This Mexican Shredded Beef has incredible depth of flavour! The sauce is really rich and thick, and there is PLENTY of it. Fantastic for tacos, burritos, enchiladas and quesadillas, piled high on Mexican Red Rice or stuffed in rolls to make sliders!
This is a reader-favourite recipe included by popular demand in my debut cookbook “Dinner”!
Mexican Shredded Beef
I have a “thing” about shredded meats. I just love how it acts like a mop for sauces, so every mouthful is so juicy.
From Shredded Chicken Tacos to Pulled Chicken Nachos, Shredded Beef Ragu Pasta and Chicken Pot Pie, Chicken and Rice Soup to Crispy Chinese Shredded Chicken, if the eating experience is better when the meat is shredded – I shred it.
And Mexican Shredded Beef makes the cut – tenfold!! In fact, I adore it so much I’ve recently published another version – Beef Barbacoa. This version is slightly tangy and punching through with flavour from chipotle chillies!
The sauce for this Mexican Shredded Beef is loaded with big flavours – and there’s PLENTY of it!
What goes in Slow Cooker Mexican Beef
There’s a ton of spices in this that makes up the flavour of the braising liquid which becomes the sauce!
The secret ingredient is orange juice – it’s actually quite a common ingredient in Mexican cuisine. For example, it’s used in Carnitas (Mexican Slow Cooker Pulled Pork) and the marinade for Chicken Fajitas.
It doesn’t make the broth taste orangey at all – it totally transforms when slow cooked, and adds a touch of sweetness and flavour into the sauce.
How to make Slow Cooker Mexican Beef
The making part is very straightforward and mostly hands off time:
Cut beef into big pieces and sprinkle with spices
Sear aggressively: browning = flavour on both the beef and in the sauce (from the brown stuff on the base of the pot)
Add everything else into the pot
Slow cook on the stove, oven, slow cooker or pressure cooker until fall apart tender
Shred
Toss back into the sauce
Transfer to serving platter
Devour in desired form! (Tacos in this case 🙂 )
What to make with Mexican Shredded Beef
The beauty of this Mexican Beef is that it’s 100% freezer friendly and can be used for dozens of dishes, making it a brilliant standby for quick meals. Here’s just a few ideas:
Obvious uses
Tacos (this recipe)
Nachos – switch out the chicken in this Shredded Chicken Nachos recipe
Burritos – freezer friendly!
Quesadillas – switch out one of the fillings for this beef
Beef Enchiladas – skip the ground beef/mince filling and spices, just use this beef instead. (Still make the Enchilada Sauce, use the refried beans etc)
Mexican Plates – Piled beef over Mexican Red Rice with a big dollop of Guacamole, Pico de Gallo and sour cream, corn on the cob, finish with lime wedges and fresh coriander/cilantro
Some less obvious, mighty tasty ideas
Sliders – stuffed into bread rolls to make sliders!
Mexican Toasties 🥑🧀 – toast bread → smear with avocado → pile on shredded beef → top with cheese → MELT → devour 🙌
Mexican “Empanadas” – make triangles/parcels (like this)using puff pastry, seal with egg, brush with egg, bake until golden. Try adding corn and black beans to fill it out!
Mexican Cottage Pie – mix through sautéed onion, capsicum/bell peppers, zucchini, corn and other chopped veg of choice. Pour into casserole dish, then top with mashed potato and bake per this Cottage Pie recipe. Or try Mexican Beef Chicken Pot Pie!
Mexican Beef Lasagna – layer this beef with tortillas in a baking dish, top with loads of cheese and bake! I’d fill it out with veggies.
Fully Loaded Mexican Breakfast! – make Shakshuka (Middle Eastern Baked Eggs) which, really, is made with thoroughly Mexican flavours, and serve with a generous pile of this beef and warm tortillas. OMG….
Breakfast Enchiladas – skip the bacon, use this beef instead
Shredded Beef Tacos
Here’s what I use to make a simple Shredded Beef Tacos spread- something that’s super quick to assemble:
This Mexican Shredded Beef
Warmed or charred tortillas
Sour cream
Lime wedges
Fresh lime wedges
Fresh coriander/cilantro leaves, whole or finely chopped
You won’t need a separate sauce because this shredded beef is so juicy and saucy.
