I’ve waited long enough…I say it’s officially slow cooker season here in the States! Time to drag those old Rival crock pots or fancy slow cookers out from the back shelves and get busy making some of the easiest and tastiest paleo family meals ever!
If you’re like me, your fall calendar is filling up fast. The holidays are coming and our to-do list seems to get longer by the day. That’s why it’s nice this time of year to have a “set it and forget it” slow-cooked meal waiting for you once in a while so you can relax after a long day.
Here’s my latest original paleo slow-cooker entrée…spicy shredded beef.
Let me just say I normally don’t eat a ton of beef. I prefer poultry or fish for my protein. But this recipe was the exception – it just tasted so good that I found it incredibly hard to resist.
I made this recipe as a spicy soft taco meal the first day, and then whipped up a quick paleo shredded beef and lettuce salad with it the second day. That’s one of the beauties of slow-cooked meals – leftovers!
If you want to enjoy this as a soft taco meal, you really need to check out my easy Paleo Tortillas.
Want the ultimate topping for your soft taco? Check out this simple Paleo Avocado-Cilantro-Lime Sauce – it’s really refreshing and the perfect match for this spicy shredded beef.
Paleo meal planning can change your life. Believe it or not, I don’t like to cook every day. I work weekdays like a lot of you, and I know stay-at-home moms are just as busy!
All it takes is a little extra effort and you can give yourself at least a day or two off from heavy kitchen duty during your workweek. I always try to make a big meal on Sundays along with a batch of egg muffins or paleo pancakes I can freeze for the next week.
Like most of the important things in our lives, living the paleo life is so much easier when you plan ahead.
I hope you try this awesome recipe. It’s really easy, and a little fiesta for your taste buds!
We used my paleo tortilla recipe for the soft tacos, but you can also tear off a big lettuce leaf and stuff the goodies inside if you want to keep your meal low carb.
I’ll also show you how to use this paleo shredded beef recipe to make a quick and yummy salad in a post later this week…so stay tuned for that.
Hope you enjoy! :)
Slow-Cooked Spicy Shredded Beef Paleo Recipe
Equipment
- Crockpot/Slow-cooker
Ingredients
Shredded Beef Taco Ingredients
- 2 lbs chuck roast
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 1/4 cup beef broth
- 1 medium onion diced
- 1 serrano pepper diced small
- 1 jalapeño pepper. diced small
- 3 garlic cloves minced or pressed
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
Sauce Recipe
- See "Paleo Avocado Cilantro Lime Sauce Recipe" link in Notes
Tortilla Recipe
- See "Paleo Tortillas Recipe" link in Notes
Instructions
- Season roast with salt and pepper and set aside
- Mix dry spices together (chili powder, cumin, paprika) and rub over both sides of roast
- Place roast in your slow cooker along with the garlic, onion and peppers
- Add remaining ingredients to pot (tomato paste, beef stock, lime juice) and pour over beef
- Cook on LOW (8-10 hours) or HIGH (4-6 hours) – meat should be tender and pull apart easily
- Shred meat with a fork and return to slow cooker. Mix shredded meat with the juices remaining in the slow cooker
- Make the paleo tortillas or use the shredded beef for a taco salad
- Top as desired with the avocado cilantro lime sauce
So amazing! My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed this along with the paleo tortillas. This will definitely become a repeat meal in our household. Thanks you!
Yay! Thank you Julie. I love the versatility of this recipe. I’m glad your family enjoyed :)
Hi!
I was just at the store getting the ingredients and noticed your itemized ingredients list says to use broth but the directions say to use stock. Not sure if it’s that big of a deal but I ended up getting both. Which one do you prefer?
Jonnie, You can use which ever you like. It will be amazing either way. :)
WOW!! Talk about licking my plate amazing. I’m so glad I made this and will again. I left out the peppers bc I’m not a fan of heat. It was truly wonderful. Looking forward to the leftovers :)
Thank you Whitney! I’m glad you gave it a go. Great idea to just skip the peppers if anyone is concerned about heat. Thanks for the kind comment!
Would this work for chicken? What about in the oven? I don’t own (or want one) a slow cooker.
