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Slow cooker barbacoa beef simmers all day in smoky chipotle, tangy lime, and warm spices until it falls apart. It’s perfect for tacos, burritos, bowls, or nachos, all with that taquería-style flavor at home.
Why I’m Obsessed with This Barbacoa
- Melt-in-Your-Mouth Tender: The slow cooker does all the work, turning beef into juicy, fall-apart perfection. Dry, chewy beef? Not on my watch.
- Better Than Chipotle: My hubby swears this recipe beats his go-to Chipotle order (I agree). It’s restaurant flavor without leaving home.
- Locked in Flavor: I sear the beef before it goes in the slow cooker to give the barbacoa a rich, smoky depth you can’t get by tossing it straight in raw.
Barbacoa Beef Ingredients
How to Make Slow Cooker Barbacoa Beef
Taking the time to get that perfect sear and then cooking low and slow all day pays off big with the most tender, delicious beef barbacoa recipe. Serve this beef barbacoa in tacos, burritos, nachos, quesadillas, the possibilities are endless.
- Sear the Beef: Cut the beef chuck roast into 2 or 3 large pieces. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add the vegetable oil and sear the meat on each side, then transfer it to the crockpot.
- Blend: In a food processor or blender, combine adobo chilies, beef broth, garlic, cumin, oregano, salt, pepper, cloves, and lime juice. Pulse or blend until smooth, then pour the mixture over the meat.
- Cook and Shred: Cover with a lid and then cook on LOW for 8-9 hours or HIGH for 6 hours. Shred the meat with two forks and serve in a tortilla. Garnish with fresh cilantro, chopped red onion, and lime wedges.
Alyssa’s Pro Tip
Low & Slow: For the most tender, fall-apart barbacoa beef, cook it on low. The slow heat breaks down the beef and gives you that melt-in-your-mouth texture and great taste.
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Slow Cooker Barbacoa Beef
Ingredients
- 4 pounds chuck roast
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3 – 4 chipotle peppers in adobo
- 1 cup beef broth
- 4 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 ½ tablespoons ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
Instructions
- Cut 4 pounds chuck roast into 2-3 pieces. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add 2 tablespoons vegetable oil and sear the beef on each side. Transfer to your slow cooker.
- In a food processor, add 3 – 4 chipotle peppers in adobo, 1 cup beef broth, 4 teaspoons minced garlic, 1 ½ tablespoons ground cumin, 1 tablespoon dried oregano, 2 teaspoons salt, ½ teaspoon ground black pepper, ¼ teaspoon ground cloves, and 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice. Pulse until blended and pour on top of the meat.
- Cook on low for 8-9 hours or high for 6 hours. Shred the meat with two forks and turn on warm.
Video
Notes
- In the Refrigerator: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- In the Freezer: Place in a freezer-safe container and store for up to 3 months.
- To Reheat: Microwave the beef barbacoa until it is heated through.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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If you’re looking for more delicious Mexican dishes like my shrimp skillet, yummy street tacos, and Mexican chicken corn chowder, you’ve come to the right place! Make these tasty recipes and let me know your favorites!
I was wondering if I use 2.8 pounds do I have to make the rest of the recipe less??
You don’t have to use less in the slow cooker. It will add a lot of flavor! You can half the ingredients if you would like to balance out the flavors. Hope that helps! XOXO
I think either i cut the meat too large, or my slow cooker just doesn’t get hot enough on low. I was able to fish out a few small pieces last night that were tender, and oh my goodness, it was SO good. I left it on low overnight to continue cooking, and this morning it was fall-apart tender. It was like the freshest, best tasting street taco I’ve ever had. Minus the grease and worry of ensuing tummy trouble! Lol. Wonderful recipe, thank you so much, recipe critic!!!
Can anyone help me? I put this into the crock pot this morning and while it smells amazing!!!! it is not tender, i can’t pull it apart with two forks. Cooked it in low in my westbend cooker for 9 hours. Used brisket. What have i done wrong? It’s almost 9pm and I’m so hungry from the delicious smells!!!
What is served on top of the tacos? Sour Cream or any type of salsa to recommend? Looks delicious and I am making the list of ingredients needed from the store. Would like to try it out tonight!
Cant wait to try this! Sounds yummy & easy. What is the purpose of cutting the meat into chunks at the beginning? More seared surface area?
Thank you for posting and sharing this recipe. I added the diced onions and cilantro after it was done and also added 6 bay leaves while it cooked, mostly for the aroma of barbacoa I had growing up. This recipe is delicious and tastes authentic to me. I’ve never had nor care for chipotle so I can’t speak to that comparison but this barbacoa was amazing. I’m making it again today! Tastes great with a homemade salsa.
That is so great to hear!! I am so happy you enjoyed it!! Thanks for sharing! XO
I just made this tonight, but I put it in my dutch oven and baked it. IT WAS AMAZING! Done in less than 3 hrs on 350. Meat was tender and falling apart, flavor was incredible, just enough kick. I did have to keep an eye on the liquid it was drying out quickly (so maybe I should have put it in the slow cooker after all!) Anyway thanks for the recipe 🙂
This is not barbacoa, what makes barbacoa is not the flavorimgs but the types of meat used should be used. It usually constitutes less common cuts of beef, although a brisket is not very common to most households. Another bastardization of an “ethnic” dish create by Americana to satisfy that which is thougt to be traditional.
