Slow Cooker Mexican Beef
The base recipe that will deliver every single time for all of your Mexican favourites!
Slow Cooker Mexican Beef
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 5 hours on high or 9 hours on low
Servings: 8+
GF, DF, FREEZER-FRIENDLY
INGREDIENTS
400 g tin diced or crushed tomatoes
1 beef stock cube, crumbled
juice of 1 lime
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 brown onions, sliced
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1 kg beef chuck or blade roast
Dry Rub
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
¼–½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
STEPS
Prep
To make the dry rub, mix the ingredients together in a small bowl.
Combine the tomatoes, stock cube, lime juice and brown sugar in a medium bowl or jug.
Cook
Turn on the slow cooker and set to low or high.
Spread the onion and garlic over the base of the slow cooker. Rub the dry rub all over the meat and place on top of the onion.
Gently pour the tomato mixture over the meat and add any remaining dry rub. Cover and cook on low for 9 hours or high for 5 hours. The meat should be fall-apart tender.
Transfer meat to a large bowl and shred with 2 forks. Remove 1 cup of the slow cooker liquid and put it into a container in the fridge. Return the shredded beef to the slow cooker and mix through the remaining cooking liquid. Taste and add a little more salt or brown sugar if necessary.
Serve as filling for any Mexican dish such as the Beef Burrito Bowls or Beef and Bean Nachos in $10 Meals with Chelsea or use in tacos or on baked potatoes.
NOTES
Consistency: Depending on what you’re using the beef for, you may want a drier or wetter consistency. Add some of the reserved liquid (or additional beef stock) as needed, particularly when reheating.
Leftovers: Store in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop in a frying pan. Freeze for up to 1 month.
Meal plan: If cooking as part of the meal plan in $10 Meals with Chelsea, reserve about 1 ½ cups of the shredded beef for the Beef and Bean Nachos, use the rest for the Beef Burrito Bowls.
Spice: This can be made without the cayenne pepper but I suggest starting with ¼ teaspoon.
Stove top: To make this without a slow cooker, prep as instructed, slice the beef into 3-4 pieces and brown in batches in a large pan over medium-high heat. Set aside. Cook onions and garlic in 1 tablespoon olive oil in the pan for a few minutes. Turn heat down to low, add the dry rub spices, tomatoes, stock cube, lime juice, sugar and 1 cup (250 ml) water. Return beef to pan and simmer, covered, for 2 hours. Check after 1 hour and add additional water or stock if needed.