Keto Beef Barbacoa is the PERFECT cheap keto recipe – take a tough and inexpensive cut of beef and turn it into something AH-mazing! Loaded with flavor, Keto Beef Barbacoa is tender, juicy, and popping with big and bold flavors. And, you do it all effortlessly in your crock pot!
Use this beef barbacoa recipe in tacos, loaded on top of nachos, in your favorite tortilla, or just top some greens with it for an amazing salad. Ready to make this tasty keto Mexican recipe? Read on!
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What You Need To Make This Easy Beef Barbacoa recipe
- Crock Pot or slow cooker
- Sharp knife – Henckles are my favorite knife! I always recommend these for value and quality
- Cutting board – make sure you have good, solid dishwasher safe cutting boards and save yourself cleanup time
- Measuring cup
- Measuring spoons
- Saucepan
- Tongs – silicone tipped tongs are amazing!
- Skillet
Ingredients to Make Keto Beef Barbacoa
- Chuck roast – Yup, get the biggest, cheapest chuck roast at the store, and even better, get them when they’re on sale and pop an extra roast or two into your freezer!
- Beef broth – start with the low or no-sodium added variety
- Cider vinegar
- Brown sugar substitute – I like So Nourished brand sugars
- Dried spices (guajillo powder, ancho powder, cloves, cinnamon, Mexican oregano)
- Chipotle peppers in adobo – or dried chipotle powder
- Garlic cloves
- Cooking oil
How To Make Slow Cooker Beef Barbacoa
- Beef Barbacoa crock-pot style is easy! Start by seasoning the beef with salt and pepper and brown it on all sides in a skillet over high heat. You’re looking for a good, hard sear, but don’t burn it!
- Put the beef, the residual cooking oil, spices, broth, and remaining ingredients into the slow cooker.
- Cook it on high for about 5 hours, or on low for 6-7 hours or until the meat is falling apart tender.
- Remove the meat from the slow cooker and when it’s cooled it a bit, shred it with two forks or roughly chop it.
- Put the cooking liquid from the Crock Pot into a sauce pan and simmer it for about 10 minutes to reduce it a bit and concentrate the flavors.
- Season the liquid with salt and pepper, then pour it over the beef and enjoy!
Chef Jenn’s Tips
- Use the freshest possible spices – it’ll make a difference, I promise you!
- 2 chipotles in adobo sauce will put this dish at about a medium spice level. Add another chipotle if you like it spicier!
- No chipotles in adobo? Use 1 tsp of dried chipotle powder per canned chipotle instead
- Mexican oregano is slightly different than the usual kind, with a citrus and licorice flavor. Use it if you can!
How To Serve Keto Beef Barbacoa
Some diced fresh onion, cilantro leaves, sliced jalapenos and sour cream are all fabulous garnishes for this amazing dish.
Serve it on low-carb tortillas, pile it on low-carb tortilla chips, eat it along with cauliflower rice, or pile it high on top of your favorite greens for a hearty keto salad recipe.
Is Slow Cooker Beef Barbacoa Freezer Friendly?
Yes! Heck yes!
Cool it completely in the fridge then pack it into freezer-safe zipper-top bags or containers along with the cooking liquid.
Freeze for up to three months.
To use, simply thaw and heat on the stovetop or in the microwave and enjoy!
Yes! It is essentially just beef and seasonings. It’s how you serve this dish that could put you over your carb level if you use flour tortillas or corn chips.
Imagine melt-in-your mouth juicy beef with a hint of warm spices and a bit of a spicy kick.
While they’re both slowly cooked, different spices are used to achieve different flavors. So no, they’re not the same.
Like This Keto Beef Recipe? Also Try:
Step By Step Images to Make This Keto Beef Recipe
Ingredients to make keto Beef Barbacoa. Season the chuck roast with salt and pepper. Season the roast in a skillet with some oil. Add the spices to the crock pot. Whisk in the beef broth. Add the seared beef. Cook until fall-apart-tender. Remove the beef and shred when cool. Reduce the cooking liquid to concentrate the flavors.
Keto Beef Barbacoa
Ingredients
- 3 pound chuck roast
- 1 1/2 cups beef broth
- 1 tbsp So Nourished brown sugar
- 2 tsp dried guajillo powder
- 2 tbsp dried ancho powder
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and roughly chopped
- 3 cloves
- 1/4 cup cider vinegar
- 1/2 tsp Mexican oregano
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 2 chipotles in adobo sauce chopped
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
Instructions
- Season the beef with salt and pepper. Sear it in a skillet with 2 tbsp cooking oil over high heat on both sides until it is browned.
- Add the beef broth, spices, and remaining ingredients to the crock pot. Whisk to combine well.
- Put the roast and all the pan juices/oils into the crockpot and cook on high for 5-6 hours or low for 6-7 hours.
- Remove the roast and when cool, shred it with two forks or chop it coarsely.
- Add the juices from the crockpot to a saucepan and simmer for 10 minutes to reduce and concentrate the flavors.
- Serve the beef drizzled with the juice and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
A Note on Nutritional Information
Nutritional information for this recipe is provided as a courtesy and is calculated based on available online ingredient information. It is only an approximate value. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site cannot be guaranteed. Erythritol carbs (sugar substitutes) are not included in the carbohydrate counts as they have been shown not to impact blood sugar, and they have zero calories and zero carbs. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.
Keto cooking doesn’t need to be challenging! If you want more easy keto recipes, check out these soups and chowders, my famous cauliflower dish that has everyone talking, or my favorite keto eggless breakfast recipe, or this tasty egg dish.
This Beef barbacoa looks absolutely amazing. Perfect for a large gathering.
This quickly became a favorite at my house!! It is so good!
I’m always looking for something new to make in the slow cooker and this is next on the list!
Great flavor in an easy to make recipe! Yum!
Yessss! On some siete almond tortillas! Or a lettuce wrap… So good!
This looks delicious!!!!
Not only yummy but super healthy. Thanks Chef!
This was delicious! It was so full of flavor and my family loved it! It’s a bonus that I can make it in the crockpot too…makes life so easy!