Name: Copycat Chipotle Barbacoa Beef
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 495 min
Total time: 500 min
Ingredients: 4 pounds beef chuck roast, cut into 6-8 chunks & fat trimmed; salt and pepper, (to taste); 4 chipotle peppers, (from a can of chipotles in adobo); 4 ounces diced green chiles; 1 large sweet onion, (diced); 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar; 2 limes, (juice); 1 tablespoon cumin; 2 teaspoons chili powder; 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves; 2 teaspoons dried oregano; 3/4 cup chicken broth, (beef broth works too!); 3 bay leaves; 5 cloves of garlic, (smashed); olive oil, (for cooking)

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This Copycat Chipotle Barbacoa Recipe is the Mexican night of your dreams. If you love beef barbacoa, you’ve got to try this! It’s low carb, easy to make, and fall apart delicious!

Chipotle barbacoa meat is one of my favorite things to order. I almost always get it in a rice bowl! Making it at home is SO easy and much more cost effective, so now I turn to my slow cooker for this Copycat Chipotle Barbacoa Beef.

If you love this Copycat Chipotle Barbacoa Beef Recipe, you should try these Crockpot Carnitas too!

chipotle barbacoa in a white bowl on a tray

Chipotle Barbacoa Beef Recipe

We all know Chipotle has amazing chicken, fajita veggies and more, but if you’ve tried their barbacoa beef, you know it’s the real deal. It’s mouthwatering delicious.

The beef is so tender and full of flavor.

There was a point in time where I was ordering Chipotle for lunch almost every day. I had this trick where I doubled up on the rice and meat so that I could have leftovers!

With this Barbacoa Recipe, you can make your own Chipotle burrito bowls at home!

Barbacoa Beef Ingredients

Meat: Bring on the meat! I used Beef Chuck Roast. If you have trouble finding it, you can substitute with top chuck or chuck shoulder.

Pro-Tip: trim the fat and cut the meat into chunks before cooking!

chipotle barbacoa in a white bowl with a black spoon

Peppers and onions: one of the most important ingredients in this recipe is the chipotle peppers in adobo! You will also need green chiles and white onions.

Substitutions: don’t sweat if you can’t find the chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. For a quick workaround, you can use a few splashes of tabasco chipotle hot sauce or a combination of chipotle powder and paprika.

Pro-Tip: I would still add in a diced chipotle pepper if you can find one!

Spices: Time of open up that pantry or spin that spice rack, we are going to need: cumin, chili powder, dried oregano, ground cloves, bay leaves, and garlic cloves.

Substitutions: ground cloves bring a lot of amazing flavors to the beef, so you are definitely going to want to use them. If you don’t have any ground cloves, you can sub with allspice or nutmeg.

Wet ingredients: white wine vinegar, chicken broth (or beef bone broth), and lime juice.

Pro-Tip: don’t have any white wine vinegar handy? You can sub with lemon juice or rice vinegar.

How to Make Copycat Chipotle Barbacoa Beef

1. Season the beef with salt and pepper. Heat a cast-iron skillet on medium-high heat and add a splash of olive oil.

2. Sear the beef for 3-4 minutes on each side.

3. Place the beef in the slow cooker with the chipotle peppers, diced green chiles, diced onion, white wine vinegar, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, ground cloves, dried oregano, chicken broth, bay leaves, and smashed garlic cloves. Cook on low for 7-8 hours until the beef falls apart.

4. To serve, transfer the beef to a serving bowl and shred the beef with two forks.

What is Barbacoa Beef made of?

Barbacoa is traditional Mexican cooked meat with spices that is SUPER tender and flavorful.

Making authentic barbacoa beef requires three things: the right meat, the proper spices, and time to cook it so that the flavors come together!

What is the right meat? In the US, barbacoa is made from beef. However, in Mexico, it can be made from beef or goat!

How to serve Barbacoa Beef

One thing I love about making Barbacoa Beef is that is can be served in a variety of ways! Here are some of my favorite ways to use the beef:

This Barbacoa Beef goes great with some Homemade Mango Salsa too!

Questions about the recipe

What does barbacoa mean?

Fun fact! The word “barbacoa” is where the word “barbecue” derives from. Barbacoa is the term for slow cooking shredded or chopped meats over an open fire or fire pit.

What does barbacoa taste like?

Barbacoa beef tastes very tender and melt in your mouth delicious., slow cooked shredded beef cooked in an adobo sauce with loads of flavorful Mexican spices. In other words, it tastes delicious!

What’s the secret to cooking the best barbacoa?

The secret to cooking the best barbacoa is cooking it low and slow.

When you slow cook the beef it allows the flavors to come together in a truly mouth-watering and authentic way making it the best beef you will ever make.

What is the difference between carnitas and barbacoa?

Barbacoa is beef, goat, or lamb cooked low and slow until the meat is tender and then shredded. However, carnitas, are only made of pork. Although also cooked slow and low, before serving you brown the meat in a skillet to give it that crispy texture.

beef barbacoa in a white bowl with limes and radishes

How long does barbaoca last?

Your homemade barbacoa beef will last in the fridge for 3-4 days. You can reheat it in the microwave or in the oven at 350F.

I like to reserve some of the liquid from the slow cooker for reheating purposes.

Pro-Tip: The beef is freezer-friendly. Store in an airtight freezer bag or container and pull it out when you need it!

How do you make barbacoa healthy?

One of my favorite things about this recipe is that all of the ingredients are already keto, low carb, paleo, and Whole30. However, watch/check the sugars in your chipotle chiles in adobo if you are aiming for a Whole30 recipe.

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