These Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Tacos will be a big hit for your family or the next friendly gathering. With the perfect amount of seasoning and all your favorite toppings, tacos on your Tuesday will be next level, especially since it’s one of our easy slow cooker recipes!
Beef is the essential taco filling in my book. You can also serve up some quick Chicken Street Tacos to cover all the bases! Does your family get tired of the “same old” week after week? I also love to mix things up and turn tacos into a fun pasta dish, making this Dorito Taco Salad, or switching to a warming Taco Soup when the weather turns chilly.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Custom spice level: Grab a packet of seasoning at the store, or mix up your own and vary the spiciness.
- Hands off: The perfect pulled beef tacos need to cook all day to achieve the tenderness we are looking for, meaning it’s only about 15 minutes to assemble and later shred!
- The perfect leftovers: Especially for a smaller family, this recipe makes enough for leftovers. Cook once, eat twice! We love making slow cooker pulled beef too for tacos!
Ingredients Needed
I’ve highlighted a couple of ingredients below with some relevant notes. Aside from this, the ingredients needed are pretty basic.
- Chuck roast – I think this is the best cut of meat for pulled beef tacos because it is affordable, and it has just the right amount of marbling that lends itself well to slow cooking.
- Flour tortillas – I used soft taco shells but you can always add crunch by picking up hard taco shells instead.
- Taco seasoning – make it easy and use a packet, or stir up your own special seasoning.
- Beef broth – We are using just enough, combined with tomato sauce, to make a taco that won’t be sad and dry.
- Toppings – Go wild here! I suggest tomato, avocado, and sour cream. Add cheese if you like!
Substitutions
Sometimes substitutions are necessary because of ingredients that are unavailable or needed for dietary restrictions. Here are some suggestions that can help:
- Taco seasoning – see the notes in the recipe card to whip up your own “packet.” I’ve also easily used Chicken Taco Seasoning on beef.
- Broth – you can use homemade or store-bought. I even like to keep a jar of “broth base” in the fridge as it keeps longer than broth. Just dissolve into water per the directions before using. Beef stock and broth are also interchangeable.
Equipment
Get out your slow cooker! Just about every kitchen has one (or more!) and it’s the perfect way to achieve tender taco meat. A 6-8 quart size is best here, and will accommodate double the meat if you want to go that route. If you’re using the slow cooker function on your Instant Pot, then you’ll also want to keep this pulled pork recipe in the Instant Pot in mind, for a future dinner idea.
How to Make Slow Cooker Beef Tacos
I love these for busy days, especially if everyone is outside the house with work or errands. Take just a few minutes to add everything to the crockpot in the morning, and another few minutes to shred just before serving!
*Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full ingredients list & instructions!*
STEP 1. Prepare the Sauce. Combine the broth, tomato sauce, and garlic in the slower cooker.
STEP 2. Add the roast. Settle the roast into the liquid. Cover and cook on low.
STEP 3. Shred the beef. Use two forks to pull the beef into shreds.
Tip: The cooking liquid should give your shredded beef just the right texture, but feel free to splash in more water or broth if desired.
STEP 4. Season and serve. Stir the taco seasoning into the shredded beef. Add to taco shells and top as you like.
Recipe Pro Tips
- Make your own taco seasoning. This way you know exactly what you are adding to your meal. You can also easily keep things gluten-free if needed, and then you can use it for other recipes like this walking taco casserole.
- Double it up. Doubling this recipe means you can stash half of the meat away in the freezer for a busy night!
- Toppings are key. Red onions are classic, but you can use any variety. Use avocado or swap to guacamole.
Recipe FAQs
I find this cut of beef to be the perfect marriage of affordability and shredability. It’s a lean enough cut so you won’t have floating fat on top of your dish, but there is just the right amount of marbling to tenderize the meat. This is cut that definitely benefits from slow cooking – it will shred incredibly easily after the low and slow cook time.
Grabbing a carton of broth is fine here! But if you do make your own, that definitely adds a lot of flavor. Bouillon cubes or a paste/base also work. Just rehydrate per the instructions on the product before adding to the slow cooker.
You can absolutely make this taco filling ahead of time! It’s perfect for parties. Double the recipe for a larger crowd. It’s key to cool the meat completely before packing up to freeze. You can freeze in bags or containers and then easily reheat before serving. Just save the topping prep until you are ready to serve!
What to Serve with Beef Tacos
Skip plain diced tomato and whip up some fresh homemade Pico de Gallo for topping! Add chips and some Smoked Queso for the ultimate side dish. And since you’ve already got the chips ready, you may as well add Elote Dip.
Storage
Double this shredded beef taco recipe if you’d like! It makes for great leftovers if stored properly. Allow the beef to cool completely before sealing it in an airtight container. You can keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days. Store any prepped toppings in separate airtight containers in the refrigerator.
I like to freeze flat in a gallon Ziploc bag! This allows you to easily break it up from frozen to help in reheating.
To reheat, spread the shredded beef out over a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil. Pop it in the oven at 350 degrees F for about 10 minutes or until heated through. This will give you some great browned bits. Alternatively, transfer the beef to a microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 30-second intervals (stirring between each) until heated through.
Once you have reheated your beef, assemble the tacos as you normally would.
More Taco Recipes You’ll Love
Did you make this? I’d be so grateful if you left a “star” rating below to let me know what you thought! Then, the next time you need a quick and easy recipe, come back to Fantabulosity to browse all of my easy recipes!
Recipe
Shredded Beef Tacos
Equipment
- 1 slow cooker 6-8 quart size
Ingredients
- 4 pounds chuck roast
- ½ cup beef broth
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- ¼ cup tomato sauce
- 1 package taco seasoning see notes to make your own!
- 8 soft tortilla shells
Toppings
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro chopped
- ½ cup sour cream
- 2 avocados sliced
- 1 tomato diced
- ½ red onion diced
Instructions
- Add the beef broth, tomato sauce, and garlic to the base of a 6-8 quart slow cooker and stir to combine. Set the beef roast on top of the liquid.
- Put the lid on the slow cooker and cook on low for 8-10 hours.
- Use 2 forks to shred the beef in the slow cooker.
- Mix together the taco seasoning and shredded beef. Stir well; the juices from slow cooking the beef will mix with the taco seasoning. You can add extra water if needed.
- Divide the shredded beef evenly between 8 taco shells and top with sour cream, cilantro, lime juice, avocado, tomato, and onion.
Notes
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 ½ teaspoons cumin
- ½ teaspoon cayenne
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons oregano
- ½ teaspoons red pepper flakes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
Amy says
Amazing! Our roast was only like 2.5 pounds and enough for a few meals for the 2 of us. Served with quick pickled onions, radishes, cotija cheese, diced tomatoes. And homemade black beans done in the instant pot. We got the little flour tortillas that look like street taco size. Omg. Oh and a squeeze of fresh lime. I also made the taco spice mix according to the recipe and it was the best. I don’t like to buy the packaged stuff cuz of tye preservatives.
Jessica says
Oh Amy, I’m so happy to hear that you liked these slow cooker beef tacos! Thank you so much for taking the time to share what you did and for leaving a review.
Olivia says
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! These shredded beef tacos were super flavorful and so easy to make in the slow cooker!
Kristyn says
YUM!! Love that the slow cooker does all the work!! My family loves these tacos!! You can’t mess them up!
jess says
This really is the easiest way for me to make shredded beef tacos for the whole family! thank you so much for sharing this amazing recipe!