to know some tricks!
This is one of my go tos as it’s so delicious!
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Colleen — August 6, 2022 @ 11:19 am Reply
Hands down, the best beef tacos I have ever made. Super easy, and so full of flavour! I will be making these often…and accompanying them with the yummy guacamole and mango salsa from this blog, both of which were deeeeee-licious! We needed nothing else with our tacos besides the guac and salsa. Together they made a delightfully fresh and easy meal.
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lindsey — April 26, 2023 @ 11:33 am Reply
made this yesterday in the slow cooker, low for 8 hours. I didn’t have chipotle pepper but did this as instructed. It was very bland that we had to add salt (even though I did the rub plus extra). Maybe if I had used the pepper it would have been better.
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Morgan P — July 10, 2023 @ 7:01 pm Reply
Has anyone made this without browning/boiling the sauce before placing in the slow cooker?
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