This smokey crockpot barbacoa is packed with chipotle, garlic, lime, and clove flavor in every bite! It’s a set-it-and-forget-it meal that’s great for meal prep, put the barbacoa in tortillas, over rice or on a sandwich!
This spicy crockpot barbacoa recipe will bring bold, smokey Mexican flavors to your dinner table. Slow-cooked, tender beef is cooked to perfection in a zesty chipotle sauce infused with red onion, fragrant garlic, and bay leaves. Once shredded, it’s amazing in tacos, burritos, or on rice bowls for a simple, hearty dinner.
Why I Love Slow Cooker Barbacoa
If tacos are a weeknight favorite for you, this easy crockpot barbacoa with traditional Mexican spices will be your new go-to.
- Pull-apart tender. It’s cooked in the crockpot for at least 5 hours for the best melt-in-your mouth, pull-apart tender bite.
- Authentic. Chipotle, cloves, cumin, and paprika are the most common flavor base ingredients in authentic barbacoa recipes.
- Beginner-friendly. The crockpot does most of the work for you!
What is Barbacoa?
Barbacoa is a traditional Mexican dish and cooking method. It’s typically made in an earth oven with hot stones and the meat is wrapped in banana leaves. The oven is also covered with banana leaves to trap the steam inside. Barbacoa can be made with beef, lamb, or goat. The meat is slow-cooked for 8-12 hours until it’s ultra tender and easily pulls apart. It’s served for breakfast with corn tortillas and is garnished with fresh cilantro and diced onions, but it can also be enjoyed for dinner.
Recipe Ingredients
Here’s a list of what you’ll need to make the most drool-worthy beef barbacoa. Be sure to scroll down to the recipe card where the amounts are specified.
- Beef chuck roast – Cut it into 2-3″ chunks for even cooking.
- Chipotles in adobo sauce – These are canned Mexican peppers. Don’t discard the sauce because it’s also needed for the recipe.
- Cilantro – Remove any yellow or brown leaves to prevent bitterness.
- Red onion – White or yellow onion works too.
- Garlic – It’s a good opportunity to use up leftover small and medium garlic cloves. You’ll need about 1/4 cup of garlic cloves.
- Lime juice – Freshly-squeeze orange juice is a great swap.
- Apple cider vinegar – Go for white vinegar or red wine vinegar if that’s what you’ve got on hand.
- Cumin – I don’t recommend using any substitutes, but taco seasoning will provide the most similar flavor profile.
- Ground cloves – If you use whole cloves, you need 5-6 of them.
- Smoked paprika – You can swap it for 3/4 teaspoon sweet paprika and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper.
- Onion powder – Feel free to use garlic powder instead.
- Salt and pepper – Sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper are best.
- Beef bone broth – Try to use a low-sodium version.
- Bay leaves – If they’re very broken, use two halves or three pieces per leaf in the recipe.
How to Make Barbacoa in Your Slow Cooker
Preparing a meal on a busy weeknight is easier than ever thanks to this hearty chipotle crockpot barbacoa. Scroll to the bottom of the post for more detailed step-by-step instructions, but here’s how it’s made:
- Season the meat. Toss the beef, cumin, cloves, paprika, onion powder, salt, and pepper in a medium-sized bowl until completely coated. Add it to the crockpot.
- Prep the sauce. In a food processor, add the chipotle peppers and adobo sauce, cilantro, onion, garlic, lime juice, and vinegar. Pulse it 5-6 times or until slightly chunky. You don’t want it to be completely smooth.
- Cook it. Pour the sauce and broth over the beef. Add bay leaves. Stir gently to combine. Place the lid on the crockpot and cook on HIGH for 5-5.5 hours.
- Shred it. Carefully remove the beef from the crockpot and place it on a large cutting board. Let it cool for 10-15 minutes. Use two forks to pull the meat in opposite directions until completely shredded.
- Serve. Return the shredded beef to the crockpot. Stir gently to combine it with the cooking juices. Serve and ladle with 1/4 cup cooking juices on top. Enjoy!
Tips & Variations
This effortless crockpot barbacoa with hints of sweet honey only gets better if you follow my tips for marinating it, broiling it, and making it spicier.
- Broil it. Spread the shredded beef on a baking sheet and broil it for 2 minutes, stir, and broil for another 2-3 minutes or until crispy. Remove it from the heat.
- Make burritos. Heat up flour tortillas and fill them each with 1/4-1/2 cup barbacoa, 2-3 tablespoons shredded cheddar, and 2-3 tablespoons refried beans. Roll them up and serve.
- Crank up the heat. Slice a small jalapeño or serrano chili in half and add it to the crockpot. Cook as usual for a spicy variation.
- Brown the beef. Add 3 tablespoons of olive oil or vegetable oil to a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the beef in batches and sear it for 1-2 minutes per side or until browned. You don’t want to cook it fully. Place it in the crockpot and continue with the recipe as usual for a stronger beef flavor.
- Go slow. If you want to set the crockpot around noon so the barbacoa is ready for dinner, cook it on LOW for 7-8 hours.
