Beef Barbacoa Tacos
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These Beef Barbacoa Tacos are everything you want in a taco; they’re rich, tender, and loaded with bold, fresh flavor.
These tacos bring restaurant-quality tacos right to your kitchen, but are honestly so easy to make. The slow cooker does most of the work for you, transforming a simple chuck roast into juicy, flavor-packed barbacoa. Then all you have to do is heat some tortillas, add your favorite toppings, and enjoy!
For more homemade Mexican recipes, try Homemade Mexican Pizza, Homemade Crunchwrap Supreme, Sheet Pan Quesadillas, or Baked Bean and Cheese Taquitos.
Table Talk with Tawnie
Taco night is always a good night in my book. (Plus, you’ve seen my taco series, right?!) I’m on a roll with new taco recipes and these are staple recipes you can come back to time and time again. I’ve made my baked ground beef tacos and baked ground chicken tacos so much lately…and you have too!…but there is just something that hits the spot about these barbacoa tacos. You can’t beat a generous pile of barbacoa, fresh cilantro, diced onion, and a squeeze of lime. That’s honestly all you need. But if I’m feeling a little extra, I’ll add pickled red onions or a drizzle of crema to take things up a notch. Always a crowd favorite!
- Barbacoa: These tacos use my Slow Cooker Beef Barbacoa. You can also enjoy this barbacoa for burrito bowls, salads, served over rice, or piled onto your favorite nachos!
- Tortillas: You can use 6-inch flour or corn tortillas. I like to make these with corn tortillas for an authentic flavor, but use your preference! Feel free to double up the tortillas so they don’t break easily!
- Onion: Top with finely diced white onion (check out this post for how to dice an onion), or pickled onions are also delicious!
- Cheese: I love topping these barbacoa tacos with fresh cotija cheese and crema, but you can use any cheese you prefer!
- More taco toppings: Fresh chopped cilantro, jalapeños (or pickled jalapeños), salsa or pico, fresh lime wedges, etc.
Step by Step Directions
(For the full recipe, scroll down to the recipe card below)
Make the barbacoca
Follow my Slow Cooker Barbacoa recipe.
Warm the tortillas
Warm the tortillas directly over a gas flame until slightly charred (or you can place them on a dry cast iron skillet).
Assemble tacos
Build the tacos with the shredded barbacoa and top with all of your favorite taco toppings.
Serve & enjoy!
Serve with a fresh squeeze of lime on top and enjoy!!
Expert Tips
- Double up on the tortillas: I like to really pile these tacos with meat and toppings so I will sometimes double up on the tortillas (especially if they’re thin!).
- Char the tortillas: My favorite way to heat these tortillas is to warm them over a gas flame🔥 this creates a really yummy char that goes perfectly with these tacos (however, you can also just use a dry cast iron skillet)
- Crisp it up: If you like your beef a little crispy, feel free to spread the shredded beef on a baking sheet and broil for a few minutes until the edges get crispy. Or you can flash fry it in a hot pan with a little bit of olive oil before adding to your tacos.
- Serving suggestions: Serve these barbacoa tacos with a side of my Cilantro Lime Rice, refried or black beans, or Avocado Corn Salad.
Taco Series
Check out my new series featuring easy and fun weeknight taco recipes! You’ll find everything from classic favorites to creative twists to take your Taco Tuesday to the next level!🌮
Storage / Freezing
- Since these are so quick and easy to make, I recommend making the tacos fresh!
- For leftover meat, store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
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Beef Barbacoa Tacos
Ingredients
- Slow Cooker Beef Barbacoa (shredded)
For the tacos:
- Corn or flour tortillas
- Fresh lime wedges
- Fresh chopped cilantro
- Cotija
- Diced onion or pickled onions
- Jalapeno
- Crema
- Salsa
Last step! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
- Make barbacoa: Make the slow cooker barbacoca.Slow Cooker Beef Barbacoa
- Warm tortillas: Warm them directly over a gas flame on each side briefly until slightly charred or place on a dry cast iron skillet.Corn or flour tortillas
- Assemble: Build the tacos with the barbacoa and top with all of your favorite taco toppings.Cotija, Diced onion or pickled onions, Jalapeno, Crema, Salsa, Fresh chopped cilantro
- Serve: Serve with a fresh squeeze of lime on top, and feel free to double up the tortillas so they don’t break easily!Fresh lime wedges
Notes
- Crisp it up: If you like your beef a little crispy, feel free to spread the shredded beef on a baking sheet and broil for a few minutes until the edges get crispy. Or you can flash fry it in a hot pan with a little bit of olive oil before adding to your tacos.
- Since these are so quick and easy to make, I recommend making the tacos fresh!
- For leftover meat, store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Nutrition Information
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is automatically calculated. It should only be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary and Kroll’s Korner can’t make any guarantees to the accuracy of this information.
📸 Photos by Megan McKeehan of The Broke Girl Table
