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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.
More Mexican-Inspired Recipes
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!
Is there an option for quick cooking?
Yes, you can cook this over the stove top within 2 hours of simmering together.
I am in love with this recipe! Never gonna let it go. Thanks for posting it. I gonna take some to work for lunch.
My daughter cannot have garlic, could you cook this without?
Yes, you can omit the garlic for this recipe.
I’ve gotta tell you. I live in Mexico and have been searching for where to buy beef barbacoa for weeks. Then I found your recipe. I whipped it up in 5 minutes while I prepared for bed last night then left in in my Aroma rice cooker on low for 6 hours. This is the best barbacoa I’ve ever had. Thank you so much!
If I were gonna make like street taco’s with this, how do you suggest I put them together and with what toppings ? Thank you
The normal street food toppings for barbacoa are lime, onion, cilantro, salt, and if you’re brave, spicy salsa. Nothing more, nothing less. Don’t overdo the toppings, the main star has to be the meat. And I suggest that you put a bit of the juice that was left in the pot into the tacos, to make them even softer.
We love this recipe! Better than Chipotle, which is hard to beat! ?. We made our own burrito bowls! Homemade pressure cooker black beans, cilantro rice, this amazing recipe and toppings!!!!
We did use brisket and for sure would again next time!
We freeze everything to make future bowls when we crave it!
You must try this recipe!!!!
This recipe is AMAZING!! Hands down one of my go-to recipes. Our family and friends rave when I make this and I have given the recipe out to so many people. Most compliments I have ever gotten on a meal. Oh and I LOVE the taste myself. No edits or altercations to the recipe were needed!
Delicious! Made it last Saturday for some friends and we all enjoyed it. Thank you!
Great recipe. My son Makes this often for his fellow firefighters at the station. Some advice for those who find a chilies in adobo too spicy and overpowering one time when I didn’t have any in the pantry are used a can of Rotel tomatoes with green chile and a few dashes of liquid smoke to add the smoky flavor that you get from the chipotle in adobo and it was great and you don’t get the overpowering heat that you can get from the chipotles and is a great alternative if you don’t have the chipotles in adobo.
Super easy, tender and flavorsome! I had a 1.3kg brisket which I cut into 4 pieces to sear/seal. Once cooked, I removed and shredded with a fork then put it back in with the juices on high for about 30 mins. Perfect tacos and burritos. Thank you!
This recipe is so Bomb. Highly recommend! Amazing flavor. So many tasty dishes to add this meat to.
Me and my honey love spicy food so I add a whole can of chipotles in adobo and a dried pepper like guajillo, depending on how spicy we want the dish. And more garlic. I found that deglazing the skillet with a some red wine (after the meat has been braised) adds another fabulous layer of flavor and gets all the tasty bits out of the pan. I cannot say enough good things about this recipe! Love it. Thanks Recipe Critic!!
Made this for last night dinner. It was so good, with a couple of but’s.
The recipes shares to cut the brisket into large chunks. My chunks were not large enough as the shred was to small. This resulted in a low cook time of 6 hours vs. 8.
A bit to spicy for my family. I added a bit of brown sugar and extra lime. I then made a sauce to top the taco with, same as the Mexican Street Corn, and that cut the head and was amazing.
Brisket at my local market was $9#. As this is all slow cooker, I’d like to find a beef that cost less and still gives me a great chunk / shred.
I’ll make this again as my home smelled amazing all day long.
On a side note, we served this with homemade Naan that my wife makes. Seriously great dinner.
chuck roast works and is usually much cheaper than brisket
I tried this recipe and it was wonderful !!
I am going to use the left over sauce for a soup base.. it’s delicious!!
I used petite sirloin… Kroger’s (Fred Meyer in our area)had it for 2.99 #..it is so tender and moist when used in a soup or stew!!
Take the seeds out of the chipotles and add a lot of garlic. This will help with the spicy part. And the flavor is amazing!
Made this over the weekend and it was was great! Followed the recipe and was delicious! Thanks fro sharing all your wonderful recipes! Looking forward to the leftovers tonight, there wasn’t much left fed a family of 6!
Jen
Complements on your recipe choices, seasoning and first hand advice.
I seldom use a slow cooker anymore. And I don’t skillet fry nearly as much as I used to.
I have a 6 qt. Instant Pot. And a Cooks Essentials 5+ qt. Air Fryer, as well as a Kitchen Aid counter top convection oven. These have markedly changed my cooking. Love them.
And I much appreciate it when recipes include alternative choices for cooking i.e. your corned beef and cabbage hot pot alternative as opposed to your barbacoa recipe which doesn’t. There are increasing millions of us out here like this. Thanks
I have health issues so cannot cook any more. Please remove my email address from your list. Thanks Shirley Bair
Can I sear the roast whole and put in crockpot to slow cook instead of cutting in small pieces?
Yes, that will work great.
Just came across this recipe and I’m planning to make it this week. Just curious what most people are using brisket or chuck roast??? I will update post with my review after I have made it.
Either type of meat is best.
Love this recipe. I’ve tweaked it a tiny bit to suit our taste, but the base recipe is still fantastic. I add cayenne pepper to spice it up, more garlic and more beef broth (I like a lot of liquid in mine, almost covers the meat). I also add a small can of tomato paste, not sure why I do this, but it turns out so good. I sometimes add a couple tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, I think that tenderizes the meat a bit more (although it doesn’t really need it). My boyfriend and I enjoy this at least once a month, it’s our favorite.