Slow Cooker Mexican Beef {Instant Pot Directions Included}
This slow cooker shredded Mexican beef is incredible! Flavorful and tender, the beef is perfect for enchiladas, burritos, salads, and more.
This easy Mexican shredded beef recipe is straight up one of the most delicious recipes on the planet.
Not only is it simple to make (slow cooker or Instant Pot!), but it freezes well, and can be used a million different ways. Our favorite: ENCHILADAS.
Instant Pot Directions
The pressure cooker directions for this beef are super simple:
- Combine beef and sauce mixture in an Instant Pot or other electric pressure cooker.
- Cook on high pressure for 60 minutes. Let the pressure naturally release.
- Shred the beef into bite-size pieces.
- Simmer the remaining liquid from the Instant Pot and whisk in a cornstarch or flour slurry to thicken.
- Pour some of the thickened sauce over the beef.
Slow Cooker Directions
This shredded Mexican beef is just as easy to make in the slow cooker.
Same story as above: beef and sauce in the slow cooker. Cook on low or high until tender.
And then simmer the remaining liquid on the stovetop and thicken with the cornstarch or flour slurry.
The shredded beef is insanely delicious. I mean, the flavor, is just absolutely through the roof.
The beef is perfect in enchiladas, burritos, quesadillas, chimichangas, salads and more.
Or it can serve as a simple meal served over rice with toppings and some black beans on the side. So, so good.
Enchilada How-To
Most often, I use the slow cooker Mexican beef in enchiladas. It’s my family’s favorite application of the beef (and it makes a really fantastic take-in meal).
To assemble enchiladas:
- Spread some of the leftover sauce on the bottom of a baking pan.
- Roll some of the saucy beef and a sprinkle of cheese in corn or flour tortillas (I usually do some of both since my family is divided when it comes to Team Flour or Team Corn tortillas).
- Place the enchiladas seam-side down in the baking pan.
- Smother with sauce and cheese and bake until hot and bubbly.
These saucy, cheesy, flavorful enchiladas are next-level delicious.
A Very Popular Recipe
This shredded Mexican beef recipe, thanks to it’s simplicity and deliciousness, has garnered thousands of fans over the years.
Christie says: Made these last night. Loved them for dinner, and they were amazing for lunch today! They really are better than the restaurant ones. Thanks Mel for another great recipe!!
Ann B. writes: Rave reviews from the family. Absolutely wonderful! Love the seasoning and the sauce is crazy good. Thank you for another winning recipe!
Lauren says: 100x better than a Mexican restaurant. Best Recipe EVER!
Alanna writes: Amazing! made exactly as stated, but I did strain the sauce before pouring into the skillet, because my salsa was on the chunky side. Made for a family gathering and they disappeared fast!!!
If you have yet to make this recipe, what are you waiting for?? I hope you love it!
What to Serve With This
- The Best Cornbread
- Fresh Fruit
- Roasted Broccoli or Skillet Green Beans
- Black Beans and Rice
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Slow Cooker Mexican Beef
Ingredients
Shredded Beef:
- 2-3 pound boneless chuck or sirloin beef roast
- 2 cups low-sodium beef broth
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup salsa (green or red salsa)
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch or flour
Enchiladas:
- 10 6 or 7-inch flour or corn tortillas
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 ½ cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- Fresh cilantro, optional
Instructions
- For the slow cooker: in a 4- or 5-quart slow cooker, add the beef roast. Whisk together the broth, vinegar, salsa, cumin, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Pour over the roast, cover the slow cooker, and cook on low for 8-10 hours until the beef is tender and shreds easily.
- For the Instant Pot/Electric Pressure Cooker: in a 6-quart electric pressure cooker, add the beef roast. Whisk together the broth, vinegar, salsa, cumin, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Pour over the roast, secure the lid on the pressure cooker and close the valve. Cook on high pressure for 60 minutes. Let the pressure naturally release for 15 minutes (or all the way). Release the remaining pressure.
- Remove the roast and place in a large bowl or shallow pan (like a 9X13-inch pan). Shred into bite-size pieces with two forks.
