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These Slow Cooker Birria Tacos will send your taste buds on a trip south of the border. The ingredient list may look long or even daunting, but as with any good broth, soup, or sauce base, it’s well worth the effort. This deliciously nearly authentic Mexican dish will impress your family and friends.

Table of Contents
Birria is a Mexican stew typically made with goat meat, however in the US and elsewhere, beef is the go-to protein. The meat is slow cooked for hours in a sauce of beef broth, onions, garlic, tomatoes, various chilies, herbs, and spices. Making birria in the crock pot is the easiest cooking method!
The tender beef dripping with flavorful broth are turned into tacos by placing the juicy meat into a sauce-dipped corn tortilla, folded in half, and given a quick pan fry in oil. This gives the tacos a perfectly crisped texture. Crockpot Birria tacos are served with a side of the broth (called consummé) for dipping, much like you’d serve au jus with your French Dip sandwich.
Key Ingredients
Here is what you need to make birria taco meat in a crockpot. The full recipe is in the recipe card below the images.
- Chuck Roast: A three pound boneless beef chuck roast is best; look for marbling, as this will increase the taste and tenderness. You can use beef brisket, or any well-marbled beef roast for this recipe.
- Corn Tortillas: Use regular sized corn tortillas. However, the mini street taco size will work if you’re making these as a delicious appetizer.
- Dried Chiles: You’ll need dried Guajillo chiles and Arbol chiles. These can be found in your local grocery store in a package in the Mexican food section.
- Chipotle Peppers in Adobo Sauce: Use the canned product which will be found in the Mexican or Latin section or international aisle of your grocery store.
- Tomatoes: Both fire roasted tomatoes and tomato paste are used to help add taste and texture to the sauce.
- Seasonings: Salt, black pepper, cumin, garlic, cloves, Mexican oregano, dried coriander, smoked paprika, dried thyme, dried onion, cinnamon sticks, fresh lime juice, bay leaves and fresh onion.
- Beef Broth: This velvety broth liquid is the base of the sauce.
How to Make Birria in a Crockpot
Step One – Season all sides of the chuck roast with salt and pepper and preheat a cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add the oil and sear the meat for 4-5 minutes on all sides.
Step Two – Add all the remaining ingredients (except the tortillas and oil) to the slow cooker. Stir it well to combine into a chunky sauce.
Step Three – Place the seared beef into the crock pot and cover. Cook for 9-10 hours on low.
Step Four – Remove the cooked chuck roast and place it in a large bowl.
Step Five – Shred the beef and mix in about a cup of the sauce (after step 7).
Step Six – Remove the cinnamon sticks, stems from the peppers, and bay leaf and discard.
Step Seven – Use an immersion blender to blend the sauce until smooth. (If you don’t have an immersion blender, add everything to a food processor or regular stand blender to puree, then return to the crock pot or pour into a large bowl.)
Step Eight – Using a pair of tongs, dip each side of the tortillas in the sauce and then double them for frying.
Step Nine – Place the dipped tortillas into a frying pan flatly and fry for about two minutes. Flip and add the shredded beef, diced onion, and cilantro to one-half of the tortilla, fold it in half and fry each side of the now shaped taco for up to 2 minutes per side. Spoon a bit of birria sauce over each side of the tortilla after it’s been fried. Transfer to a serving plate and serve with a bowl of the pureed dipping sauce (consomme).
How to serve this crockpot birria recipe:
Here are the classic and some out of the box ways to use up your shredded beef birria and sauce.
- The best part is serving the birria tacos with the dipping sauce, which is often called consomme.
- Add the cheese to make queso birria, Monterey jack cheese works best.
- Serve with Mexican rice or refried beans (try my crockpot refried beans).
- Instead of tacos, you can make birria nachos, do this by spooning over the beef and sauce over chips. Add cheese and melt under the broiler in the oven.
- Some just eat the shredded beef and sauce as a stew, add toppings such as cilantro, onion, sour cream and lime juice.
Recipe FAQs
Just cheese, add cheese to the tortillas when assembling the tacos in the pan.
Store any remaining sauce in an airtight container. Put the beef in a separate container. Keep both in the fridge for up to one week. Or freeze for up to three months.
More Slow Cooker Mexican-Inspired Recipes
- Tender and full of bold flavor, Slow Cooker Barbacoa is made with chipotle peppers, garlic, lime, and spices—perfect for tacos, burrito bowls, or nachos.
- For bite-sized flavor, Slow Cooker Street Tacos are filled with seasoned shredded beef, then topped with onion, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime.
- Give taco night a twist with Slow Cooker Cool Ranch Tacos, made with ground beef or chicken, taco seasoning, and Cool Ranch dressing mix.
- With just chicken and a jar of salsa, Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken transforms into a flavorful shredded filling for tacos, bowls, or salads.
- A cheesy favorite, Slow Cooker Rotel Tacos combine ground beef, Rotel tomatoes, and velveeta for a zesty and satisfying dinner.
- Slow Cooker Mexican Shredded Beef starts with chuck roast slow cooked in broth, tomatoes, and spices until it falls apart—perfect for stuffing into tacos, enchiladas, or burritos.
