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Slow Cooker Beef Carnitas

Dairy FreeGluten FreePaleoWhole30
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October 16, 2017 | 87 Comments |This post contains affiliate links.

Slow Cooker Beef Carnitas - Tender, slow cooked beef carnitas make delicious tacos, burrito bowls, salads & more! (Paleo + Whole30 Friendly) // Beef Carnitas Recipe // Slow Cooker Carnitas // Crock Pot Beef Carnitas // Beef Tacos #slowcooker #crockpot #beef #carnitas #tacos

Slow Cooker Beef Carnitas – Tender, slow-cooked beef carnitas make delicious tacos, burrito bowls, salads & more! (Paleo + Whole30 Friendly)

Slow Cooker Beef Carnitas - Tender beef cooked in the crock pot! These make amazing tacos, burritos, burrito bowls, taco salads, and more! (gluten free, paleo friendly)

Post updated Oct 2017. Originally posted June 2013. 

First off: I know. These are NOT authentic. Carnitas are traditionally made with pork braised in oil or lard until tender. I skip the oil/lard, and swap pork for beef. I couldn’t say no to our taco craving!

Tacos are a major favorite at our house, but I have to admit that I’m not usually satisfied with a ground beef taco. It feels like the peanut-butter-and-grape-jelly-on-Wonder-bread of tacos. They get the job done, but I always feel like there’s something I could do better, add more flavor, or make them more exciting.

Sometimes that’s whipping up a batch of fish tacos, or salsa verde chicken tacos, but shredded beef tacos will probably be Michael’s forever favorite. Specifically, he loves and craves these Slow Cooker Beef Carnitas tacos.

You’re going to love them as much as we do…

Slow Cooker Beef Carnitas - tender, flavorful beef carnitas. Perfect for tacos, burrito bowls, taco salads and more!

These were a cinch to pull together. I pop everything into the slow cooker, forget about it for a few hours, and then give it a quick shred with tongs (it’s fall-apart tender!).

You could certainly dress them up with shredded lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, sour cream, etc. I think the meat and veggies mixture is so flavorful it doesn’t need much more than a tortilla and a little salsa or guacamole (because EVERYTHING is better with guacamole).

I’ll also say that as much as we love these as tacos, the beef is equally delicious in burrito bowls (with these sweet potatoes), rice bowls, taco salads, or tucked into baked sweet potatoes.

Simple Savory Beef Carnitas from www.onelovelylife.com

FAQ + TIPS AND TRICKS FOR THE BEST SLOW COOKER BEEF CARNITAS:

WHAT KIND OF BEEF ROAST DO YOU USE FOR BEEF CARNITAS? My favorite beef for beef carnitas is chuck roast. It has a nice marbling of fat and gets gorgeously tender when slow-cooked. It makes for seriously flavorful, tender beef carnitas.

MAKE-AHEAD NOTES: To save time in the morning, I often do the prep for this meal at night. I slice up the veggies, brown the beef, put everything into the slow cooker crock, and refrigerated it in the crock overnight. The next morning, I pulled out the crock, settle it into the slow cooker and forget about it till many hours later.

MY FAVORITE SLOW COOKERS: I always get questions about slow cookers when I post a slow cooker recipe. I swear by this one. It’s programmable, has a lid clip (no more sloshing if you need to transport it), and even has a thermometer you can program so that your slow cooker switches to WARM mode when the meat reaches the right temperature (which means NO overcooked, dried out meat–Holla!). Target and Amazon typically have the best prices.

PALEO + WHOLE30 NOTES: if you’re eating paleo or doing a Whole30, this beef recipe is 100% paleo approved. Instead of serving it in tacos, make a giant taco salad heaped high with salsa and guacamole, stuff a baked sweet potato, or serve it in burrito bowls (with these sweet potatoes!) and your favorite taco toppings.

Slow Cooker Beef Carnitas - These make the best tacos, taco salads, or nachos! from www.onelovelylife.com We can't get enough of these Slow Cooker Beef Carnitas. Paleo, GF, and Whole30 approved!

