This Slow Cooker Shredded Beef is incredibly easy to make and has so many uses, from tacos to burrito bowls to sandwiches or even just on rice. Melt in your mouth shredded beef in an incredible sauce - this is the kind of recipe that your slow cooker is made for. Great for feeding a crowd, and it freezes well too, making it good for meal prep.
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Making shredded beef in the slow cooker is the perfect dump and leave meal - just put the beef and sauce ingredients into your slow cooker (with the option of browning first for extra flavor) and then you can forget about it until it's ready.
This slow cooker pulled beef is a great meal to batch cook and then add to meals throughout the week. This pulled slow cooked beef is SO tender, and just falls apart when cooked.
With a deliciously rich and flavor packed sauce, this is the BEST pulled beef and it only takes a few minutes to prep. You can easily double this recipe (as long as your slow cooker is big enough) so that it will feed a few people.
Looking for some other beef recipes to try? Why not try our easy 10 Minute Sticky Ginger Beef, delicious Hidden Vegetable Beef Burgers or our comforting Mexican Beef and Potato Bake?
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Ingredients and Substitutions
A full ingredients list, along with US Customary and Metric measurements, can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Beef - Slow cookers are great for making budget friendly meals, because you can use cheaper cuts of meat. Cooking low and slow will get cheaper cuts really tender and still full of flavour. We used braising steak for this recipe.
- Stock - This is what makes up most of the sauce. Use a really good quality beef stock pot (beef broth) as you will taste the difference. If you are making this for young children, then use a low salt stock.
- Red wine vinegar - This adds a lovely flavour. You could use apple cider vinegar instead or just some lime juice.
- Onion - This adds flavour and texture - make sure you finely dice them. You could use shallots instead which adds a nice sweetness.
- Garlic - Freshly crushed is best, but you could use frozen, or ready crushed in a tube.
- Tomato puree (paste) - This helps to thicken the sauce and also add some colour.
- Worcestershire Sauce - A little bit of Worcestershire sauce goes a long way. It adds a real rich and deep flavour.
- Seasoning - As well as sea salt and black pepper, we added some paprika and dried basil and oregano and garlic powder.
More ingredient substitutions and variations can be found in the recipe card.
How To Make Slow Cooker Shredded Beef
Step 1
Put all of the ingredients into your slow cooker and stir and put on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.
Step 2
Once it is cooked, shred the beef using 2 forks.
Best Cut of Beef For Shredding
Chuck roast is definitely the best cut of meat to use for pulled beef. In the UK, this cut is referred to as braising steak. Similar to the shoulder of pork, chuck/braising steak contains a good amount of fat and marbling, making it perfect for shredding. We cut ours into chunks for adding to the slow cooker.
When it comes to pulled beef in the slow cooker, there is no need for an expensive joint of meat. You can get away with using a cheap cut of beef, as cooking it low and slow makes it fall apart and really melt in your mouth.
You could also use skirt, rump roast or brisket. Cooking times may vary though.
What to Serve with Slow Cooker Pulled Beef
This Slow Cooked Shredded Beef goes in so many things. Here are just a few ideas of how to use it:
- Pulled Beef Tacos
- Beef enchiladas
- Burritos
- Pizza topping
- On tagliatelle or udon noodles
- Fajitas
- Beef Sandwiches
- Burrito bowl
- Nachos topping
- Quesadillas
- In a hamburger bun with homemade coleslaw
- On rice or mashed potatoes
Dannii's Top Tips
- Slow cookers all cook things at different rates. You want to make sure that you don't overcook your beef as it will dry out. The beef is cooked when it easily shreds with a fork.
- If you like your food with a real kick of heat, add some extra red chilli flakes or some chipotle paste (or try our Slow Cooker Beef Barbacoa).
- If there is a lot of juice in your slow cooker after you take the joint out to shred, then you might want to remove some of the mixture before putting the shredded meat back in.
- For something different, but really easy, mix the beef with BBQ sauce rather than the stock.
Frequently Asked Questions
We recommend cooking it on low for 7-8 hours. However you can cook it in your slow cooker on high for 3-4 hours. It will depend on your slow cooker and the size of the chunks of beef too. If your beef isn't falling apart then it isn't tender enough and it needs some extra time.
It will also keep in the fridge for 3-4 days, but it might start to get a bit dry.
Yes, pulled beef freezes really well. You can portion it out and it will keep in the freezer for 2-3 months. The best way to reheat pulled beef (after it has defrosted) is in a pan with a little oil. It will only takes a couple of minutes.
There really is no rule here, just make sure that the beef you are using can fit in your slow cooker. We use a Crock Pot Slow Cooker and we love it. What I love most about it is that you can put the bowl insert on the hob too. So, we thicken the gravy on the hob, in the slow cooker bowl. You can also sear the meat in it first. I also love that it has a clear lid, as I am so impatient that I want to keep looking and seeing what it is doing. If you don't have a clear lid, then lifting it to see will release lots of the heat and add to the cooking time.
You don't have to, but if you have the time then it adds such a depth of flavour. Basically, you want to trigger the Maillard reaction. It is a chemical reaction between amino acids and reducing sugars that gives browned food its distinctive flavour. You don't have to though, and you can just throw everything into the slow cooker and leave it if you are really short on
More Slow Cooker Recipes
If you've tried this crockpot pulled beef recipe, let us know how you got on in the comments below.
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Recipe
Slow Cooker Shredded Beef
Ingredients
- 400 g (14 oz) Chuck roast/braising steak
- 1 Onion - diced
- 250 ml (1 cups) Beef stock
- 2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon Garlic granules - crushed
- 0.5 teaspoon Paprika - juice only
- 1 pinch Sea salt and ground black pepper
- 0.5 teaspoon Dried basil
- 0.5 teaspoon Dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon Red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoon Tomato puree
Instructions
- Put all of the ingredients into your slow cooker and stir and put on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.
- Once it is cooked, shred the beef using 2 forks.
Recipe Tips
- Slow cookers all cook things at different rates. You want to make sure that you don't overcook your beef as it will dry out. The beef is cooked when it easily shreds with a fork.
- If you like your food with a real kick of heat, add some extra red chilli flakes.
- If there is a lot of juice in your slow cooker after you take the joint out to shred, then you might want to remove some of the mixture before putting the shredded meat back in.
- For something different, but really easy, mix the beef with BBQ sauce rather than the stock.
Nutritional Information
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The nutritional information provided is approximate and is calculated using online tools. Information can vary depending on various factors, but we have endeavoured to be as accurate as possible.
As all appliances vary, cooking times are a guide. Please note that by changing the serving size, the cooking time may also need to be altered.
Dee says
I have a pressure cooker instead of a slow cooker, how long will I need to cook it for? Half the time I'm guessing?
Kate says
Have you made mole before? I would love a healthy recipe of that :)
Charlotte says
I don't have a slow cooker, but I could put it on low in the oven.
Nicola says
This would only be better if you came and made it for me. I am too lazy lol
Heidi says
Lots more slow cooker recipes please. All my cooking is done in mine during the cold months, my kitchen is too cold to stand around it for too long.
Sonia says
I love your Mexican recipes. I always look them up when I can't decide what to make for dinner. They are a crowd pleaser in our house.
Blair says
Your coleslaw is so amazing. I need more things to put it on (I am not ashamed to admit that I eat it straight from the bowl), so I will make these for sure. Another amazing recipe.