Slow Cooker Barbacoa

The main way I cook beef roasts is by making Slow-Cooker Barbacoa. It's a flavorful, slightly spicy shredded beef that's incredibly easy to make, and it gives plenty of leftovers!

If you've never had barbacoa, you're missing out, but you can fix that with this recipe! You only need one special ingredient - a can of chipotle chiles with adobo sauce, which adds a smoky, slightly spicy flavor.

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Jump to:

• What is Barbacoa? A Brief History
• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Instant Pot Instructions
• Serving and Storage
• Recipe FAQ
• Other Slow Cooker Meals
• Other Mexican(ish) recipes
• 📖 Recipe

Barbacoa couldn't be easier to make. You can make it in the oven but it's even easier and hands-off with a slow cooker. If you don't plan ahead, you can even make it in the Instant Pot (affiliate link).

Best of all, this fix-it-and-forget-it recipe will feed a crowd. You can have a big taco party with this, or feed your small family burrito bowls for a week.

What is Barbacoa? A Brief History

My favorite topping when we order burritos at Chipotle is their barbacoa, or shredded beef. I'm thrilled to be able to make it at home, with hardly any work! But what is it?

Originally, barbacoa simply meant barbecue, as cooking technique. It's where the English language got the word. When Europeans came to the Americas, they co-opted the word and labeled the practice of roasting meat over fires in holes in the ground barbecue.

That said, barbacoa isn't barbecue. It's a roasted (or steamed) meat, usually beef, goat, or lamb. Per this article from the Spruce Eats, FYI if you travel: in Mexico, it may have been cooked along with organ meats.

Not just abroad, though. When I had Mexican food in Panhandle Texas with my family, I got to try more-authentic barbacoa, which was made from cow cheeks. It has a much softer texture, a velvety mouth-feel thanks to the collagen in it. Not bad if you like that kind of texture. That said, I'm picky and don't like super-soft meat; it wasn't my favorite. The flavor was great, though.

The US is affluent enough (and squeamish enough) to only use roasts and steaks, instead of including organ meat. And we in the United States are big on beef, and so that's what our (and Chipotle's, and my) barbacoa is made from.

Ingredients

My barbacoa takes beef and a few seasonings, most of which you've already got!

• Beef
• Canned chipotles in adobo sauce
• Minced garlic
• Cumin, oregano, onion powder
• Salt and black pepper
• Lime juice

You'll start with a 3 pound beef roast. Choose something that holds up to long cooking. Look for chuck roast, shoulder, or bottom round roast. You don't need anything expensive. I've used London Broil-cut beef when it's on sale; however, it's a little dry if not submerged in the liquid.

The special ingredient is a can of chipotles in adobo sauce. Chipotles are smoked and dried jalapeno peppers. These are then preserved in vinegar-based adobo sauce. You use both the chipotles and sauce, and I can't think of an adequate substitute for either. (You can use the leftovers to make my Smoky Cashew Dip!)

You can use fresh or jarred minced garlic. Use garlic powder in a pinch. Substitute extra garlic or garlic powder for onion powder if you don't have it.

Ground cumin and dried oregano are the primary spices. Be sure they're fresh. Use Mexican oregano if you can find it. Salt and pepper round out the flavors.

Lime juice provides acidity and more flavor; bottled is fine. We also add a little water to keep the beef from drying out as it gets started cooking.

Instructions

I adapted this from barbacoa recipe from The Gingham Apron. It took pantry ingredients, which I love, but I transformed it into a slow cooker recipe since I don't cook roasts in the oven. I love how this is a fix-it-and-forget-it recipe, where you just toss everything together and let it cook all day!

I recommend using a smaller, 3- or 4-quart slow cooker or Crockpot, rather than a 6-quart model. Both work, but the smaller one will keep the beef more moist since the liquid level is higher.

Hint: If your piece of beef is long and doesn't fit in the bottom of the slow cooker, cut it into pieces so that it cooks in the liquid. Beef cooked outside the liquid can become a little dry, but will still be tasty when shredded and submerged in the liquid.

Instant Pot Instructions

You can absolutely make barbacoa in the Instant Pot (affiliate link)! Just combine all your ingredients and use the meat setting on high.

If you have a flat, long piece of meat (like a London Broil cut), I recommend you cut it into chunks before cooking it in the Instant Pot, so it's not folded up or touching the sides of the pot where it will scorch.

Be aware, though: your sealing ring will hold on to the flavor of the chipotles (and garlic and onion, too). If you use your Instant Pot for something other than savory cooking (like making rice or yogurt, as I do), purchase a spare pack of extra sealing rings (affiliate link) in different colors to keep the flavors separate. I've found them immensely helpful.

Serving and Storage

When you shred the beef, discard any large chunks of fat that you find. Submerge the beef in the liquid, and stir. Break up the chipotles if you like your food spicy; otherwise, you can just discard them or avoid them.

Store leftovers in a glass container in the refrigerator. (A plastic container will absorb the flavors.) After it's cold, you can pull out and discard some of the excess fat that is along the top. Reheat the leftovers gently.

Serve the shredded beef along with a little of its liquid. I usually eat barbacoa alongside black or pinto beans, and sometimes corn. You can also eat it in soft tacos; I recommend smaller corn tortillas over flour ones.

I also love using it as a topping for burrito bowls. When I know we have a busy week, I cut tomatoes and lettuce over the weekend, and make barbacoa during the week so we can have barbacoa burrito bowls with very little work on my part.

For a build-your-own-burrito or taco party, you'll want:

• Beans. Make a pot of beans in another slow cooker; 1 pound dried black beans cooked with 1 teaspoon salt works well. Canned, drained black or pinto beans are also fine as a side.
• Rice or quinoa.
• Frozen corn.
• Tomato and cilantro, perhaps bell peppers or lettuce.
• Shredded Mexican blend cheese, for Alex and Amelia.
• Corn or flour tortillas; I prefer small corn ones.

If you get tired of burrito bowls or tacos, you can add the leftovers to my Mexican Soup recipe. It'll be a spicy, flavorful addition!

Other Slow Cooker Meals

Other Mexican(ish) recipes

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📖 Recipe

[Originally published October 8, 2019. Rewritten and revised August 30, 2025.]