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!
I use this recipe all the time and interchange it with chicken or beef. Always a crowd pleaser. Decided to take the spice mix and use it to create a Mexican style chicken and corn soup. Seasoned some chicken thighs in the spice mix and browned them off, then added a capsicum and the 5 cloves of garlic till fragrant, a little more of the spice mix and then added a can of corn kernels, creamed corn and a can of crushed tomatoes to about 5-6 cups of chicken stock, probably a couple tbsps of lime juice and cooked for about an hour or so till it the chicken fell apart. Didn’t have beans or orange juice available to add but was still delicious without it. Added soup pasta before serving and served it with grated cheese and sourcream
Note 5. Mild changes. These instructions are confusing. I can’t really figure them out.
Hi Jeannine, this relates to the chipotle in the recipe which calls for 1 1/2 tbsp of chipotle powder, you’re going to reduce this by 2 tsp so you’ll end up using 1 tbsp of chipotle. You’ll also add 1 tsp extra coriander, plus add 1 tsp cumin. I hope this clears it up! N x
I use this recipe all the time and interchange it with chicken or beef. Always a crowd pleaser. Decided to take the spice mix and use it to create a Mexican style chicken and corn soup. Seasoned some chicken thighs in the spice mix and browned them off, then added a capsicum and the 5 cloves of garlic till fragrant, a little more of the spice mix and then added a can of corn kernels, creamed corn and a can of crushed tomatoes to about 5-6 cups of chicken stock, probably a couple tbsps of lime juice and cooked for about an hour or so till it the chicken fell apart. Didn’t have beans or orange juice available to add but was still delicious without it. Added soup pasta before serving and served it with grated cheese and sourcream
Do you use a 15 or 20ml tbsp?
Hi Elissa, I use a 15ml tablespoon. N x
Best shredded beef recipe i’ve ever cooked. Looking forward to trying the carnitas next (we’ll actually all of your mexican recipes. I think i’ll just make my way through them all!
Wondering if you mean ground Allspice when you refer to All Spice powder? Just want to make sure I use the correct spice. Thank you 🙂
Yes that’s the one Vida! N x
Hi, Nagi! Chipotle powder is not something we can find easily in supermarkets here in France. Can I swop it with some fresh Asian chilies?
Hi Triles! There’s subs in Note 5 🙂 It’s the best alternative for this one, I think! N x
Hi again, Nagi! I couldn’t get Chipotle powder and my smoked paprika tin hasn’t arrived yet. So I went to a gourmet section of a big shopping mall and the sales lady showed me Merkén/Merquén (Chilean smoked chili powder). It is said to be a good alternative to Chipotle powder. Let see how it goes in this recipe. I’ll let you know.
Oh, didn’t see that last line. Thanks, Nagi. Let see if I can get some smoked paprika (not easy to find either). Oh well, I’ll get that from Amazon 😀
If you cut the recipe in half, would the cook time also be reduced?
No. Weather you have 4, 10, or only 2 pieces of meat, each piece takes the same amount of to cool, break down, and become tender. The only way to reduce took time would be cut the meat into smaller pieces. But with that comes an increased risk of the meat drying out, as well as smaller strands after shredding.
Hi Nagi. Can Chipotles in adobo be used in place of the Chipotle powder?
Sure thing! I’d probably use closer to 2 1/2 tbsp of sauce + chillis (chop the chillies). N x
Can I use a pork shoulder for this recipe?
Hi Margaret – you sure can although I usually use pork in my carnitas! N x
The pork worked wonders! For anyone who wants to use pork instead of beef it was still delicious!
Hey Nagi,
Tried this recipe before and it was great! Gonna do this for a dinner party, but one of the guests is intolerant to citrus. Would vinegar be the best substitute for the orange and lime juice?
Totally delicious! Home run flavor! Thank you!
Is this recipe gluten free?
Hi Renae, it sure is (as long as your stock is GF – most are), you can serve in gluten free tortillas too! – N x
Thanks Nagi 🙂
Glad I read the rave reviews because the OJ and Lime juice seemed weird but OMG, this is wonderful. Nice depth of flavor. Thank you, Navi!
Hi
Would it be possible to omit the tomatoes completely due to allergy?
Hi Nanna, it forms the sauce in this recipe you could possibly blend roasted capsicums to make up 400g – I imagine this would work nicely. N x
Absolutely perfect. Reducing that sauce at the end made it so rich. I’ve decided to use it as a tamale filling. Thank you
Can I freeze this? If so, how should I thaw it? I’ve got a huge party coming up and trying to make as much ahead of time as I can. Thanks!
Nagi I absolutely love all of your recipes. They always come out perfect. Thank you
Hi Mary, thaw in the fridge overnight and then reheat 🙂 N x
I loved this!! My kids loved it and are taking all the leftovers for school tomorrow 🙂 I made it with the red Mexican rice you linked. But now I’m dreaming of this meat with some really buttery mash on a white fresh bun buttered well!! I’m going to try that next weekend 🙂
I wonder if the Mexican shredded beef has a savory taste, my preferred. I grew up in Arizona and have never had Mexican food with allspice and cloves and certainly not orange juice. Are these ingredients taste noticed in the finished recipe.
I would like to make it but I must have savory/salty meat. Thanks so much!
I winder if the Mexican shredded beef has a savory taste, my preferred. I grew up on Arizona and have never had Mexican food with allspice and cloves and certainly not orange juice. Are these ingredients taste noticed in the finished recipe.
I would like to make it but I must have savory/salty meat. Thanks so much!
Hi, do you think this recipe would still work with beef mince? I’m making a last minute decision but already have the mince!