Slow Cooker Mexican Beef Barbacoa

Slow Cooker Mexican Beef Barbacoa is tender, juicy, shredded meat cooked in a slow cooker with lime juice, garlic, onion, chipotles in adobo, and other delicious Mexican flavors. It’s the perfect filling for tacos, burritos, and more!

My family loves Mexican food. We make everything homemade from meats, to rice & beans, and salsas. On the list of our favorites is Slow Cooker Mexican Beef Barbacoa.

Chipotle has a great barbacoa, and you know I like to re-create my restaurant favorites at home, so this is my take on a delicious, tender, easy-to-make barbacoa.

This Mexican shredded beef has a great smoky flavor from the chipotle peppers in adobo sauce as well as some smoked paprika.

One thing this meat is not, dry. This meat is so juicy and moist, you can see it swimming in its flavor bath in the pictures.

What is barbacoa?

Barbacoa can mean five different things to five different people.

Depending on where you live, barbacoa can be an animal roasting underground or it could be meat cooking long and slow on the stovetop or in a slow cooker.

It also varies by what type of meat is used.

It can be goat, lamb, beef, and even body parts not typically found on American menus (the head, cheeks), it all depends on what is popular in that region.

One thing is for sure, barbacoa should be cooked low and slow and end up super tender and juicy.

Ingredients needed to make this recipe (scroll down to recipe card for complete recipe):

Beef roast
Onion
Tomato
Chipotles in adobo
Garlic
Lime juice
Canned green chiles
Beef broth
Cilantro (garnish)
Spices (cumin, smoked paprika, chili powder, salt, pepper, bay leaf)

How to make Slow Cooker Barbacoa:

Just brown the meat in a pan and then throw it in a slow cooker with all the other ingredients.

2. Let it cook in the slow cooker for about 6-8 hours.

3. Shred the meat, and you’ll have a delicious multi-purpose, recipe-ready meat that’s perfect for all your Mexican meals!

How to serve barbacoa?

We love to eat this Beef Barbacoa in a burritos with salsa, sour cream, and shredded cheese.

Barbacoa makes a great filling for:

Nachos
Quesadillas
Tacos
Use the leftovers for breakfast the next day as machaca.
Burrito bowls (shown below)

(Below) A homemade, Chipotle-style burrito bowl with a bed of The Best Mexican Rice topped with barbacoa, shredded cheese, sour cream, hot sauce, and pickled jalapenos!

Have leftover Barbacoa?

Use the leftover meat to make machaca with eggs for breakfast!

To do this, sauté onion (and bell pepper if desired) in a skillet with a little oil. I also add jalapeno.

Add the leftover meat to the pan and heat through. Then add your scrambled egg mixture and cook until done.

Machaca is great for breakfast tacos or burritos!

Is Mexican Beef Barbacoa spicy?

This recipe uses canned chipotles in adobo, which are smoked and dried jalapeno peppers that get canned in a spicy, tomato-based sauce. They are pretty spicy!

In addition to giving this meat a wonderful spiciness, it also adds a fabulous smoky flavor too.

Feel free to reduce the chipotles in adobo or omit them if you are looking for a milder meat.

How long is barbacoa good for?

Keep leftover barbacoa in an air-tight container in the refrigerator and use within 3-4 days.

Looking for more Mexican recipes? Here are some favorites:

NOTES:

My family likes spicy food, so the 2 chipotles in adobo is perfect for us. If you want a milder version, use only one chipotle. Besides spiciness, they provide a great smoky flavor that I find essential in barbacoa.