- Turn the Instant Pot to sauté and bring the liquid to a simmer (for a slow cooker, pour the liquid into a saucepan and bring to a simmer).
- In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch (or flour) with about 2-3 tablespoons water (use a bit more water if using flour). Add the slurry to the simmering liquid, whisking constantly, and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thickened slightly, 4-5 minutes. Add additional salt and pepper to taste, if needed.
- Pour about 1/2 cup sauce in with the beef and toss. Use as desired (instructions for enchiladas below).
- To make enchiladas: Spread about 1/2 cup sauce on the bottom of a 9X13-inch pan.
- Toss the cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses together.
- Spread shredded beef in the center of each tortilla. Sprinkle with cheese. Roll up and place in the pan, seam-side down.
- Spread 1-2 cups of sauce over the top of the enchiladas. Sprinkle with cheese.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes until bubbly and hot. Let the enchiladas rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.
- Sprinkle with fresh cilantro, if desired, and serve.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: adapted slightly from Jamie G (a super sweet blog reader who sent it to me; it’s her favorite meal!)
Recipe originally posted January 2015; updated September 2022 with new photos, recipe notes, etc.
My doggie is currently sitting in the kitchen, staring up at the crockpot, tail wagging.
Mel-you have the BEST recipes! I’m curious what you typically serve for side dishes with this. Other than a salad, I keep coming up with other carb options and I’d prefer to avoid that. Thanks for making my meal planning easy….I just pop onto your blog whenever I’m in a funk or have to figure out what I can make quickly with the ever-present chicken breasts 🙂
Hi Jamie – thanks for your sweet comment! So happy you are loving the recipes. I usually serve anything from fresh fruit to Mexican rice. On casual family night dinners, we also often pull out the cottage cheese or applesauce as a quick and easy side dish. I always serve some sort of steamed or fresh vegetable (like the skillet green beans or roasted broccoli). Does that help?
I forgot to add that I had also frozen the refried beans I made from Mel’s slow cooker recipe. I had frozen them in small one cup quantities. I thawed one bag and spread each tortilla with those beans before adding this meat. I didn’t use all of the beans so I made a little dip with cheese and salsa mixed in and munched on that while the enchiladas we’re baking…Yummmmm!
I love these! I made these quite a while ago but since it’s just my husband and me at home now we had extra. I chose to freeze the meat and sauce separately. After defrosting both I made another small batch of enchiladas last night and they were just as yummy. Looking forward to leftovers for lunch! Thanks for a great recipe, Mel…AND for those of you reading comments….thanks for leaving comments! I like reading thru them before I try a new recipe to see how others felt. 🙂
I recently found your blog and just love it. I’m not a big fan of cooking, but you have so many wonderful and simple recipes – I haven’t made one I don’t like! I have a maybe silly question- when you freeze these- do you still pour the extra sauce over the top? I’m new to freezer meals.
Thanks so much!!
Hi Jessica – thanks for the nice comment! Yes, I pour the sauce over the top before freezing. It make the tortillas a bit softer so if you don’t want that, you could freeze the sauce separately and thaw and pour over the enchiladas before baking (but that’s just a lot of extra work for a freezer meal in my opinion!). 🙂
Oh how I love everything I try on here. These were fantastic!!!
I’m looking for the Shredded Beef Taco’s. It was on Americas test kitchen. It was on PBS. It had ancho chiles,bottled beer,3# boneless beef short ribs,a few or just under/over a dozen spices. It also had a slaw to go with it.
I’m sorry, I don’t think I have that recipe.
I’ve actually never commented on any blog, so this is a first for me, but I just wanted to let you know that I made these last night, and my entire family adored them. They are now on our “re-do” list. Not many recipes make it there.
Thank you!
I usually stay away from enchiladas because you have to buy a bizillion corn tortillas and knowing me I don’t use the leftovers before they go bad…plus my freezer in teensy so thought always need to be put into what goes inside. Anywhoo. I just couldn’t resist trying these. They looked so good! I made two pans and then used the leftover tortillas for your baked chicken taquitos. No leftover corn tortillas (prepared or not, I might add!). Also, we had a couple guys over for dinner and their jaws nearly dropped with how good the enchiladas were. One even commented that he thought he was in a restaurant. Thanks for making me look like a rockstar!
