Slow Cooker Beef Carnitas – Tender, slow-cooked beef carnitas make delicious tacos, burrito bowls, salads & more! (Paleo + Whole30 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…
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.
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.
LOVE TEX-MEX? YOU MIGHT ALSO LOVE:
- My ULTIMATE Guide to Guacamole
- Fresh Pico De Gallo
- The BEST Fish Tacos With Cilantro Lime Slaw
- Instant Pot Charro Beans
- Slow Cooker Barbacoa Beef
- Magic Green Rice (Arroz Verde)
- Chipotle Sweet Potatoes (Great for Burrito Bowls!)
- Tomatillo Ranch Dressing (Awesome for Taco Salads!)
Slow Cooker Beef Carnitas
- Total Time: 4 hours 20 minutes
- Yield: about 8 servings 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
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
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
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
Recipe adapted from Eat Live Run
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 !!!!
Oh congratulations! I hope you love it as much as we do!
YUM! These are totally going onto the menu plan next week!
I made this with venison instead of beef and it was delicious!
Wow! That’s great to hear! So glad you liked it!
Making today for the 2nd time..love them. Cooked it on low it was perfect.
★★★★★
Yay! I’m so glad you loved it! These are one of my husband’s FAVORITES!
This looks all kinds of amazing, thanks for sharing 🙂
★★★★★
My pleasure!
Hi. Would flank steak work for this recipe?
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.
Ok I’ll have to buy some chuck roast then- can’t wait to make this! Thanks
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!
★★★★★
I love hearing this!!! So glad you enjoyed it as much as we do!
Could you do this recipe in an instant pot?
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!
Would a tri tip work well for this dish?
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!
Just a quick question. Just the roast in the pot no additional liquid?
★★★★★
Yes! The meat and veggies will create all their own juices. I’ve never yet had any problem with scorching, burning, etc.
We raise our own beef and thinking of using stew meat. Don’t think I will have any issue do you?
I don’t think you’ll have any trouble. That sounds wonderful! (And good for you!!!)
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.
★★★★★
I LOVE hearing that!!! Thank you so much for sharing.
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?
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!
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?
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!
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?
★★★★★
I would think so! 🙂