I would say that some of these flavorings would make it past most people here, but for those who have enjoyed real barbacoa know this is not a true style of barbacoa…for goodness sake it was originally cooked in the ground almost like roasted pig in other parts of the world, ironically enough there is rumor that these two styles of cooking couldnpossibly be related!
What Makes Barbacoa is not the type of meat its the way its cooked which is slow, but you are correct with it sometimes being cooked underground. But at some point in time most food was cooked on or in the ground
Who cares .. if it’s good then who cares what you call it.. too many people are too danged picky.. I am going to make it and bet it’s a winner
It is delicious! You will love it!
I always welcome new recipe names. I am much more creative with food than I am with words 😉
Alyssa,
I found this recipe a few days ago and as I’m typing this it’s cooking in my Crock-Pot!!! I’m so excited to try it but I was wondering if you could answer 2 questions? Do you happen to know the calories per serving? Do you know if/how many carbs? I’m definitely going to eat it regardless lol but I’m tracking my intake of both. 🙂
You can use My Fitness Pal to see the nutrition info. I think you have to sign up for it, then you click “recipes” then copy and paste this website address. It will import this recipe, and then tell you what is the nutrition info.
My dad who is from Mexico and very picky really
enjoyed this. He makes the meat in the ground which he calls Birria not barbacoa. He makes barbacoa too which is similar this.
Barbacoa in the norteño household that raised me used whatever cuts of meat were least desired for other purposes. Offal always went to other purposes, but punto de pecho, machetas (not machitos) and palanca were what I was usually given to prepare the dish.
Depending on the state of the pantry and the dictate of expedience, canned chipotle chiles were substituted for dry chipotles crushed into a paste of hydrated guajillo or ancho chiles. For each kilo of meat we used a couple of limes cut in quarters. Two missing ingredients are a stick of canela and hojas de laurel, but the rest is pretty much on the spot.
My family operated markets and granjas and there was a carnicero’s table in our kitchen where a number of the market carniceros came to butcher the animals they were selling that day. I know enough from my time at a number of other homes and ranches that barbacoa and other things like carnitas, carne al pastor, lengua, and offal dishes were unique to the kitchen and jefe/jefa that made them. Imagining a single recipe to be authentic or not is folly.
So it is with the Tex-Mex expression of norteño. It suits the cocinero, not the bolillo. I suspect Smarty Arty is one of those who imagines some sort of disconnect between food either side of the Rio Grande. As for the mass produced fast food chains and their homogenized versions of hamburger, stale tortillas and cute names, no Mexican or Texan confuses them.
Thanks for sharing your story, I will most definitely prepare this dish. I found this page and recipe by a great accident, I already have a plan to prepare the Acapulco’s Barbacoa of fernanda berlei from YouTube, but I will have left over meat to prepare this new dish, a question, did you mean to throw the lemon quarters into the meat to cook all together with the other ingredients?
I am so glad that you found my site! I love this recipe and my husband is a huge fan. We love using our slow cooker and enjoy using it often with this meat. We love lime over our meat. XOXO
I love spicy food, but some of guest don’t. how spicy is the adobo in this recipe?
It does have a kick with a lot of flavor. You are welcome to use less of the spicy ingredients so the heat is not as strong and add it to the other part for those who like a little heat. Hope you enjoy this recipe! XOXO
No one in the Hernandez family would consider Tex-Mex fast food authentic. When you’d had Mama Rosa’s Mole Ranchero and Sopa de Arroz, no restaurant can compete, but this recipe looks like it would be delicious. My oldest son was homesick while away at college, so he went to a restaurant and ordered Mole Poblano and was so disappointed. I had to make our recipe and drive 6 hours to feed the boy! We’ve never found a restaurant here in Michigan that served anything like our Mole or (Sopa) rice, for that matter!
i am wondering why you all are on here being so critical of this woman and being rude about her recipe… Dude get a life… I am happily gonna make this for my family and be grateful that i found those recipe to feed my family… Stop being rude and ungrateful…
Wow. What a sweetheart you are.
I had doubts at first … , I love Chipotle :). However taste is amazing !!! just as good or better . I used pressure cooker it was done in 45 min to perfection . Thank you !
Hi, I was just wondering if this is a pretty spicy recipe?
3-4 individual chipotle chili peppes in adobo or 3-4 little cans?
Individual.
Just 3 or 4 chipotles, not cans, chipotle is a very hot chili
I see cilantro in your slow cooker pot in the pictures; did you add that before or after cooking? I’d assume after, but whatdoiknow?
Did you author this recipe?
As a fun fact, authentic barbacoa “is often prepared with parts from the heads of cattle, such as the cheeks. Named barbacoa before being adopted by the name “brisket”. In northern Mexico, it is also sometimes made from beef head, but more often it is prepared from goat meat (cabrito).” Wikipedia. Traditional is so tender and delicious. What Chipotle serves is not even close to the taste it is supposed to have.
Some would call that birria. Different regions
call it different names. Just as an FYI Wikipedia is
not a trusted source for information.
My-laws referred to goat meat as Birria. They’re from Jalisco, Mexico.
It’s in the crockpot now and smells incredible!!!! Can’t wait
I made this last night and it was a hit with the whole family. My husband is taking the last of it into work for lunch today. I was short on time and did not brown the meat like instructed, just cut it into large chunks and threw it in. This will definitely be put into our dinner rotation. Thank you for the great recipe.
oh yummy! This looks amazing!