So really, if you have a batch of this Mexican Beef on hand, then you’re just 15 minutes away from the taco spread pictured above because all you have to make is the Pico de Gallo (and if that’s all too hard, just slice some tomatoes!!) – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
This recipe features in my debut cookbook Dinner. The book is mostly new recipes, but this is a reader favourite included by popular demand!
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Mexican Shredded Beef (and Tacos)
Ingredients
Spice Mix
- 1 1/2 tbsp chipotle powder , adjust spiciness to taste (Note 5)
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp All Spice powder (ground All Spice)
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 2 tsp onion powder or garlic powder OR 1 tsp of each
- 1 tsp salt and pepper , each
Beef
- 1 – 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 lb / 1.5kg beef chuck or brisket (or gravy or any other slow cooking beef) cut into 4 pieces
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 onion , diced (yellow, brown or white)
- 3/4 cup (185 ml) orange juice
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 14 oz / 400g can crushed tomatoes
- 2 cups (500 ml) beef or chicken broth/stock
- 1/2 cup (125ml) water
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Combine the Spice Mix ingredients in a bowl. Sprinkle 4 teaspoons over the beef and pat so it sticks.
- Heat the olive oil in a large heavy based pot over high heat. Add the beef (in batches if necessary) and brown well on all sides. Remove onto a plate.
- Turn the stove down to medium. If the pot looks dry, add more olive oil.
- Add the garlic and onion and cook for 3 minutes until soft.
- Add the orange juice and lime juice, and scrape the bottom of the pot so the brown bits mix into the liquid.
- Add tomato, beef stock, water and remaining spice mix. Mix, then return beef into pot.
- Put the lid on, bring to a simmer then turn the stove down so it is bubbling gently, not rapidly.
- Cook for 2 hours, then remove lid and simmer for another 30 minutes until beef is tender enough to shred. (Note 2 other cook methods).
- Remove the beef from sauce, shred with 2 forks.
- Leave the sauce to simmer with the lid off for 10 to 15 minutes to reduce and thicken to your taste. Adjust salt to taste. Optional: puree with stick blender to make it smooth (I do this for company)
- Toss beef back into the sauce (can reserve some Sauce for drizzling on tacos if you want, there’s plenty).
- Transfer beef into large dish and serve. See notes for suggestions.
Tacos
- To make tacos, serve the beef with warmed small tortillas, avocado slices, Pico de Gallo, shredded cheese, sour cream, lime wedges and extra cilantro/coriander leaves.
Recipe Notes:
- Mild – reduce to 2 tsp to 1 tbsp, add 1 tsp extra coriander, plus add 1 tsp cumin
- Medium – use 1.5 tbsp per recipe (I do this for groups of friends, good mid point)
- Spicy, but not blow your head off spicy – increase to 2 tbsp (I like this)
Nutrition Information:
Originally published September 2015, updated July 2019 with new photos, new video, new step photos and Life of Dozer section added. No change to recipe!
Life of Dozer
Bushwalking with Dozer – best done in winter when it’s snake free!
Hi! what is the substitute for the chipotle powder? we don’t have any in Indonesia:(
Thank you!
I use la chinata smoked paprika powder, a red tin, very good.
This recipe is the bomb btw, love it!
One tip: if you want the pulled beef to be a little more sticky, whip a tblsp green sriracha and a tblsp honey with a tblsp water and mix at the end, when cooking the pulled beef dry
Did you replace all of the chipotle powder with smoked paprika? And did you follow the rest of the recipe as is? Or did you add cumin and coriander powder as stated as the “mild” option? We do not have chipotle powder here in the Netherlands either and I would like to make this for me and my kid, so it cant be hot/spicy 🙂
Yep! Followed the rest as is,although I did add some touches here and there to make it a bit more intense. Fivespice also works great, about one teaspoon of the Chinese spice mix. The most important part: Orange juice and de pimentkorrels (hoi Nederlander :p)
Je kunt beter pimentpoeder gebruiken 😉
Literally amazing. My husband and I ate them every night until they were gone. So good
Can I slow cook the beef instead?
