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!
Make this on the stove, oven, slow cooker OR pressure cooker (Instant Pot). 100% freezer friendly!
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:
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Cut beef into big pieces and sprinkle with spices
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Sear aggressively: browning = flavour on both the beef and in the sauce (from the brown stuff on the base of the pot)
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Add everything else into the pot
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Slow cook on the stove, oven, slow cooker or pressure cooker until fall apart tender
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Shred
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Toss back into the sauce
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Transfer to serving platter
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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
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Tacos (this recipe)
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Nachos – switch out the chicken in this Shredded Chicken Nachos recipe
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Burritos – freezer friendly!
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Quesadillas – switch out one of the fillings for this beef
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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)
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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
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Sliders – stuffed into bread rolls to make sliders!
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Mexican Toasties 🥑🧀 – toast bread → smear with avocado → pile on shredded beef → top with cheese → MELT → devour 🙌
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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!
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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!
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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.
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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….
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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:
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This Mexican Shredded Beef
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Warmed or charred tortillas
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Sour cream
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Lime wedges
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Fresh lime wedges
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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
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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!
How do you make the beef stock?
Hi Shameela, you can make your own, but for this particular recipe I just used store bought. If you want to make your own, here’s a recipe: https://www.recipetineats.com/homemade-beef-stock/ N x
Omg this by far is the best Mexican shredded beef recipe I have ever tried! This is the only one I will use from now on. Thank you so much for such a terrific recipe. The flavour of the meat is outstanding, delicious………
Excellent. Big hit with the family. Using the broth to make bean soup tomorrow. 😊
AMAZING!!! Used it to make birria style tacos! It was delicious!
Perfect Angela, I’m so happy you enjoyed it! N x
Great recipe. Made the Instant pot version for company, hardly any leftovers!
What where your settings for the instant pot?
I just did it per the recipe. 50 minutes on manual.
Hi 🙂 I haven’t noticed the temperature for the 8-hour cooking time. What temperature would you recommend in celsius?
Hi Tamara, if you’re using a slow cooker, you’ll need to cook it for 8 hours on low setting. N x
I made this as the recipe stated, but made one mistake of using a 28oz can of tomatoes. The result left me with a lot of liquid.
Well I saved the liquid and it really didn’t have much fat in it as I would have expected. Perhaps my cut of beef was lower on the fat content.
Anyway, I just want to say that I have been using the left over liquid to make chilaquiles and it is FANTASTIC way to use it.
A plate of soggy chips with extra shredded beef, an over easy egg, mexican crumbled cheese and pickled red onions works so well.
The beef was ok, but for me the real winner here is the liquid and I will make this again just for it.
Amazing, my partner for first time said it tasted like food from a resturant. Thank you for this recipe and your other ones like the fried chicken 😁
Oops, smoke temperature of olive oil is below 200C. For searing meat you’d be better of with sunflower or corn oil, both of which have smoke points above 400C.
This dish has so much flavor! Loved it!
I made this via the crock-pot after browning the meat etc on the stove. It was tasty and I will make it again. However, for me personally I will leave out the oregano or at least cut it significantly. The oregano aroma was over powering, maybe in combination with the Allspice. The taste was good, but the ‘nose” of a dish is important as well. The recipe was easy to follow and the meal was a hit with my family. All in all a good recipe.
Made this for my sons birthday party today along with your red cabbage, carrot and mint salad. Everyone loved them, there’s none left! Honestly you’ve made me look like a total legend in front of my family today! THANKYOU 🙂
Can I use beef stew cubes for this instead? I can’t find a whole chuck roast.
Sure can KLJ – they will cook quicker depending on how big they are cut. N x
Can I and how should I do this with sous vide?
Delicious. I loved the addition of the OJ. I didn’t have adobe powder so I used three packets of taco seasoning. I used the slow cooker and the meat was done after four hours. I added a bell pepper too. Will make again.
Delicious!! I did this in the slow cooker, so easy. Hubby and my 2yr old loved it too. Making it again this week to have in tacos, home made pizzas and Quesadillas! Thanks for the recipe 🙂
After trying it this way I’ll never do any other way. Everyone loved it and wanted the recipe. This was perfect!
Hi Wondering if the chipotle seasoning from Coles will be ok?
Hi Kelly! I don’t know how salty it is unfortunately. You could certainly replace the salt in the recipe with that seasoning, then hopefully add more if it’s not too salty. WHEN will they get chipotle?? It’s SO GOOD!! We are missing out! N x
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
Literally amazing. My husband and I ate them every night until they were gone. So good