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Crock Pot Mexican Shredded Beef Tacos

Crock pot Mexican shredded beef tacos with tender, fork-shreddable chuck roast simmered in a spiced broth for easy, crowd-pleasing fillings. Soft flour or corn tortillas are warmed and stuffed with visible beef shreds, then finished with fresh toppings like cilantro, lime, salsa, sour cream, and diced onion.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 8 hours
rest 10 minutes
Total Time 8 hours 20 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Mexican
Calories: 520
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

beef chuck roast
  • 3 lb beef chuck roast
beef broth
  • 1 cup beef broth
onion
  • 1 onion halved
garlic
  • 6 garlic cloves
cumin
  • 2 tbsp cumin
oregano
  • 2 tsp oregano
chili powder
  • 2 tsp chili powder
black pepper
  • 1 tsp black pepper
salt
  • 1 tsp salt
bay leaves
  • 2 bay leaves
limes
  • 2 limes juice
soft flour or corn tortillas
  • 16 soft flour or corn tortillas
diced onion
  • 0.5 cup diced onion
cilantro
  • 0.25 cup cilantro
lime
  • 1 lime for wedges
salsa
  • 0.75 cup salsa
sour cream
  • 0.5 cup sour cream

Equipment

  • 1 slow cooker

Method
 

Slow-cook the beef
  1. Place beef chuck roast in the slow cooker with beef broth, onion halves, garlic cloves, cumin, oregano, chili powder, black pepper, salt, and bay leaves. Arrange the onion and garlic so they sit around the meat.
  2. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, until the beef shreds easily with a fork. The sauce should look deep and aromatic, and the meat should fall apart when pressed.
Shred and finish
  1. Remove the beef and shred directly in the slow cooker, discarding any large fat pieces. Stir so the shreds soak up the spiced liquid.
  2. Stir in the juice of 2 limes and let the mixture rest for 10 minutes so the flavors settle. You should see the liquid slightly cling to the meat as it cools just a bit.
Assemble tacos
  1. Warm the soft flour or corn tortillas so they become pliable and lightly steamy. Heat until the tortillas flex without cracking.
  2. Fill each tortilla with shredded beef and top with desired toppings: diced onion, cilantro, lime, salsa, and sour cream. Serve with the cooking liquid on the side for dipping if desired.

Notes

Pro tip: shred the beef right in the slow cooker so every strand gets coated with the spiced broth. Refrigerate leftovers in a sealed container up to 3 days; rewarm gently. Freezing is yes—freeze shredded beef and sauce in portions up to 3 months. For a dairy-free swap, use olive-oil lime crema (or skip sour cream) and keep the toppings bright with salsa, cilantro, and lime.