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!
If you cook this in the crockpot do you need the extra water?
I ended up making this as written for the crockpot. It turned out well but I didn’t love all the tomato flavor, (even though I do love tomatoes!)
I was trying to make shredded beef for tacos like the food trucks do but the beef at the places I go don’t taste like tomato.
I might try it again but without any tomato and see if that helps. Good recipe overall and I’m sure plenty of people will like it but I wouldn’t make it again as written
This recipe is incredible. I often take the easy road and blend all of the ingredients, dump it on the roast and slow cook it. With Nagi’s pico de gallo recipe and cojita cheese it’s so good it almost made me cry!
Wow this is seriously next level taco beef. Delicious! Hard to go back to old spice recipe from this. I used the slow cooker so was easy as to make ❤️
Absolutely delicious!!! Will likely be a staple in my household from now on. Used on tacos and it was scrumptious. Even my picky toddler gobbled hers down. Thank you!
It was so flavorful!!! The sauce was saucey, and even better as a left over. I’m adding this to my staple of dishes❤️
So easy and soooo good! I made tacos with it, topped with cotija, avocado and pickled red onions. Thank you for the recipe!
Absolutely delicious!!
I cheated and used a 40g packet of Taco Spice mix. I also used orange juice from the bottle rather than freshly squeezed.
We had it with quesadillas tonight and it would work with so many different Mexican dishes. It made so much too.
Will definitely be making this again!
We really enjoyed this. We used in tacos and had on nachos. Great flavor, slightly spicy. Next time I will not add as much liquid and cook down a little more. Definitely a keeper.
Forgot to give my 5 star rating! If I could, it would get 10 stars.
I have a favorite “Beef Barbecoa” instant pot recipe but I thought I’d give this one a try – OMG! The gravy this makes is off the chart and the flavor is deep and superior to any other recipe I’ve tried. I just pressure cooked it for 60 minutes and reduced the liquid to 1/2 cup water. We ate it as dinner tacos, then on top of salad, then finished it off with eggs in breakfast tacos. My husband says it’s a real KEEPER!
Could anyone tell me if it’s fresh squeezed orange juice or carton 100% orange juice (which tastes a lot stronger)? Thanks
I used fresh squeezed OJ as that’s what I had on hand. It was just right.
Thanks Deb!
This recipe is always a winner!
We use this as a base for nachos, burritos and enchiladas at least once a fortnight. Delicious!
So good!
A weekly staple in our house. We turn it into burritos, nachos or enchiladas
I love me a low and slow meal, particularly on a busy week. This is a staple in our household and can last multiple meals or freezes well. We love having this in burritos, on nachos and in toasties. A big tick from us!
Absolutely sensational -it made heaps, we did it with tacos and then mexican rice later in the week. Highly recommended!
Easy crowd pleaser
Earned every star. 5/5. I’ve been really frustrated lately with recipes that did not result in fall apart meat. Super dry and no flavour. Tried this one following the oven method: so. Darn. Good.
We tried it in tacos with the stuffings you recommended. It is really awesome. I had thickened the sauce with corn starch because i put less quantity of meat. Yummy ! Thank you so much !
Hi Nagi, would a 4L crockpot be large enough for this recipe? Thank you 🙂