I just made these and they were restaurant quality! I made a few adjustments, I strained the sauce before putting in the cornstarch, and I dipped the corn tortillas in the sauce before I rolled them. So delicious and I love the fact that it’s easy to double and freeze half.
Any chance stew meat could be used for this?? I have a lot of it in my freezer! 😉
I’m sure you could try – the finished, cooked meat will be in much smaller chunks rather than in shreds (like a larger roast would allow).
These enchiladas were so good! I have never loved the taste of the red enchilada sauce in the can that my mom always used for enchiladas. This sauce was so good I could have just eaten the meat and sauce alone. Thank you!
Mel, I recently found your website and am thrilled to say that I have yet to find a recipe that we wouldn’t add to the weekly menu plan.
This slow cooker beef for enchiladas was a huge hit! I did add onions and cilantro to the cooking beef. Then more cilantro to the shredded beef! Cilantro is like the herb of the god’s, right? 🙂 Divine! A new favorite in my house!
This beef is tasty! I turned mine into street tacos. White corn tortillas, white onion and cilantro, and just a little finely shredded Mexican three cheese mix on top. I served pinto beans and fresh salsa on the side. My family went nuts. Thanks again for making me look awesome for my three boys!
Hi Mel!
One thing that always hinders my enchilada making is my addiction to the Costco refrigerated tortillas that you cook through yourself. Do you keep ready made flour tortillas on hand and if so, do you have a brand recommendation for me?
I just love you and your blog. Whipped up some homemade naan this morning to serve with butter chicken! Thanks!
Hi Kristi – good question. I either make and freeze the homemade tortillas that we love or I use the whole wheat or corn/wheat ones from Trader Joes. I also don’t mind the everyday Mission brand ones either.
Beef is so darned expensive that we don’t have it often anymore (and boy, do we miss it!) but if I served just four of these to the two of us and froze the rest in 4-enchilada-sized packages, I could get 4 meals from one chuck roast by serving them with refried beans and another side dish or two. Not bad at all, and since Mexican food is my all-time favorite, being from the southwest, I look forward to making this. It sounds just marvelous! Thanks, Mel! I use more of your recipes than all other bloggers that I follow! You’re a great cook, and please don’t ever stop sharing because I need variety! I came late in life to the slow cooker, and it’s one of my favorite tools now, used 4 or more times per week! Ole!
This was so good!! I used pork instead of beef as that is what I had in the freezer. I couldn’t stop eating the pork while assembling the enchilada.
So YUMMY! Made this tonight, exactly as written, except that I grabbed colby-jack instead of regular Monterrey Jack cheese at the grocery store, so I used all of that instead of the cheddar-jack mix. I’m never going back to canned enchilada sauce! I’m wishing I hadn’t frozen the small pan for later. I could eat the whole pan, right now!
Hi! This sounds great- do you think it would work for a few chicken breasts, too, rather than a beef roast?
I’m not sure – haven’t tried it but it’s certainly worth experimenting. I think the flavors would be good with pork, chicken or beef (but if using chicken, don’t cook it nearly as long – probably 4-6 hours on low is good otherwise the chicken will be dry).
Hi Mel,
I just wanted to let you know I made the shredded beef yesterday to use in tacos (didn’t have time to throw enchiladas together, although I did still thicken the sauce), and my family absolutely loved this! We eat lots Mexican and Tex-Mex, but this has instantly become one of our favorites! The flavor was SO good! Thank you again for another awesome recipe! You’re the best!
After an unfortunately poor first day at a new job, I came home and whipped these up with the meat I had cooked yesterday… And they made my day 100% better! I didn’t see how they could top your chicken enchiladas, but they rivaled them for sure! Rather than pouring enchilada sauce, I usually dip each tortilla in the sauce, and we love the flavor it gives! Thanks for your great recipes 🙂
Wow! Wow! AND WoW! Made these yesterday and they were simply DELICIOUS!! Thank you Mel. My family and I thank you!! Greatly appreciate this as it is a slow cooker recipe….I have to admit we have not had great experiences with slow cooker meals generally… Thank you!!
