Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Tacos
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Tri tip is slow cooked in a sweet & spicy pineapple sriracha sauce, then turned into THE BEST shredded beef tacos, in this easy Mexican crockpot recipe! These Tri Tip Tacos are delicious topped with fresh pineapple and avocado, or my famous Grilled Pineapple Guacamole!
Use the leftover Mexican shredded beef to make epic steak and eggs for breakfast, nachos for game day or more delicious tacos!
For my annual Super Bowl party every year, I create a “Make Your Own Taco Bar” with various shredded meats. I’ve been doing this since 2010 and it’s always a hit! I line up my crock pots with slow cooked beef, pork and chicken. Then all of my friends get to make their own choice of tacos.
Crockpot Buffalo Chicken, Chipotle Honey Pulled Pork and this Sriracha Pineapple Shredded Beef are always in the line-up! This beef is both a little sweet and a little spicy, with A TON of flavor!
While these Shredded Beef Tacos are the bomb.com (yes, I just went there!), this shredded beef is also delicious in enchiladas, quesadillas and on nachos! This recipe is seriously versatile and seriously scrumptious!
While these slow cooker shredded beef tacos are great for parties, they’re also perfect for a quick and easy weeknight dinner. It only takes 15 minutes of prep time in the morning, then you get to come home to a great recipe for dinner in the evening.
Table of contents
Instructions
- Start with the veggies. Add diced bell peppers and red onion to the bottom of a slow cooker.
- Rub the beef. In a small bowl, combine chili powder, cumin and paprika. Rub a 2-3 pound tri tip steak with the spices. Place the tri tip on top of the veggies in the slow cooker.
- Make the sauce. In a medium mixing bowl, combine pineapple juice, sriracha, honey, soy sauce and minced garlic. Pour this mixture over the tri tip in the slow cooker.
- Cook the beef. Slow cook on high for 6-8 hours or on low for 12 hours.
- Quick Tip! Yes, that is a cook time of 6-8 hours on HIGH. Since this is such a thick cut of beef, you’ll want to cook it longer or at a higher temperature than you would other cuts of meat.
- Shred the beef. Once the beef has slow cooked, it should easily shred apart with two forks or meat claws, right in the slow cooker.
- Quick Tip! Those little $12 meat claws are my key to quickly shredding beef or pork!
What cut of beef is best?
I use a trimmed tri tip to make this Mexican shredded beef recipe. It’s a lean cut of meat, making it a healthier red meat option. It’s also less expensive than other similar cuts of beef.
If tri-tip cannot be found, beef chuck roast, round roast or beef brisket can be used in it’s place.
How to season the beef for tacos
For this recipe, I used a combination or chili powder, ground cumin and paprika to season the beef.
If you want a smokier flavor, use chipotle pepper powder instead of chili powder and smoked paprika instead of regular paprika. For an easy shortcut and lots of flavor, use my popular homemade taco seasoning!
8 ways to serve the shredded beef
- Soft Tacos – heat small corn or flour tortillas on the stove, grill or in the microwave for 15 seconds. Fill the tortillas with the shredded beef, bell peppers and onions from the crock pot. Top with diced pineapple and avocado. Pineapple guacamole, hot sauce, pickled jalapenos, a drizzle of lime juice or fresh cilantro are also great topping options!
- Crispy Tacos – heat crispy shells in the oven or microwave, then fill with the Mexican Shredded Beef. Top with shredded cheddar or pepper jack cheese, shredded lettuce and diced tomatoes.
- Nachos – substitute this shredded Mexican beef for the pork in this recipe for the Ultimate Pulled Pork Nachos.
- Low Carb Nachos – substitute this shredded beef recipe for the ground beef in this recipe for Low Carb Nachos.
- Enchiladas – instead of ground beef, use this shredded beef in these Sriracha Beef Enchiladas. The sriracha in the beef pairs perfectly with the easy sriracha enchilada sauce!
- Steak and eggs – mix some of the beef and cooked bell peppers into scrambled eggs. Top it with spicy cheddar cheese, diced avocado and diced tomatoes. I make this for breakfast every time I make this recipe and it’s SO delicious!
- Quesadilla – add this beef between two tortillas with spicy cheddar or pepper jack cheese & some pickled jalapenos and you’ve got one delicious quesadilla! Be sure to serve it with some guacamole or sour cream on the side for dipping!
- Burrito Bowl – add the shredded tri tip to this Burrito Bowl recipe, perfect for lunch on-the-go or meal prepping! This burrito bowl is served with cauliflower rice for a great low carb option!
With so many delicious options, which one will you try first? Comment below and let me know!
How long will it last in the refrigerator?
Once cooked, the beef can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Use the microwave, stove or oven to reheat the beef. In the microwave, reheat the beef for 2 minutes on high.
On the stove, add the beef to a skillet over medium high heat. Saute for 3-4 minutes or until heated through.
In the oven, place the beef in an oven-safe dish, such as a casserole dish or dutch oven. Place in a 400°F preheated oven for 10-15 minutes or until heated through. Make sure to get some of the sauce from the crock pot in with the beef when reheating it, so that the meat doesn’t dry out.
What to serve with the tacos
- Mexican Potatoes – mashed potatoes with a Mexican twist? Oh yes I did!
- Creamy Avocado Salsa – I can’t say enough good things about THE BEST avocado salsa ever! It’s great on tacos or as a dip with tortilla chips!
- Mexican Rice – just like the rice you get at Mexican restaurants, but BETTER! My family loves this rice recipe with these tacos!
- Pico De Gallo – put it on top of your tacos or serve it on the side with chips. Either way, this homemade pico adds a burst of freshness to your meal!
- Mexican Street Corn – it’s creamy, slightly spicy and so delicious!
Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Tacos
Ingredients
- 1 red bell pepper, large dice
- 1 green bell pepper, large dice
- 1 red onion, large dice
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 2 tsp paprika
- 3 lb tri tip, trimmed
- ¼ cup sriracha
- 2 cups pineapple juice
- 1 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp soy sauce, Tamari for gluten free
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- 12 small corn tortillas
Optional Toppings
- 2 avocados, diced
- ½ cup pickled jalapeños
- ½ cup diced pineapple
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Add the bell peppers and onion to the bottom of a slow cooker set to high.
- Combine the chili powder, cumin and paprika in a small bowl.
- Rub the mixture on the tri tip, then place the tri tip in the slow cooker on top of the onions and peppers.
- In a medium bowl, combine the pineapple juice, sriracha, honey, soy sauce & garlic together. Pour the mixture over the tri tip.
- Cook on high for 6-8 hours, or on low for 10-12 hours.
- After the tri tip has slow cooked, shred the meat in the slow cooker with two forks or meat claws.
- Place the meat in tortillas, with the cooked bell pepper & onion from the crock pot, as well as a drizzle of the sauce from the crock pot.
- Add the optional toppings of your choice.
Notes
- Nutritional information provided does not include the optional toppings.
- A chuck roast, round roast or brisket can be used in place of the tri tip.
- The cooked shredded beef will last up to 5 days in the refrigerator.
Nutrition Facts
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2 Comments on “Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Tacos”
So flavorful! I cut my trip tip into pieces and found that it cooked in 6 hours in high. Having the increased surface area for the rub helped too. Would definitely make this again!
I made these last night, delicious and so simple.
I have a newer larger slow cooker so I did 8 hours on low and they came out great. The pineapple, cilantro and jalapeño on top really makes them special – don’t skip that!
Thank you!