Slow Cooker Shredded Beef
This slow cooker shredded beef is juicy, flavorful, and fall-apart tender—all with minimal effort. After a quick sear (which adds a great layer of flavor), the slow cooker will do the rest of the cooking for you. The beef is seasoned simply so that you can use it in a variety of ways, and it’s a great recipe to make ahead for busy weekdays, use for meal prep, or to feed a crowd.
Flavorful, tender, and minimal work. 🙌
The beef is seasoned simply, making it a delicious base to many meals – sandwiches, tacos, or even as a main dish with some veggie sides.
I know browning the meat is an extra (and maybe annoying!) step, but it does help add a rich and deep flavor to the shredded beef. Why? The Maillard reaction, which is when foods are browned at high temperatures, like we’ve done with the beef here. It helps make foods more appealing and adds a more complex flavor.
Thanks for letting me relive all of those Chemistry classes I took in college, and if you want more info on the Maillard Reaction, I recommend reading this article from Serious Eats. It’s…
🍲 Hands-off cooking: After a quick sear, add everything to the crockpot and let the slow cooker do the work.
🍗 Tender & juicy: After slow cooking, this beef literally shreds itself!
👩👩👧👦 Family-friendly: It’s great for batch cooking, freezing, or even feeding a crowd. And because it’s seasoned really simply, it works for family-style meals.
💰 Budget-friendly: Inexpensive cuts like chuck roast work perfectly as they are best when cooked slowwwwwwwly.
🌮 So versatile: The shredded beef works with so many flavors! Try it in tacos, buritto bowls, or sandwiches.
❄️ Freezer-friendly: Stores and reheats like a dream.
You’ll also want to try my slow cooker salsa chicken, pesto chicken, beef stew, and turkey quinoa chili when you need an easy and cozy crockpot meal.
This is amazing! I add more garlic and onion and pierce the meat to get the onion and garlic inside, this gives better flavor. –Nick
Ingredient Notes
You’ll need some fresh ingredients and pantry staples to make this crockpot beef: chuck roast, salt, pepper, oil, red wine vinegar, onion, and garlic.
- Beef: Chuck roast is the standard cut for shredded beef. The fat, marbling, and collagen help it stay tender and luscious. You might see it labeled as shoulder roast or chuck eye roast. Other cuts of beef that would work are brisket, round, or rump roast.
Emily’s Tips & Tricks
- Cooking time: Cooking time will vary, so if you test the meat after 6 hours and it’s not tender and doesn’t fall apart easily, give it some more time and check beef in 30-minute increments.
- Feeding kids without pressure: This beef has a really mild flavor, but if it’s a new food, I would recommend serving a small shred of beef along with a few items you know your kids will like (fruit, milk, bread) if they don’t eat the beef.
- Additions: You could easily add in extra flavors to the beef: chipotle peppers in adobo, salsa, or taco seasoning for TexMex flavors or add something like pepperoncinis for some extra tang.
Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Recipe
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 6 hours
- Total Time: 6 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Slow Cooker
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Learn how to make pulled beef! Just 10 minutes prep and after slow cooking, you’ll be left with flavorful, tender, and totally delicious shredded beef.
Ingredients
- 3 lbs. chuck roast beef (can be whole or cut into two pieces)
- 2 tsp. sea salt
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper
- 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
- 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/2 white onion (left whole)
- 3 cloves garlic, lightly smashed (remove skins but leave whole)
Instructions
- Season the beef chuck roast with sea salt and black pepper.
- Heat oil in a large skillet and brown the chuck roast pieces on all four sides. Do this in batches if your pan isn’t big enough. Brown for about 2 minutes per side.
- Transfer the meat to the slow cooker and top with red wine vinegar. Nestle onion and garlic in the meat and cook on low for 6-8 hours, until the beef is tender and shreds easily.
- Use shredded beef chuck roast in shredded beef tacos and beef sandwich melts.