Made this the other night and it was so delicious! I want to make it again but try the sirloin roast instead of the chuck….It was so tender but I hate dealing with all fat. Would the sirloin get as tender if I cooked it long enough? Thanks!
I agree about the chuck roast, Katie – sometimes they are just too fatty. I use sirloin roasts all the time and with a really long slow cooking time, they work great. They probably aren’t quite as melt-in-your-mouth tender as the chuck roast but still very tender and delicious.
Awesome, thanks! If I double the size of the roast would you double the slowcooker ingredients?
Yep, I’d probably double the other ingredients with double the amount of meat.
I made this last night and my family told me I hit it out of the ball park with this recipe. Don’t worry Mel, I gave you full credit! I used a bison chuck roast and doubled the cumin and chili, onion & garlic powders since my teenagers love lots of flavor. I used the meat for tacos last night and using the rest of it for enchiladas tonight. This recipe is a keeper.
I made this tonight and it was wonderful! It really tasted like something that you would get in a Mexican restaurant. My 2 year old helped add the cheese so even she was happy to eat this dish! My only regret is that I didn’t make a double batch. I will be adding this to my slow cooker recipe rotation. Thanks for the great recipe – I had been craving Mexican and this hit the spot!
If I were to buy a boneless chuck roast, would I trim it up very much? Get rid of
the gristle streaks and fat fat? (no browning either?) before the 8 to 10 hours, or does it all just melt away or be
very visible at shredding time and easy to remove? Picture looks so good.
Yes, I’d probably trim as much fat and gristle off as possible. You could brown it also – it just adds an extra step.
thanks, mel.
Thanks! I’m always looking for ways to use roasts in my freezer that aren’t recipes for well, roasts. My husband said to keep this one on file and my non meat lover 2 year old even ate it. 🙂
Hi Mel, we had a roast hanging out in our freezer that was the perfect size to try this recipe and whoa, was this delicious. By a long shot, the best enchiladas I’ve made at home. We were out all day yesterday and when I came in, it was super easy to take the meat out, thicken up the sauce and throw the meat into the tortillas. I love this meal and can see myself making these over and over. Many thanks for all you do, Mel, seems like you just keep outdoing yourself.
I’ve been trying to come up with a recipe that’s both easy and hearty than I let cook all day this weekend. I do believe this is the winner! Sounds yummy! 😀
Not much of an enchilada person, but I’ve been meaning to experiment more with roasts, and shredded beef roast sounds like a nice change of pace from the ground bison + shredded zucchini tacos I’ve been doing.
Question though: would this work with a pork roast? I generally like pork better, and a hands-off method of making carnitas is right up my alley 😀
Sure! I think a pork roast would be delicious
I have made this a bunch of times with a variety of different pork roasts and is is in my opinion even better than with beef.
Hi Mel! Thank you for such a great site! I’ve been trying your recipes every night the past week and they have been a hit every single night! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Quick question about slow cooker… how many liters is your slow cooker? I have yet to buy one but not sure if I should get the 1.5 or 3.5 liter? Thanks again! xx
Hi Karen – my slow cooker is about 8 years old and I don’t know the exact size but I think it’s right around a 4- or 5-quart. I’d guess you’d be better off going with a 3.5 liter slow cooker.
Hi Mel,
Is the Trader Joe’s salsa you referred to called tomatillo and roasted yellow chili?
Thanks for all you do!
I used their Trader Joe’s Chunky Salsa. Although, I think the one you suggested would be delicious, too.
Since I’m flying solo I’ll be baking one pan to gorge upon and another to freeze. I’ve never known how much (if any) you should allow baked items like this to cool before freezing them. Any suggestions?
That’s a good question, Mike. Whenever I assemble a dish for the freezer, I always let it cool to pretty close to room temperature before covering and freezing so it doesn’t get a thin/thick layer of ice crystals from being frozen while still warm.
