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Slow Cooker Beef Barbacoa

posted by Liz Berg on August 3, 2014 (updated 9/26/22)

This Slow Cooker Beef Barbacoa is an easy Mexican-inspired entree, flavored with chiles, garlic, and spices, that will win your family over!

A chuck roast is seared and then slow-cooked in a crockpot with a flavorful, homemade adobe sauce. The Beef Barbacoa Recipe creates delectable shredded beef to serve with your favorite taco fixings or in your favorite Tex Mex recipes!

Slow Cooker Beef Barbacoa shredded in front of a white tray of toppings

Table of Contents hide

1 Why You’ll Love

2 How to Make

3 Recipe Tips

4 Frequently Asked Questions

5 You May Also Like:

6 Slow Cooker Beef Barbacoa Recipe

Why You’ll Love

Recipes for this spiced-up, slow-cooked beef in the crockpot sounded fabulous.
Using a slow cooker is perfect for our dreadfully hot summer weather, plus a nice change from my simple and frequent summer entree, Soft Shell Beef Tacos.
After only a half-hour in the slow cooker, I knew this dish would be a hit. The aroma in my kitchen was definitely tantalizing. I greeted Bill with, “You’re going to love dinner tonight,” when he arrived home from work. I was overly anxious to dig in after being tempted all day long and so was he.

How to Make

First, make the adobo sauce by combining vinegar, lime juice, chipotles, tomato paste, garlic, cumin, oregano, black pepper, salt, and cloves in a blender or processor on high speed until smooth.
Remove any excess fat from the roast and then cut it into a few chunks.
Pour oil into a frying pan and sear all sides of the roast on medium-high heat until browned.
Place meat into Crockpot and pour adobo sauce over meat.
Pour in the chicken broth and add bay leaves and onions.
Cook on high heat for 6 hours or on low all day.
While still in the Crockpot, shred the meat with two forks and turn the heat to warm.
Serve with tortillas and a variety of fixings when ready.

Overhead view of Slow Cooker Beef Barbacoa in a white bowl with toppings on a white tray.

Recipe Tips

A well-marbled chuck roast provides fabulous flavor and is super tender as it cooks slowly. This is not a cut to grill as it needs time and liquid to break down the fibers and tenderize.
Make sure to have a flavorful liquid along with the chuck roast as the longer slower cooking time allows the seasonings to infuse into the meat.
Chiptole peppers in adobo sauce are a key ingredient. Chipotles are dried, smoked jalapenos, so there will be some heat. Adobo sauce is a slightly sweet, tangy red sauce.
PRO-Tip: If you’re worried about this dish being too spicy, use only two peppers instead of 4. Note that the peppers hold more heat than the sauce.
Freeze your leftover chipotles to use in future recipes.
Chuck roast has a lot of pockets of fat, which provides wonderful flavor. Cut away larger pieces before putting the chuck into the slow cooker.
Also, when you shred the cooked beef, remove any visible fat.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Beef Barbacoa?

Beef Barbacoa originated in the Caribbean, where beef, lamb, or goat, was slow-cooked over an open fire. This is where “barbecue” originated! The Spanish word Barbacoa translates to Barbecue in English.
Since cooking over an open fire is rather impractical for home cooks, using a slow cooker with similar seasonings, including chiles, garlic and spices is much more approachable. This beef barbacoa is the perfect filling for your tacos, burritos, and enchiladas. Or use it as a topping for a taco salad instead of ground beef.

What Cuts of Beef are Best for Barbacoa?

Any cut of beef that’s good for slow cooking works well for barbacoa. It should have a lot of connective tissue like a chuck roast, brisket, or even beef cheeks.

What Are the Advantages of Using a Chuck Roast?

And I’m a huge fan of chuck roast for slow-cooked stews and this slow cooker Beef Barbacoa. The flavor of this cut is marvelous as the extra fat makes it tender and tasty. For stews, a chuck roast is always my top choice.