Hi Nagi, Can I change the beef to pork instead?
Fantastically rich and flavoursome pulled beef. I browned the meat so aggressively is was very close to burnt. I put the meat in the slow cooker, browned the onions and garlic in the burnt pan (against my better judgement – glad I did!). Then (big tip!) I blended everything (onions, spices, tomatoes OJ etc) before adding it to the meat in the slow cooker. The resulting sauce was smooth and thick. Utterly amazing dish with rave reviews from the young people around the table. Used the remaining sauce as a flavour-packed base for cabbage soup the next day. Another winner.
I’ve made several shredded beef taco recipes and this one is my son’s favorite! I might not add the water next time since I cook it in the instant pot. Yummy!
Just a heads up you can find the Chipotle powder at Woolies (Australia) in the regular spice area.
Love this recipe! So good as tacos 😊
Your site is my go to for recipes.
I have now made this 5 times and it’s become a family favorite! I’ve done the slow cooker but just got an Instant Pot and did that tonight… Delicious!
This is amazing as written however after a few batches I made a few changes. More cayenne, I use tbsp both garlic and onion powder, omitted allspice, and added 1 tbsp cumin. I also add half a can of Chipotle in adobo because we love spice and just leave off a bit of the tomato. BTW if making in the instant pot put the tomato in last and don’t mix or you’ll get a burn notice.
Immersion blend the sauce and I let it cook down a good 30 minutes then thicken with a cornstarch slurry.
Seriously amazing!!
This recipe was delicious. I did it in the slow cooker and we used it for Tacos and Quesadillas.
Im going to try it using chicken this week actually.. Will see how it goes!
How did it go with chicken?
I would love to try this with chicken too.
My husband has made this many times and everytime he makes it I always tell him I married him for his cooking LOL. thanks for this amazing recipe!
My husband thinks I’m the most amazing cook since I’ve been following your recipes. He thinks I’ve been holding out on him and pretending to not know how to cook. Youre the best, thanks so much, Nagi!!
Oh I Loe this Alaina!! N x
Can you half recipe?
I just cut the recipe in half today. Super easy.
When cutting in half, is the cook time still the same?
Sure can Sam! N x
This shredded beef tasted exactly like my local Mexican restaurant’s shredded beef tacos, and might even be better!! Amazing recipe!! I used a piece of meat that was in the corner of my freezer for the longest time, and I used a pressure cooker for 40 minutes. It turned out delicious!! Thank you Nagi!!
I made this yesterday (stovetop method). This is amazingly flavorful, my daughter and husband loved it. My little is already asking to have the leftovers for lunch!
I just made this tonight with some cuts of beef that had been in the freezer too long. The spice mix and the sauce are amazing, and my beef turned out great. So delicious. Great for tacos or burritos, or just by itself.
Absolutely amazing. I’ve always struggled with shredded beef of any kind and wow this was easy and fantastic! I used my ninja foodie, seared in the pan, added fluids the pressure cooked on high for 20 minutes.
The entire family loved this recipe! Started on the stove, cooked it in the instant pot, finished it on the stove, and enjoyed! Well worth the time to create such a great meal!
This recipe is legit. Made it tonight. Only thing I changed was I used canned chipotles in adobo sauce. Thanks
This recipe is legit. Made it tonight. Only thing I changed was I used canned chipotles in adobo sauce.
Hi Nagi! I’ve made this recipe loads and love it!! I want to show the flavour off to my veggie friends, however I’m unsure of a substitute. Do you think I could substitute the beef for jackfruit in this? 😅
I honestly haven’t tried Charlotte!! N x
Thanks so much for getting back to me! I’ll just be sure to cook it for my meat-eating friends in the future! Haha xx
Oh my gosh Nagi!! I’ve made a dozen of your recipes and counting, and I’m always in awe of just how delicious they are. Even with being from Phoenix, and trying dozens of Barbacoa tacos, nothing compares to the flavor explosion in this!! I can’t wait to make this for EVERYONE I know! You’re teaching me how to cook, one recipe at a time!! 😍💛