- Marinate it. Season the meat and prep the sauce a day in advance. Add everything to a large Ziploc bag. Seal it and shake well until completely coated. Refrigerate it overnight and then add the marinated beef and sauce to the crockpot the next day.
Serving Suggestions
This crockpot barbacoa is an easy weeknight dinner. I love it with warm corn tortillas to make tacos. Top them with Roasted Tomato Salsa or Avocado Salsa Verde. You can also serve it with Creamy Bacon Guacamole or Pico de Gallo on the side. For a bowl-style dinner, serve it with some Cilantro Lime Rice or Mexican red rice.
How to Store and Reheat
Always allow leftovers to cool completely before storing them to prevent spoilage. This barbacoa is too good to go to waste!
- Fridge: Place it in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- Freezer: Transfer it to freezer bags in serving-size portions. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge.
- To reheat it: Sprinkle it with 1/2 teaspoon water and microwave it in 15-second increments until warm. You can also use a pan over medium-high heat for 7-8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
More Mexican Inspired Recipes
- Chicken Pozole Rojo
- Chicken Mole
- Chicken Street Tacos with Mexican Street Corn
- Mexican Chopped Salad
Crockpot Barbacoa
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 hours
- Total Time: 5 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: 10 1x
- Category: Beef
- Method: Crockpot
- Cuisine: Mexican
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
This spicy crockpot barbacoa recipe with smokey chipotles, cloves, and tangy apple cider vinegar is the perfect filling for tacos.
Ingredients
- 4 lb. beef chuck roast, cut into large chunks
- 4 chipotle peppers (from a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce)
- 2 tablespoon of adobo sauce from chipotle pepper can
- 1 bunch cilantro, chopped
- 1 red onion, peeled and cut into large chunks
- 1 whole head of garlic, peeled and cloves smashed
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoon sea salt
- 3/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 1/2 cups beef bone broth
- 3 dry bay leaves
Instructions
- To a small bowl add, cumin, clove, smoked paprika, onion powder, salt and pepper. Sitr everything together.
- Add the beef chucks to a medium bowl and season with the spice blend. Toss with tongs to ensure that each piece is seasoned. Add the seasoned beef to the bottom of the crock pot.
- To a small food processor, add chipotle peppers, adobe sauce, cilantro, red onion, garlic, lime juice, and cider vinegar. Pulse a few times to roughly chop the mixture.
- Pour mixture over the beef and add in beef bone broth and bay leaves.
- Use tongs to move the meat around gently to combine everything. Put the lid on.
- Cook on HIGH 5 -5.5 hours.
- Remove the meat from the crock pot, place on a cutting board and shred with two forks.
- Place shredded beef in the back in the crock pot until ready to serve. Serve in the crock pot or on a large platter, be sure to ladle the cooking liquid over the top a few scoops at a time. You want the meat to hold the liquid but not swim in it.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 257
- Sugar: 1 g
- Sodium: 703 mg
- Fat: 8 g
- Saturated Fat: 3 g
- Carbohydrates: 5 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 42 g
- Cholesterol: 122 mg
48 comments on “Slow Cooker Beef Barbacoa”
This recipe was disgusting. How are you supposed to fit a 5lb brisket in a slow cooker first of all. At the end of cooking it was rock hard and grey and tasted like nothing but cloves. Did not work at all for me and wasted an expensive brisket.
Oh no, I’m so sorry to hear that. This is an older recipe, I’ll definitely take a look at it and remake it.
I was going to say I always make my very similar recipe in the pressure cooker. I was under the impression that pressure cookers can bring out the malliard effect in meas because of the temperature that it reaches. So i’d be curious to try it with the seared ox tail with chuck in the pressure cooker.
Very interesting! I know a few of the readers who have tried this in a pressure cooker with much success. Hope your version turns out!
Hi Krista – was wondering if you think a round roast or rump roast would substitute fine for the brisket? Thanks!!!
Yeah, I think either one would work fine because they are tough meats. š Hope you like it Terri!
I am so sad for you about your migraines! That is so miserable and unfair š I hope you are feeling completely better now.
I AM all about the beef, so this looks amazing to me. I’ve been to Chipotle a few times recently and wasn’t sure what the barbacoa was. Now I know, but now I’ll be making it at home instead of getting it there! This made an appearance in my crockpot roundup today, and I’ll be pinning it all over town too š
Thanks Andi! I am feeling much better, it finally went away. Praise the Lord!
So glad you liked the recipe girl, and thanks for the feature in your roundup. So honored! Thanks for the social media love too, you basically are a rock star! š
I love when easy can look this delicious!
Right!? Those are my favorite recipes, its a win win! š
Wow! I totally need to make this…like soon!! Looks absolutely delicious Krista. š
Yes you do! You will love it Lisa. š thanks for stopping by sweet friend, have a great rest of the day!
Love this! Stopping by from Marvelous Mondays. So happy to have found your blog! Following you on Pinterest š
Thanks Anetta, glad you found me too girl! Headed over to check you out!