LOVE TEX-MEX? YOU MIGHT ALSO LOVE:

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  • Slow Cooker Barbacoa Beef
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  • Chipotle Sweet Potatoes (Great for Burrito Bowls!)
  • Tomatillo Ranch Dressing (Awesome for Taco Salads!)
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Slow Cooker Beef Carnitas - Tender beef cooked in the crock pot! These make amazing tacos, burritos, burrito bowls, taco salads, and more! (gluten free, paleo friendly)

Slow Cooker Beef Carnitas


★★★★★

5 from 22 reviews

  • Author: One Lovely Life, adapted from Eat Live Run
  • Total Time: 4 hours 20 minutes
  • Yield: about 8 servings 1x
  • Diet: Gluten Free
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Description

If your slow-cooker has a removable crock, you can prep this the night before. Follow all steps up until cooking and refrigerate overnight. The next morning, put the crock in the slow cooker, set it to low, and you’re ready to go!


Ingredients

Scale

FOR SLOW COOKER BEEF CARNITAS:

  • 2–3 lbs beef chuck roast
  • 2 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp onion powder
  • 1 onion, sliced (I like sweet onions)
  • 1 green pepper, sliced
  • 1 red pepper, sliced
  • 1 (4oz) can diced green chiles (don’t drain)

FOR SERVING:

  • corn tortillas*
  • your favorite taco toppings: shredded lettuce, salsa, guacamole, cheese, sour cream, cilantro, etc.

Instructions

  1. If desired, brown your beef roast in a pan or Dutch oven. Heat a small drizzle of oil over medium heat, add the beef roast and cook 5-7 minutes per side, or until it’s very browned and crisped.
  2. Place roast in the slow cooker. In a small bowl, whisk together chili powder, salt, pepper, cumin, smoked paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder. Sprinkle spice mixture over the roast. Add onion, bell peppers, and green chiles over the roast as well.
  3. Cook on HIGH 3-4 hours or LOW 7-8 hours, or until beef is pull-apart tender. (You should be able to easily shred it with a fork or a pair of tongs).

Notes

*Gluten & Dairy Free Notes: not all corn tortillas are gluten free. Read your package to be sure. We like Tortilla Land cook-your-own corn tortillas. They’re gluten and dairy free and are delicious and soft (i.e. they don’t crack or split when you bend them). Also, this is common sense, but skip cheese and sour cream if you’re dairy free.

  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 4 hours
  • Category: Main Dish
  • Method: Slow Cooker
  • Cuisine: Mexican, Tex-Mex

Keywords: carnitas, beef carnitas, slow cooker beef carnitas, crock pot beef carnitas, slow cooker carnitas

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @onelovelylife1 on Instagram and hashtag it #onelovelyrecipe

Recipe adapted from Eat Live Run

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Filed Under: beef & pork, Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Paleo, Slow Cooker, Tex Mex, Whole30

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Comments

  1. Kiki

    September 12, 2017 at 9:10 am

    Making this right now and totally love u for this recipe ! Me and my hubby just moved in together and he wanted this to be his first meal !!!!

    Reply
    • Emily

      September 12, 2017 at 10:05 am

      Oh congratulations! I hope you love it as much as we do!

      Reply
  2. paige flamm

    October 16, 2017 at 10:04 pm

    YUM! These are totally going onto the menu plan next week!

    Reply
  3. Miranda H.

    April 9, 2018 at 12:22 pm

    I made this with venison instead of beef and it was delicious!

    Reply
    • Emily

      April 9, 2018 at 12:34 pm

      Wow! That’s great to hear! So glad you liked it!

      Reply
  4. Karissa

    April 16, 2018 at 5:44 am

    Making today for the 2nd time..love them. Cooked it on low it was perfect.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Emily

      April 16, 2018 at 1:51 pm

      Yay! I’m so glad you loved it! These are one of my husband’s FAVORITES!

      Reply
  5. Jack Smith

    April 17, 2018 at 8:58 am

    This looks all kinds of amazing, thanks for sharing 🙂

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Emily

      April 17, 2018 at 12:00 pm

      My pleasure!

