Slow Cooker Beef Barbacoa Tacos with Tomatillo Salsa

Happy Taco Tuesday!  It’s not only Taco Tuesday but we are in the middle of Cinco de Mayo week which is a big deal in our household. I will be out of town this Friday at a Food Conference so I have been feeding my kids Mexican food all week long and they are LOVING it.

Slow cookers (aka crockpots) are a genius invention because of their ability to make meats tender and literally fall apart. Plus there is almost zero work involved so that is a win-win! These Beef Barbacoa Tacos with Tomatillo Salsa are unbelievably flavor and are super simple to make. They are always a crowd favorite!

The beef is slowly cooked in a slow cooker or Insta Pot.  The key is to flavor it with onions, chipotle chilies, chili powder, cumin, and beef broth. Chipotle Chilies in Adobo Sauce can be found in the canned section of the Mexican food aisle. The beef is cooked for 8 hours on low or 5 hours on high or until it is nice and tender.

These Slow Cooker Beef Barbacoa Tacos are topped with queso fresco, which is a mild Mexican crumbly cheese. You can substitute Pepper Jack Cheese as well.

The homemade tomatillo sauce is made with roasted tomatillos. What is a tomatillo? It is a Mexican husk tomato that is green and has a slightly citrus flavor.  We add in some vibrant cilantro for freshness, jalapeno for some subtle heat, and sugar to offset the acidity of the tomatillos. You may add more sugar, depending on preference.  We eat tomatillo salsa at a well-known restaurant here in Arizona, Tia Rosa’s or Boca Taqueria and they make their green salsa quite sweet so that is what we are used to.  Feel free to add more or less depending on your taste.

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5 from 2 votes

Slow Cooker Beef Barbacoa Tacos with Tomatillo Salsa

By: Melissa Stadler, Modern Honey

Tender spicy beef barbacoa slowly cooked in slow cooker. Topped with fresh homemade tomatillo salsa, queso fresco, and sliced avocado.

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 8 hours hours

Total Time: 8 hours hours 20 minutes minutes

Servings: 6

Equipment

• crockpot
• baking sheet
• vitamix blender
• food processor
• slow cooker

Ingredients  

1x2x3x

• ▢ Beef Barbacoa:
• ▢ 2 1/2 - 3 lb. Chuck Roast
• ▢ 1 Onion chopped
• ▢ 4 Chipotle Chilies in Adobo Sauce chopped
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons Chili Powder
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Cumin
• ▢ 1-2 teaspoons Salt
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Pepper
• ▢ 1 - 14.5 ounce can Beef Broth
• ▢ Tomatillo Salsa:
• ▢ 1 lb. Fresh Tomatillos husked
• ▢ 1/4 bunch Cilantro
• ▢ 1/2 Jalapeno
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon Fresh Lime Juice
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Salt
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons Sugar
• ▢ Toppings:
• ▢ 1-2 Avocados sliced
• ▢ 4 ounces Queso Fresco crumbled
• ▢ 20 small Corn Tortillas

Instructions 

• Place chuck roast, onion, chipotles, chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper, and beef broth in slow cooker. Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 5 hours. After the meat is tender, shred into bite size pieces.
• Heat oven to 400 degrees. Place tomatillos (remove husk) on baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes or until soft. Place in blender or food processor with cilantro, jalapeno, lime juice, salt and sugar. May add more sugar depending on preference. The sugar cuts the acidity of the tomatillos. Let chill.
• Top two corn tortillas with beef, queso fresco, avocado, and tomatillo salsa.
• *May soften corn tortillas by wrapping in slightly damp paper towel and placing in microwave for 20-30 seconds.

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Mexican

Servings: 6

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