I am so impressed that you were able to pull such a wonderful meal together with your head pounding. Hope you are better soon. Thank you for posting this to foodie friday.
oh… thanks Diane! It was tough, but someone has to make the meal or we’d all starve around here, haha. So glad that I just had to throw it in and then the crock pot did the rest of the work. š Win!
Ahaha – and here are the rest of the fiancĆ©’s favorite things! Shredded meat, adobo, and cilantro.
haha…. sounds like I’m on a role today girl and your sailor man is going to be one happy camper when he comes back in from the ocean.
This beef looks so fall-apart tender! I love love slow-cooked beef so this recipe is kind of perfect for me! pinned. š
Awesome Sarah, slow cooker beef is one of my favorites too! Love how tender it gets and the flavored juices from all day cooking.
I want to eat all of these and darn, those photos are beautiful! Pinning and sharing this on social media. Hope you have a good weekend, Krista! š
haha, thanks Julie… well you definitely will after tasting it. š Thanks for pinning and sharing girl!
This is a great recipe. It will be perfect for a crazy school night. Thank you for creating this recipe.
Definitely perfect for those crazy school nights, hope you get a chance to make it Sandi! š
This looks incredible Krista! Love how you made it in a slow cooker – the meat looks so tender and flavorful and the adobe chipotle peppers sound awesome! Hope you feel better soon, migraines are no fun š
Oh girl, the chipotle peppers are awesome in this. I could probably add them in almost everything I make, love me some spice. š
Krista, I have to say, you photograph meat really well! You make this and all of your other dishes absolutely mouth watering when I’m over here. I love the ingredients you put in this beef… see, making me drool!
Aww.. thanks sweet friend. š
I’m so sorry you haven’t been feeling well Krista š I hope you feel better soon! This barbacoa looks ah-mazing! Seriously. AH-MAZING. Can’t wait to give it a try! Pinned!
Thanks Trish, the migraine finally went away. Praise the Lord, now just hoping it doesn’t come back. #fingerscrossed.
Hope you get a chance to try it girl, I know without a doubt you will love it and think its ah-mazing!
Krista, this looks so delicious! I am adding this to my meal planner for next week, my husband is going to love it too! Thanks for sharing another great recipe, pinned š
P.S. I hope you feel better soon!
Awesome Jenn, so glad to hear it! š He will totally love it, can’t wait to hear what you think too! Thanks for the pin and well wishes girl. My migraine FINALLY went away.. yeah!!!
Wow! We normally only make meals like this on the weekend because of the time intensity of making the meat so tender. But made in a crockpot?? Now you’re talking! I love how flavorful and tender the meat looks! I would love to come home from work with this in my crockpot knowing that dinner will soon be served!! š
Yup! Gotta love how a crockpot can take all the work out of the way for you. š Hope you get a chance to make it girl!
Krista, this looks out of control good–and it’s made in a crock pot. Win win! I’ve always been nervous to cook with brisket but I bet slow cooking it makes it so, so delicious š
I was nervous about brisket too, I’ve heard either hours in the oven or on the grill. Neither of which I have time to hoover over, but throw it in a crock pot and forget about it. That I do have time for. š Hope you enjoy it girl!
I adore Chipotle and sadly the closest I can get here in Costa Rica is Moe’s and even that’s about 30 minutes away. Sadly, my Crockpot broke last month, or I’d be all over this. It looks so delicious that I’ll probably try it in a pressure cooker.
oH… yeah pressure cooker would totally work and break through the toughness of brisket. Major bummer on the slow cooker thing, definitely have to get a new one soon. š
Krista, we made this last night in the pressure cooker and it was delicious. My husband’s not fond of spicy, but even he enjoyed it since I mildly cut down on the chilis. My toddler eats spicier food than he, and she liked it too! Thank you.
Awesome!!! How long did you end up cooking it for in the pressure cooker? Sounds like I need to get one!
Too funny that your toddler likes spicier food than your husband…haha!!! So glad you enjoyed it girl, enjoy the left overs. š Thats my favorite part!
Yum this looks delicious. Pinned to my crock pot board. I’m the new weekly co-host at Let’s Get Real Blog Hop and would love for you to come and linkup tomorrow at 5PM EST. mypinterventures.com
Thanks so much for the pin Erlene and for the invite. If I have time I will definitely hope over. š
Ooooh, this looks great! I pinned! (I hope you feel better! š Migraines stink!) Julia
Thanks for the pin and foodie props Julia! š My migraine has officially gone away, happy dance!!
I am all about SLOW Cookers! oh and chipotle! thanks for sharing. Hope you feel better soon.
Thanks Lara, I hope I start feeling better soon too. š Hope you enjoy that recipe!
I totally want to dive head first into that bowl! This NEEDS to happen immediately in our house! Such a great looking recipe Krista! And sorry to hear about the migraines… hope they get better!
haha… might be a little messy but the messy things are always way worth it in the end. š Go getcha those ingredients and have at it, you and your wife will love it!