      Reply
  6. Marley

    May 7, 2018 at 7:09 pm

    Hi. Would flank steak work for this recipe?

    Reply
    • Emily

      May 8, 2018 at 5:27 am

      Marley – I haven’t tried it with flank steak, but I think it would be overcooked in a slow cooker. It doesn’t have as much connective tissue to break down as a beef roast. I wouldn’t recommend it.

      Reply
      • Marley

        May 8, 2018 at 4:31 pm

        Ok I’ll have to buy some chuck roast then- can’t wait to make this! Thanks

        Reply
  7. Katie

    May 13, 2018 at 4:13 pm

    I made this last Monday with a grass-fed chuck roast. It was sooooo good and my boys loved it so much I made it again today with a grass-fed rump roast. I cant decide which was better! Thanks for sharing!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Emily

      May 13, 2018 at 6:53 pm

      I love hearing this!!! So glad you enjoyed it as much as we do!

      Reply
  8. Jenny

    July 8, 2018 at 11:11 am

    Could you do this recipe in an instant pot?

    Reply
    • Emily

      July 8, 2018 at 2:35 pm

      I think so! I haven’t tested it, but would guess you’d cook it about 45 minutes at pressure. That’s about how long I’ve cooked other beef roasts with good success!

      Reply
  9. TKN

    October 25, 2018 at 10:49 am

    Would a tri tip work well for this dish?

    Reply
    • Emily

      October 25, 2018 at 7:57 pm

      Tri tip steak? Or a tri tip roast? I wouldn’t recommend a steak for sure, since the slow cooking would probably just cook it to death. If you’re talking about a roast, the cattlemen’s beef board says it’s good for roasting, so it might be able to stand up to the longer cook time of a slow cooker!

      Reply
  10. John

    November 23, 2018 at 9:44 am

    Just a quick question. Just the roast in the pot no additional liquid?

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Emily

      November 23, 2018 at 11:22 am

      Yes! The meat and veggies will create all their own juices. I’ve never yet had any problem with scorching, burning, etc.

      Reply
  11. Aleta Mays

    February 25, 2019 at 1:32 pm

    We raise our own beef and thinking of using stew meat. Don’t think I will have any issue do you?

    Reply
    • Emily

      February 25, 2019 at 2:34 pm

      I don’t think you’ll have any trouble. That sounds wonderful! (And good for you!!!)

      Reply
  12. Pam

    March 3, 2019 at 11:44 am

    The spice mix is what puts this recipie over the top. I cooked roast in my crock pot on low for 7-8 hours. We have been using the meat for street tacos alll week. So good and easy.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Emily

      March 4, 2019 at 7:03 am

      I LOVE hearing that!!! Thank you so much for sharing.

      Reply
  13. Laurie

    April 26, 2019 at 7:21 am

    Have you tried making this ahead and freezing it? I have a grad party coming up but would have enough time to make it on the day of the party?

    Reply
    • Emily

      April 26, 2019 at 9:55 am

      Laurie – It reheats pretty well, in my experience! 🙂 Otherwise, you can easily make it the day before and refrigerate it. Hope you enjoy the graduation celebration!

      Reply
  14. Loretta

    December 17, 2019 at 2:28 pm

    Hi i am making this for dinner but I wasnt sure how to do this since your video says one thing and your written recipe says another. Does it matter if the seasonings are on top of the veggies like you have stated in your video or the seasonings on the meat like you have it written down?

    Reply
    • Emily

      December 18, 2019 at 4:52 am

      Loretta – I’m sorry for the confusion! It doesn’t matter, but I’ll be sure to clarify so they match. Thanks for letting me know!

      Reply
  15. Rachael Alvarado

    January 29, 2020 at 12:05 pm

    Hi Laurie! This recipe looks delicious!! I have 2 lbs of beef shoulder already cut up. Do you think beef shoulder would work well in the crock pot for this recipe?

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Emily

      January 29, 2020 at 12:11 pm

      I would think so! 🙂

      Reply
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