Perfect Shredded Beef Tacos

Our shredded beef tacos are outrageously delicious with melt-in-your-mouth tender beef and all your favorite taco toppings!

This Mexican shredded beef is the perfect filling for soft tortillas, making this easily one of my all-time favorite taco recipes! The beef turns out to be perfectly spiced, rich, and savory. To make it, we cook beef chuck low and slow with garlic and flavorful spices until it falls apart. For ground meat, see our ground beef tacos.

I use my oven for this recipe, but I have included tips for making it in a slow cooker below! For more recipes like this one, don’t miss our beef birria (which we use for birria tacos), slow cooker pulled pork, Mexican pork carnitas, and shredded chicken tacos.

Key Ingredients

• Beef: Use a high-quality, well-marbled chuck roast for the tastiest, most tender beef. The marbling (the white veins you see running through the meat) renders during the long cooking time, adding flavor and creating that melt-in-your-mouth texture. We use the same cut of beef for this beef stew recipe.
• Garlic and Tomato Paste: Tomato paste and garlic add rich flavor to the cooking liquid. After cooking for so long, the garlic becomes incredibly soft and almost melts into the beef.
• Spices: I love the combination of spices in this shredded beef. We combine chili powder, coriander, cumin, bay leaves, and cinnamon sticks. I especially love using our homemade chili powder.
• Tortillas: If you have the time, making your own tortillas is so worth it! They’re much better than store-bought and easier than you think. Check out our recipes for soft flour tortillas and homemade corn tortillas to get started.
• Toppings: This is where the fun begins! Our favorite beef taco toppings include fresh and flavorful options like sliced avocado or homemade guacamole, cilantro, onion, and fresh lime juice. For those who like a little heat, we recommend homemade salsa, tomatillo salsa (green salsa), and hot sauce. Creamy and rich toppings like sour cream and cheese are always a hit, and pickled red onions add a tangy bite. Use what you love!

Find the full recipe with measurements below.

How to Make Shredded Beef Tacos

Tip 1: Use a Dutch oven or slow cooker. The secret to the most tender beef is slow-cooking a chuck roast at low heat. I love using a Dutch oven and my oven, but you can use a slow cooker. See the tips section in the recipe below for our slow cooker instructions.

Tip 2: Brown your beef. This is true if cooking in the oven or in a slow cooker. Browning your beef adds a lot of flavor to the cooking liquid, making the shredded beef even more delicious.

Trim any excess fat from the chuck roast and pat it dry. Season it with salt and sear it in a Dutch oven until browned on all sides.

Tip 3: Build the cooking liquid. Now take advantage of all the browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. Toss in garlic, tomato paste, and spices (chili powder, cumin, coriander, bay leaves, and cinnamon). Then pour in water (or use beef stock) so the liquid is about three-quarters of the way up the beef. Grab a wooden spoon and scrape the browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pot so they are floating in the liquid instead.

Tip 4: Cook until tender. Now, cover the pot with a lid and bake until tender, about 2 1/2 to 3 hours. You’ll know it’s ready when you can easily pull it apart with a fork or tongs.

When the beef is tender, remove it and shred it. See how melt-in-your-mouth tender it looks!?

Tip 5: Pull and toss with the cooking liquid. We do this when making carnitas and shredded chicken. There’s so much flavor in the cooking liquid. So, after shredding it, pour over skimmed and reduced cooking liquid.

I like to strain the cooking liquid, skim off excess fat, and simmer it on the stove until it’s reduced by half. I taste and add salt and pepper as needed, then toss some of it with my shredded beef before building my tacos.

Serving Suggestions

This shredded beef is perfect for tacos, burritos, burrito bowls, and even to add to taco salad. It’s also love with a side of Mexican rice, cilantro lime rice, or refried beans. When making tacos, I love homemade tortillas, either corn tortillas or flour tortillas. Then I add a slice or two of avocado (or a scoop of guacamole), fresh onion, and cilantro.

For more taco toppings, try pico de gallo, roasted tomato salsa, pickled red onions, pickled peppers, crumbled cheese, sour cream, cilantro lime dressing, cowboy candy (candied jalapeños), and more!

More Taco Recipes

• Chile Shrimp Tacos
• Veggie Tacos
• Ground Pork Tacos
• Bacon Chicken Tacos
• Easy Beef Tacos (made with ground beef)