Barbacoa Beef (Slow Cooker)
This slow cooker barbacoa is an easy and delicious protein to add to burrito bowls, or make into tacos! The barbacoa is paleo, whole30 compliant, and can be adapted to be AIP.
What is Barbacoa?
Barbacoa is a Mexican meat dish that’s made from slow-cooked meat that’s tender and shredded to perfection. It’s most often made with beef in American restaurants, but it can also be done with lamb or other meats. It’s made with herbs like oregano, bay leaf, and fresh cilantro, as well as beef broth, lime juice, and cumin and chilies (though you can adapt it to be AIP)
This beef barbacoa is a perfect protein for batch cooking! You can easily make it on the weekend and serve in a variety of different ways like tacos, burrito bowls, or over nachos. You can easily adapt this simple protein to make it paleo, AIP, whole30, and keto depending on how you serve it. And the best part? It’s simply made in the slow cooker!
How to make Barbacoa in the Slow Cooker
- Slice the roast. Slice the chuck roast into 6-8 large chunks, trimming any excess falt and removing any bone.
- Add to the slow cooker Set the roast pieces at bottom of the slow cooker and add the garlic, onion, and seasonings and mix well to evenly coat the chuck roast. Pour in the broth, lime juice, and apple cider vinegar.
- Slow cook for 6-8 hours on low.
- Shred and serve!
What do you serve with barbacoa beef?
- Serve it with tortillas and topping to make tacos.
- Serve it over rice or cauliflower rice and your favorite burrito bowl toppings.
- Add the barbacoa to chips to make nachos.
How to make Barbacoa tacos
- Use a tortilla of your choice. You can use a lettuce wrap to keep it low carb and whole30. Or, you can use siete tortillas for a grain-free option, or make homemade cassava tortillas for an AIP option.
- Add toppings. I like adding toppings like pickled red onion, radish, cilantro, and avocado.
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Barbacoa Beef (Slow Cooker, Paleo, Whole30, AIP)
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Ingredients
- 3 lb beef chuck roast
- 1 small onion, diced
- 5-6 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp black pepper, omit for AIP
- 2 tsp cumin, omit for AIP
- 2 tsp chipotle powder, omit for AIP - see notes
- 3 bay leaves
- ¾ cup beef broth
- ¼ cup fresh lime juice
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
For serving
- 2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
- Fresh lime wedges
- Diced avocado
- Diced red onion
Instructions
- Slice the chuck roast into 6-8 large chunks, trimming any excess falt and removing any bone.
- Set the roast pieces at bottom of the slow cooker and add the garlic, onion, and seasonings and mix well to evenly coat the chuck roast.
- Pour in the broth, lime juice, and apple cider vinegar.
- Cover the slow cooker and set to high for 4 hours or low for 6-8 hours until the chuck roast easily shreds with a fork.
- Remove the bay leaves from the slow cooker. Allow to cool slightly before carefully shredding the barbacoa with two forks.
- Add fresh cilantro and other toppings to serve with burrito bowls or tacos.
Notes
This recipe was published in 2019 and updated in 2022.
Made this yesterday and already shared it with several people. It was so delicious. I had it over salad and my husband made wraps. Thanks for a great recipe! It’s very versatile and I’ve thought of so many things to do with this.
Yay, so glad you both enjoyed it!!
Wait! Where is the description of the ingredients? That is my favorite part of your recipes. I wanted to see what you said about the chipotle.
This is sooooo good! I make it at least once a month!
So glad you love it!!
We buy our beef from a farmer. I’m always looking for a great recipes to use the cuts we are bored with. Can’t wait to make this for taco night.
How could I make this in the instant pot? How would the instructions change?
I haven’t tried but I would search up other Barbacoa IP recipes and basically just copy that cooktime but with these ingredients!
I make this all the time now. I do it in my Instant Pot as the other posters suggested. I like it because my husband is a picky eater, and with this we can each make what we want with it. That means for him, tacos or nachos, and for me, a cauliflower rice bowl with avocado, cilantro, olives and salsa.
Hi! I can’t find horseradish powder anywhere in local or chain stores in Atlanta. Where do you purchase yours? A quick google search to find it also said it’s difficult to find AIP horseradish powder. Is that true? I’ve seen it listed in several of your recipes and would like to try it! Amazon has a few options but I’m unsure if they’re good quality.
I get it on Amazon 🙂 You can always use fresh horseradish too and just adjust to taste.
Just made this tonight for dinner…Delicious!
I made it in the instant pot. Sprayed the pot and seared the meat 5 min. on each side..Mixed spices together and rubbed on both sides…added garlic, onions, bay leaves, broth, lime juice and vinegar. Covered & cooked for 1 hour. Natural release for 45min. Scooped out meat and shredded…returned meat to pot and sautéed until the broth boiled down to almost nothing. Served with cauliflower rice and topped off with red onions and cilantro. (Had it with Tortilla Chips too).
SO FREAKING GOOD!!
Thank you!
Thank you so much for sharing, Michelle! Sounds amazing!
Did you use the pressure cook setting for one hour to cook it? And then what setting did you turn it to for the natural release? I just got an instant pot and this will be my first recipe using it! Thank you!
Have made this recipe multiple times! Freeze in small portions for Budda bowls. I use a pressure pot and cook for about 70 mins. This is spectacular!!! I use a two pack of eye of round roast from Costco. Economical, super lean and delicious!!
Can you make this in Instant Pot?
I haven’t tried it, but I would sear it first and then cook it on high pressure for an hour 🙂
Have you tried making it in the instant pot? I know my pot has the option to slow cook but I rather just do the pressure cooker & faster. Any advice ? Recipe sounds delicious
I haven’t tried it, but I would sear it first and then cook it on high pressure for an hour 🙂
Thank you ☺️