Mexican Shredded Beef

You can use this slow-cooked fall-apart tender, juicy, and flavorful Mexican shredded beef in all of your favorite Mexican food recipes. This crockpot beef recipe cooks all day for an easy weeknight meal or Sunday football party. Freeze the leftovers to make dinner later in the month.

5 from 2 votes

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Course: beef recipe, crockpot recipes, Main Course

Cuisine: American, Mexican

Keyword: crockpot mexican beef, mexican shredded beef, shredded mexican beef, slowcooker mexican beef

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 10

Total Time: 10 15

Servings:

Calories: 204kcal

Author: Organize Yourself Skinny

Ingredients

2 onions chopped
6 garlic cloves minced
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup chili powder
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 15 ounce can tomato sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
1 3-pound boneless beef chuck roast
Juice of 1 lime
salt and pepper

Instructions

Mix the onions, garlic, spices, and oil into a microwave-safe bowl. Place the bowl in the microwave and heat on high for 5-6 minutes. The onions and garlic should be softened and the ingredients should be aromatic.
While the aromatics are cooking place the chuck roast into the insert of the slow cooker.
Stir the tomato sauce and sugar into the bowl after the garlic and onions finish cooking. Pour the sauce over the chuck roast.
Tightly place the cover on the slow cooker and set the cooking time to 8-10 hours on low or 6-7 hours on high.
Place the beef in a bowl and shred. Toss with 1/2 - 1 cup or more of the braising liquid left over in the slow cooker. This adds flavor and will keep the meat moist. Stir in the lime juice.
Add salt and pepper to taste. Start with 1 teaspoon of both salt and pepper. Then add more, if needed.

Notes

Meal Prep Instructions

There are four different ways to make-ahead this shredded Mexican beef recipe.

Prep the ingredients the night before

Put all of the ingredients into the slow cooker insert and it in the refrigerator. In the morning, place the insert back into the slow cooker and continue with the recipe.

Make the recipe entirely and store it in the refrigerator.

If you want a quick heat and eat dinner, then make this shredded beef ahead of time. This recipe keeps great in the fridge for up to 4-5 days. When you’re ready to use it in a recipe, heat it in the microwave and then continue with the recipe.

Freeze into recipe-ready portions.

Shredded beef freezes well for future recipes. I recommend freezing into 1 ½ - 2 cup portions. Store shredded meat in quart-size plastic freezer bags.

One of my favorite ways to freeze beef is using 1-cup Souper Cube trays.

After the meat is frozen then remove the blocks and place them all into a labeled freezer bag.

Prepare a slow cooker freezer kit

Follow the recipe instructions but instead of placing the ingredients into the slow cooker, put everything into a labeled gallon freezer bag instead.

Thaw the slow cooker freezer kit in the fridge before adding the ingredients to the slow cooker. Please note, this can take a couple of days. Then, continue with cooking instructions.

Nutrition