Notes
- Cooking time will vary, so if you test the meat after 6 hours and it’s not tender and doesn’t fall apart easily, give it some more time and check in 30-minute increments.
- Storage: Store the shredded beef in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Reheat beef in the microwave or a hot skillet until heated through. You can also freeze the cooked beef for 2-3 months in an airtight container.
- Ingredient notes: Use high-quality beef with a decent amount of marbling for the best flavor. The meat will end up cooking in its own liquid, so no extra liquid is necessary.
- Special tools: I’ve tried fancy crockpots and regular crockpots…I prefer the basic one!
- Need more dinner inspiration? I’ve got everything you need for easy weeknight dinners right here.
FAQs
A beef chuck roast (sometimes called chuck eye roast), like we’ve used here, is the best cut of beef for this shredded beef recipe as it has marbling (fat) and collagen to keep it tender and infuse it with delicious, rich, and great flavor. You could also use tri-tip, round roast, or bottom roast cuts.
Choose a cut of beef with some marbling, which will help keep it nice and tender while cooking. Cook on low heat in the slow cooker for a longer time, which will result in super tender beef.
If your meat doesn’t shred easily, it might just need to cook for a longer time. I typically find that if I cook things like this on High, they aren’t quite as fall-apart tender as they are cooked on Low. But if it’s cooked for long enough, you can turn the slow cooker to warm and let it sit for 15-20 minutes, and then try shredding. This sometimes helps!
Yes, you absolutely can overcook meat in the slow cooker, and it will end up tasting dry and mushy.
What to Serve with Shredded Beef
Once the beef is cooked, try one of these serving suggestions:
- Shredded beef sandwiches: Save the au jus for dipping!
- Shredded beef tacos: Serve with refried black beans, a squeeze of lime juice, pickled red onions, and your favorite toppings.
- Beef stew: Serve over mashed potatoes or roasted veggies for a cozy fall meal.
- Burrito bowls: Make a batch of rice in the rice maker and serve with shredded lettuce, corn salsa, black beans, avocado, and salsa or pico de Gallo for a quick meal.
- Nachos: Top tortilla chips with shredded beef, cheese, and any other toppings you like – corn, beans, etc. and when it’s done cooking, top with fresh ingredients like sour cream, avocado, pickled onions, and jalapenos.
- Quesadillas: Layer the shredded beef with cheese in your favorite tortillas and cook until golden brown. Don’t forget the quesadilla sauce.
- BBQ Sandwiches: Serve on hamburger buns, brioche buns, or hoagie rolls with a tangy bbq sauce and top with napa cabbage slaw.
- Main: Serve with some delicious side dishes like easy veggies with roasted potatoes or cheesy potatoes for a quick and nutritious meal.
I love crock pot shredded beef recipes like this one because they can be used in so many different ways. It’s exactly why I kept the seasonings basic – you can go in any flavor direction!
More Slow Cooker Recipes
If you’re always looking for more slow cooker recipes to get you through busy weeks, here are a few more of our favorites:
About the Author
Emily Dingmann is a recipe developer, nutrition expert, and founder of My Everyday Table. She specializes in creating easy, healthy recipes that help busy parents feed their families well every single day, without the stress. With a degree in Nutrition and over 20 years of experience, Emily shares family-friendly meals that are practical, nourishing, and full of flavor. Learn more about Emily’s approach to everyday cooking and nutrition here.
Food styling and photography by Loren Runion.
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First dish I ever made for my daughter. This is amazing! I add more garlic and onion and pierce the meat to get the onion and garlic inside, this gives better flavor.
So happy to hear this, Nick! Thanks for sharing!
Emily, it doesn’t say what to do wince the meat is cooked…mix in the liquid? Or discard it? How about the onions and garlic??
I would shred it right in the crockpot and keep it in the cooking liquid to keep it nice and juicy! I prefer to discard the onions and garlic, but sometimes my husband likes to eat them! They lose most of their flavor in the cooking process so their job is done. 😉