These shredded beef tacos are flavor-packed made with a roast and a few Mexican pantry staples. Slow cook until tender, then just shred and pile into a tortilla with all your favorite toppings!
I love combining the ease of the slow cooker with Mexican recipes. Other favorites include slow cooker carnitas, taco lasagna and green chili burritos!
Table of Contents
Mexican Shredded Beef Tacos
I’m all about easy slow cooker meals and these crockpot shredded beef tacos are a favorite! When I don’t have hours to make my beef birria recipe and it’s not grilling season for carne asada tacos, these are our favorite for taco Tuesday!
Top your slow cooker shredded beef tacos with pico de gallo and serve on a regular hard shell tacos or soft flour tortillas. Try the shredded beef for burritos and chimichangas as well! It’s a 5-ingredient crockpot meal that you can prep in the morning and it’s ready to go by dinner.
How to Make Shredded Beef Tacos
Scroll down for the printable recipe.
- Add roast to crockpot. Place the beef in the slow cooker and pour the water in. Then season the meat with salt and pepper. Add in the salsa, green chiles, chili powder and cumin.
- Cook. Cover with the lid and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, or until the meat is tender and will easily shred.
- Shred. Remove roast from crockpot and discard any fat that’s on the meat. Use two forks to shred the beef and then place back in the slow cooker with the juices. Turn to the warm setting until ready to serve.
Instant Pot Version
For a quicker alternative, try making this easy Instant Pot shredded beef. It gets equally as tender and delicious, but in a fraction of the time!
Favorite Toppings
Once the beef is shredded, it’s time to begin assembling your tacos! Place the meat inside a taco shell and then add any of the delicious toppings below. My favorite topping is fresh pico de gallo…I love using fresh ingredients from my garden to make it!
- Pico de gallo
- Cilantro
- Jalapenos
- Guacamole
- Squeeze of lime juice
- Pickled onions
- Drizzle of cilantro lime dressing
Cooking Tips
- Crockpot liner. Another reason to love the slow cooker…using a liner! No extra dishes and a super easy clean up.
- Best cut of beef. Just like my barbacoa recipe, I use boneless beef chuck roast. It gets perfectly tender and juicy in the crockpot and is super easy to shred.
- Spicy. If you like heat, feel free to add more chili powder, green chiles or a sprinkle of red pepper flakes.
- More flavor. You can add in some minced garlic and chopped onions for even more flavor.
- Low and slow. Chuck roast needs to cook low and slow, so make sure you put the meat in the crockpot in the morning so that it can cook all day. Don’t try to cook it on high speed for less time…the meat won’t be as tender and juicy.
- Repurpose leftovers. This shredded beef is so versatile…you can use leftovers to make a totally new dish! Use it for sheet pan nachos, beef enchiladas or as a filling for taco pockets.
Freezing Leftovers
This shredded beef is perfect for freezing!
Simply place any leftover meat in a zip top bag to freeze for later. I like to write the date on the bag with a permanent marker. Then store in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Let thaw in the fridge overnight, or set at room temperature for a few hours until no longer frozen. If I’m in a pinch, I’ll run the bag under warm water to thaw the meat faster.
Love taco recipes? These ground beef tacos and my carnitas tacos recipe are both family favorites.
Other Types of Tacos
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Shredded Beef Tacos
Ingredients
- 4-5 pounds boneless beef chuck roast
- ½ cup water , or beef broth
- 1 cup salsa
- 4.5 ounce can chopped green chiles
- 2 teaspoons chili powder , more if desired
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
S&P, to taste
Optional: flour tortillas or shells, pico de gallo, sour cream, cilantro
Instructions
- Place the chuck roast into a slow cooker. Pour water into the crockpot and then salt and pepper the roast.
- Add the salsa, green chiles, chili powder and cumin. Place the lid on top and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or until it easily shreds.
- Remove roast from crockpot and take off any fat. Shred the meat with two forks and then place back in the slow cooker. Turn to warm until ready to serve.
- Place shredded beef inside a taco shell and then add your favorite toppings.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
These are so delicious! I love how tender the beef is. I almost didn’t have leftovers they went so quickly!
These tacos were absolutely delicious!
Going to fixing this one quite often!! Easy and delicious!
The flavors in the recipe were out of this world, loved it! Made it for taco tuesday and am going to again next week
Thank you for this recipe! We made it and loved it! I served our with some guac and homemade salsa!
I’m so glad you loved it! Thanks for leaving a comment and review. :)
This meat was so flavorful and delicious! My whole family loved it!
I’m so glad your family loved it! :)
Crock pot tacos? Count me in! Pinning and adding to my menu for the week. Thanks for this!
Crock pot meals are my favorite during the week! :) Hope you enjoy these tacos!
Looks so good. Just may be what’s for dinner tonight. Thanks
Just might make this for dinner tonight! Pinned!
This looks so simple…must give it a try:)
For whatever reason, I don’t make much homemade pico. I’ve been inspired to give it a go again – thanks!
Love how you flavored these with those chiles, they look absolutely incredible!!