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Slow Cooker Shredded Beef

This slow cooker shredded beef is the best way to make flavorful and tender pulled beef, with minimal effort. After a quick sear (which adds a layer of flavor), the slow cooker will do the rest of the cooking for you.

The beef is seasoned simply, making it a delicious base to many meals – sandwiches, tacos, or even as a main dish. It’s a great recipe to make ahead for busy weekdays, use for meal prep, or to feed a crowd.

Shredded beef in a slow cooker with gold spoon.

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

What You’ll Love About Slow Cooker Shredded Beef

  • Deliciously tender and flavorful beef
  • So many ways to use it
  • Takes just 10 minutes to prep
  • Hands-off 6-8 hours cooking time
  • Easy to make ahead
  • Made with simple ingredients

Ingredients

  • 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.
  • Oil – This is for searing the meat so use a vegetable oil like avocado or canola oil.
  • Red wine vinegar – This gives the crock pot beef a bit of tang, it’s not noticeable, but helps balance the richness of the beef. You could also use white balsamic vinegar or apple cider vinegar.
  • Onion – I’ve used a white onion, but it’s really just for flavor, so you can use white onion, yellow onion, or even red onion.
  • Garlic – Use whole cloves here as we’re just using it to flavor the meat.
  • Sea salt and black pepper
Ingredients to make slow cooker shredded beef

Emily’s Tip

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.

How to Make Pulled Beef in the Slow Cooker

This is an overview, the detailed instructions can be found below in the recipe card.

  1. Season. Season beef liberally with sea salt and black pepper.
Chuck roast searing in a skillet
Beef in crock pot.
  1. Sear. Heat oil in a skillet and sear beef until browned on both sides.
  2. Cook beef. Add beef to the bottom of the slow cooker and add onion, garlic, and red wine vinegar over the beef. Slow cook on Low until beef shreds easily.
Shredded beef in tongs on tortilla.

FAQs

What cut of beef is best for shredding?

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.

How do you cook beef until it falls apart?

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.

Why is my meat not shredding in the crock pot?

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 sit for 15-20 minutes, and then try shredding. This sometimes helps!

Can you overcook pulled beef in the slow cooker?

Yes, you absolutely can overcook meat in the slow cooker and it will end up tasting dry and mushy.

Note about 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.

Storage

Store the shredded beef in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.

How to reheat

Reheat beef in the microwave or a hot skillet until heated through.

Can you freeze shredded beef?

Yes, you can freeze the beef in an airtight container for 2-3 months.

Plate of shredded beef tacos.

What to Serve with Shredded Beef

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!

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 – Follow the instructions from my steak quesadillas, just skip the steak portion. 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 frozen broccoli or green beans with roasted potatoes or cheesy potatoes for a quick and nutritious meal.

More Slow Cooker Recipes

If you like slow cooker shredded beef recipes like this one, you might also like some of these other slow cooker recipes:

Want More?

Follow Emily on Instagram or TikTok for family dinner recipe videos and tips for feeding kids.

Crockpot shredded beef in tacos.
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Shredded beef in a slow cooker with gold spoon.

Slow Cooker Shredded Beef

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  • Author: Emily Dingmann of myeverydaytable.com
  • 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.ย 


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 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 smash (remove skins but leave whole)


Instructions

  1. Season beef chuck roast with sea salt and black pepper.
  2. Heat oil in large skillet and brown chuck roast pieces on all four sides. Do this in batches if your pan isnโ€™t big enough. Brown for about 2 minutes per side.
    Chuck roast searing in a skillet
  3. Transfer meat to slow cooker and top with red wine vinegar. Nestle onion and garlic in the meat and cook on low for 6-8 hours, until beef is tender and shreds easily.
    Beef in crock pot.
  4. Use shredded beef chuck roast in shredded beef tacos and beef sandwich melts.ย 
    Shredded beef in a slow cooker with gold spoon.


Notes

  • Use a 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.
  • 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.

Food styling and photography by Loren Runion.

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2 Comments

  1. 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.

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