Are you wanting to try something new in your Slow Cooker? Look no further; this Slow Cooker Ropa Vieja is a unique but delicious meal to try!
The moment I saw this meal, I knew I must try it in the slow cooker. Shredded beef recipes in the slow cooker are where I shine, LOL.
Why is it called Ropa Vieja?
If you have never heard of Ropa Vieja, it’s a Cuban national dish that means old clothes; I’m guessing because the meat looks like really old shredded clothes?
Not a great name for a recipe, I know! Let’s move past that strange name and see what delicious ingredients create this beautiful dish.
This recipe is not spicy, but still full of great flavors. The sauce has diced tomatoes, tomato paste, beef broth, apple cider vinegar, turmeric, cumin, oregano, garlic, bell pepper, onion and green olives.
I wasn’t sure if the green olives would overpower this dish, they did not at all. The olives added a bit more vinegar flavor which lends to the overall character of the sauce.
How to make:
Ingredients:
- Beef flank steak
- Beef broth
- Canned tomato paste
- Canned diced tomatoes
- Salt and pepper
- Oregano
- Cumin
- Tumeric
- Apple Cider Vinegar
- Bell peppers
- Spanish Olives
- Garlic cloves
Directions:
- Add the beef broth, tomato paste, diced tomatoes, salt, pepper, oregano, cumin, turmeric, and apple cider vinegar to the slow cooker and stir. Add the flank steak and flip it around in that sauce.
- Add on top of the meat the onion, bell peppers, olives, and garlic cloves.
- Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on low for 9 hours or high for 5 hours.
What to serve with Ropa Vieja:
- Yellow rice; homemade or store-bought
- Green salad and dressing
- Cuban black beans
I was on the hunt for yellow rice to serve with this, since I was in no mood to make it from scratch. Let me tell you that Mahatma Yellow Rice below is impressive. It tastes like chicken, but the flavor is from saffron and turmeric. I highly recommend trying this and get two bags because they are tiny.
Try this new recipe this week and you won’t regret it! I have made this over and over since first publishing this recipe. Enjoy!
Equipment
- Slow Cooker Size: 4 quart or larger
Ingredients
- 3 lbs. beef flank steak
- 1 cup beef broth
- 6 oz. can tomato paste
- 14 oz. can petite diced tomatoes
- 1½ tsp. salt
- ¼ tsp. pepper
- 1 tsp. oregano
- 1 tsp. cumin
- ½ tsp. turmeric
- 1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
- 1 small white onion diced
- 2 bell peppers (orange and green) diced
- 1 cup Spanish olives
- 3 whole garlic cloves peeled
Instructions
- Add the beef broth, tomato paste, diced tomatoes, salt, pepper, oregano, cumin, turmeric and apple cider vinegar to the slow cooker. Stir.
- Add the flank steak and flip it around in the sauce so it gets coated. Add the bell pepper, onion, olives and garlic cloves, mix those items together to combine on top of the meat.
- Cover and cook on low for 9 hours on LOW or on HIGH for 5 hours, without opening the lid during the cooking time. Shred the meat with 2 forks right in the slow cooker.
- Serve with yellow rice and enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
Want pork instead of beef?
Try my Slow Cooker Cuban Pork recipe, it has a citrus based sauce and is just as good as this Ropa Vieja.
Ropa vieja is not cooked in slow cooker but in a pressure cooker. Should not take 9 hrs. Then let it cool off, shred, make the sofrito with chopped onion, bell peppers, garlic, oregano, cumin, salt and pepper to taste, and vino seco (Spanish cooking wine) and tomato sauce. Cook dorito until onion and peppers are soft.Place meat in same skillet and simmer in the sofrito until meat absorbs some of the juice. Serve with white rice, black beans if desired, and can’t leave out the ripened fried plantain.
That’s the Cuban way.
Chill, your way is not the ONLY WAY. Just cuz its the way ur family did it doesnt mean its written in stone. Try it you may like it and of not…oh well. Its cooking not rocket science.
I am making it again today. Received a thumbs up from family and friends the first time.
Pressure cooker? This is a centuries old dish. It’s roots are in the “slow cooked” braises that the Sephardic Jews of Southern Spain made to slow cook in the dying embers of fires as they could not light a fire and cook on their Sabbath. The modern slow cookers were invented to create the perfect environment for such braises. Pressure cooker? In 15th century Cuba?? nonsense
I would love to make this however a little confused on the measurement of salt. Is it 1/2 tsp or 1 1/2 tsp? Thanks
1 1/2
This is my go to ropa veija recipe. Everyone loves it and I never have any leftovers.
Thank you, for the great dinner idea!!
Amazing dish. Loved it.
This is delicious.
No pressure cooker or sloow cooker. I was thinking of sealing it tight and cooking overnight on low. Will that work?
You can do it in the oven, here is a good recipe to follow for the times. https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/14657/ropa-vieja/
A co- worker made this at a party for work and cooked the everying thing in a presure cooker/ slow cooker at work as soon as he came in. We all ate it over califlower rice (he’s on keto diet) and everyone got at least 3 helpings each. EXCELLENT RECIPE. Thanks!