My wife works in food safety, so I know from a bacterial perspective you are supposed to refrigerate ASAP. What I’ve done with good success is put the dish *uncovered* in the fridge, let cool for a few hours (or overnight), then lid it up and freeze it.
Thanks for the tip!
I have never had enchiladas. And I keep seeing amazing recipes for them and wondering why not! And this one is in the slow cooker! I am most definitely finally going to get around to trying them. These look amazing! Pinned!
Mel, someone commented they made this with venison but now I can’t find the post. They wrote the cooking time in their comments . Do you know?
Hi Bunnie, I scoured the comments here and on Instagram and can’t find it? I’m sorry! If I come across it, I’ll comment here and let you know.
Yay! I’m so glad you liked it. I have used the leftover meat on quesadillas and nachos. I bet it would also be great in baked chimichangas. Or a cafe rio style salad. I must make these again soon…
This looks and sounds fabulous!! We love anything in the crock pot and pretty much anything Mexican around here!! Does it have to be a cooked salsa or could it be fresh? May be an obvious question, but I don’t like store bought jarred salsas and make my own fresh but have never yet tackled a homemade canned version. Thanks!!
I think you could definitely try out fresh salsa and see how it works!
Hi Mel, I’m just curious-do you prefer corn or flour tortillas when you make this recipe? Thanks for sharing this, it looks delicious!
Good question, Brittany – I actually usually use a combination of both. My kids prefer flour and while I used to, also, I’ve kind of come around to corn tortillas.
Thank you for yet again another delicious looking, easy meal idea! You have yet to let my family down from one of your recipes. I am extra thankful because I recently went from being a stay at home mom to starting my very first full time job and trying to juggle meal ideas which is never easy! Sooo thankful for you!! (My co-workers are also thankful for you and your chocolate chip peanut butter cookie recipe…they were a BIG hit!!)
This look so good. I have a great recipe that also produces a delicious shredded beef that we use for tacos or quesadillas. I will try this one next.
This looks wonderful, and I’m printing recipe now. Thanks for sharing!
This is one of my husbands very favorite meals!
Oooh – this looks perfect for my family. Plus I have a Costco-size package of fresh tortillas that need to be used up!
Thanks so much for all of the great recipes.
We love Mexican food at my house so I can’t wait to try this one!
A slow cooker and freezer friendly meal? Count me in! 🙂 This looks absolutely delicious, Mel!
The popularity of slow cookers has come and gone throughout the years but I have remained loyal to mine, so any good slow cooker recipe is appreciated. This sounds wonderful and I plan to try it this weekend. Thanks so much, and thank you Jamie G.
This looks delish! I love it when I can prepare a meal for now and then have enough to stash in the freezer for later. I will be looking for a sirloin roast (hopefully on sale) today!
BTW, I saw that you were featured in the February/March edition of Taste of Home–SIMPLY DELICIOUS. It was just great to see the family picture, get the brownie batter dip recipe, etc. I got so excited!! You are so good to all of us, sharing your tried and true recipes…and life. I wish for you MUCH SUCCESS and GREAT HAPPINESS!
Thanks, Ruth – it was fun to be part of that Taste of Home issue!
The only meat my husband will eat is chicken. I wonder if this recipe would work the same. Maybe 2lbs chicken breast? We will find out today!
Looks so good. I’ll be making these this weekend!
You had me at freezer meal:) which I happened to have an extra over your naked ziti for a friend in need. Now to get an extra freezer and go freezer meal crazy:) broken dishwasher makes cooking fun fun fun. Lol thanks for your great recipes
You say “slow cooker” and I say YES!
You say “Enchiladas” and I say YES, the sequel. This is basically my most favorite meal ever and I want to eat it RIGHT NOW.
Pinned!
Hi Mel!
This looks delicious! I don’t have a beef roast on hand so I’m going to be brave and try with a flank steak I have that’s in desperate need of saving from the freezer. I’ll report back with my results. Have a great day!
Thank you Mel and super sweet Jamie for sharing! We just put a beef in the freezer this past November. And this out-of-the-home working mom’s heart goes into overdrive finding these kind of delicious recipes for the crock pot. I will come back and comment after making.