Reader Reviews
“Yum! I’ve never had this dish before but it was excellent. I’m a whimp for spice so I removed the chilies before blending the sauce and it was just enough heat.” -Kayla
“Sooooo good. I decided to try looking for these after my son brought some home from a friend whose mom is Mexican. This takes exactly like hers. I reduced the arbol pepper amount so it wasn’t as spicy and removed all seeds prior to cooking. I added a little sugar and it was the perfect amount of heat. Will definitely make this again.” -Kaela
“Absolutely fantastic. The recipe was perfect for myself. It was a little to spicy for my finance but adding some more beef stock or broth to the Consomme in a separate bowl did the trick.” – Dan
Slow Cooker Birria Beef Tacos
How to Video
Equipment
- Cast iron skillet (or a heavy skillet)
Ingredients
- 3 lbs. boneless chuck roast
- 1 Tbsp. cooking oil, (vegetable, canola, or avocado)
- 1 ½ tsp. coarse ground pepper
- 1 ½ tsp. salt
- 4 dried Guajillo chiles
- 7-8 dried arbol chiles
- 5-6 Chipotle chiles in adobo, from a can
- 1 white onion, thinly sliced
- 8 whole cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
- 32 oz. beef stock
- 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
- 14.5 oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes
- 2 Tbsp. lime juice
- 1 Tbsp. ground cumin
- 1 Tbsp. dried Mexican oregano
- 1 tsp. dried thyme
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 2 dry bay leaves
- 1 tsp. ground cloves
- 1 tsp. smoked paprika
- 1 tsp. ground coriander
- 1 tsp. dried minced onion, or ½ tsp. onion powder
For serving
- corn tortillas
- cilantro
- diced red onions
- more oil for frying tacos
Instructions
- Season all sides of the chuck roast with salt and pepper and preheat a cast iron skillet over medium high heat.
- Add the oil and once hot, sear the meat for 4-5 minutes on all sides.
- Next, add guajillo chiles, arbol chiles, chipotle peppers, onion, garlic, beef stock, tomato paste, diced tomatoes, lime juice, cumin, thyme, oregano, cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, cloves, paprika, minced dried onion, and coriander to the crock pot. Stir to combine.
- Place chuck roast into the crock pot and cover. Cook for 9-10 hours on low.
- Remove the chuck roast from the crock pot and place into a bowl. Shred using 2 forks.
- Remove and discard the bay leaves and cinnamon sticks. Take the stems off the peppers and discard.
- Next, use an immersion blender to blend sauce until smooth. (Use a food processor or stand blender if you do not have an immersion blender and return to the slow cooker or transfer to a large bowl.)
- Add 1 cup of sauce to the bowl with the shredded meat and stir to coat.
Assembling the Tacos
- Heat a frying pan over medium high heat and once hot, add cooking oil to the pan.
- Using a pair of tongs, dip each side of the tortilla in the sauce and then double them for frying.
- Place the dipped, now doubled tortillas into a frying pan flatly and fry for about two minutes.
- Flip, add a bit of sauce, the meat, onions, and cilantro to one-half of the tortilla, fold it in half and fry each side of the now shaped taco for up to 2 minutes per side. Spoon a bit of sauce over each side of the tortilla after it’s been fried.
- Transfer to a serving plate and serve with a bowl of pureed sauce for dipping. Add additional diced onions and cilantro as a garnish if desired.
Sarah’s Notes
- Want queso birria? Simply, add Monterey jack cheese to the tacos after adding the meat while frying.
- Store any remaining sauce in an airtight container. Put the beef in a separate container. Keep both in the fridge for up to one week. Or freeze for up to a month.
- Mexican oregano and ‘regular’ oregano used in Italian dishes are two different herbs from different plants. You can use ‘regular’ if you can’t find Mexican but it will have a slightly different flavor.
- Add the cheese to make queso birria, Monterey jack cheese works best.
- The best part is serving the birria tacos with the dipping sauce, which is often called consomme.
- Serve with Mexican rice or refried beans (try my crockpot refried beans).
- Instead of tacos, you can make birria nachos, do this by spooning over the beef and sauce over chips.
- Add cheese and melt under the broiler in the oven.
- Some just eat the shredded beef and sauce as a stew, add toppings such as cilantro, onion, sour cream and lime juice.
Nutrition
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
How many tacos per serving? It says 9 servings but I’m not sure how many tortillas I should buy
Yum! I’ve never had this dish before but it was excellent. I’m a whimp for spice so I removed the chilies before blending the sauce and it was just enough heat.
Sooooo good. I decided to try looking for these after my son brought some home from a friend whose mom is Mexican. This takes exactly like hers. I reduced the arbol pepper amount so it wasn’t as spicy and removed all seeds prior to cooking. I added a little sugar and it was the perfect amount of heat. Will definitely make this again.
What could I use in place of the arbol chiles as I can’t find them anywhere??
I would use a few more of the Guajillo chiles, and maybe one more chipotle pepper.
They have the dried Arbol peppers on Amazon. I got a 3 pack, which includes the Guajillo arbol and ancho.
Absolutely fantastic. The recipe was perfect for myself. It was a little to spicy for my finance but adding some more beef stock or broth to the Consomme in a separate bowl did the trick.
This came out amazing! I have a TON of sauce left. Can I freeze it and use it in a crockpot with new meat to make more? Or will it overcook?
I think that would work fine!
Great. Your recipe instructions fail to state when to add the chipotle chiles and the thyme. It says it up top, but it’s missing when you download the recipe
It is step 3 in the recipe.
This is a really great recipe for the crockpot. Chock full of flavor without being overly spicy. For those who like less spice you could reduce the number of chipotles in adobo. We have enough for a second meal. Yay!!!!!!
When doubling the meat portion fron 3 lbs to 6-7 lbs. should all other ingredients be doubled as well?
There is SO much sauce for this recipe, I think you’ll be fine. You may need to add more salt to taste at the end.
Sounds great!
How long would you recommend cooking on high, for slow cookers that support it?
5-6 hours will work or until the meat is very tender.