I think it would work fine for chicken slow cooked in the oven. :)
I purchased fresh sirloin steak from the butcher and followed the recipe step by step. My whole house smelled great and had the neighbors getting hungry! When I was eating the tacos, I was able to “taste & smell” the meat as if it were raw. I cooked it for 9.5 hours and the juices were about to dry out, so it was fully cooked through. Any help please?
I have no idea. I’m not sure how anything can taste or smell raw after cooking for 9 hrs. Maybe it was the meat? Sorry I can’t help you. This has been a very popular recipe and I’v enjoyed it many times myself with no problems.
Can you suggest an alternate for the heat? I want to make this but I have three small children who may not tolerate the spicyness. I have an idea to tweak it a little leaving out the peppers but don’t want to mess with the integrity of the dish just in case this is what makes it great. Ideas?
Suzanne, You can eliminate the peppers or use mild green chili’s instead. My green chili pork also has great flavor but without a lot of heat. Let me know how it goes! :)
Can the meat be frozen in the crockpot or does it have to be thawed first?
I have never made from frozen, so not sure. Sorry.
Sad day! I followed the instructions and cooked it on high for 4 hours. It was exrememly tough. Flavor was great but we could hardly eat it. :(
Sonia, I think it may have been the cooking time. Any meat that is slow cooked long enough should easily shred apart. I give general estimates of time based on my slow cooker. Yours might just need more time. If you ever have that happen again, just let it go for another hour or two. Some slow cookers are just that. Slow.
Would a beef brisket work with this recipe? That’s what I have but don’t want to mess this up! I want to make sure the beef is nice and shredded. Either way I can’t wait to try this recipe this week.
Hi Lindsay, I have never made it with brisket, so I’m not sure. I don’t think it would shred very well once it’s cooked. If you try it, let me know how it goes. :)
This sounds lovely. Going to give this a go. thanks for sharing this recipe.
Simon
Oh good Simon…let us know what you think! Thanks for your comment :)
Holy Smokes this was delicious! I doubled the recipe for our big family dinner on Sunday, and everyone LOVED it. When the meat was done I took it all out and took an immersion blender to the remaining liquid in the crock pot, and it made a killer gravy, then I put the shredded meat back in. Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful recipe.
Great idea for gravy Melissa…will be trying that myself! Thanks much for your awesome comment! :)
I made this last week and we loved it so much that I am making it again tomorrow. It was so good.
Hey that’s awesome Noel…thanks so much for your sweet comment…love that dish too :)
I have a top round roast in the freezer can that be substituted for the chuck roast? Recipe sounds fantastic!!
Hi Juie…I think your top round would work…it’s typically a little tougher and leaner cut than chuck roast, but should turn out fine…let me know if you try it :)
I don’t really do the paleo thing but had to try this recipe. And so glad I did! Didn’t deviate from the recipe but served it like street tacos on corn tortillas with onion, cilantro and a squeeze of lime juice so amazing! Will definitely be making this again.
Awesome Jason…sounds delish to me, paleo or not. Thanks much for your comment!
Could I make this in the oven if I don’t have a slow cooker?
You sure can…use a big soup pot or stockpot. Keep it covered and go low and slow with it. I haven’t tried it in the oven myself or I’d give you temperatures and cooking times…you’ll just have to experiment a little and keep an eye on it and it should turn out just fine! :)
I don’t eat much meat so I’m not sure is the chuck roast found where the hamburger/chicken/pork chops are? Or do you have to go to the butcher counter?
Most grocery stores have it in regular section of the store. If you can’t find it just ask the butcher. I do this sometimes when I want a fresh or special cut of meat and they are always happy to help!
did something happen to the link? I don’t see anywhere where i can click on a link for the recipe.
Hmmm…it should be here: http://www.paleonewbie.dreamhosters.com/slow-cooked-spicy-shredded-beef-tacos/
Your links are all broken because the dreamhosters portion removed. it works fine with https://www.paleonewbie.com/paleo-gluten-free-tortillas-recipe/ or https://www.paleonewbie.com/slow-cooked-spicy-shredded-beef-tacos/ or https://www.paleonewbie.com/paleo-avocado-cilantro-lime-sauce/.
I made this the other day and it was a huge hit! Definitely has some heat – served it over salad. Cooked on low overnight so I didn’t burn it :) Thank you!
After a holiday full of cakes, cookies and other junk food, my husband requested something healthy and delicious. We try to eat healthy (or what we thought was healthy) but that usually meant opening the bag of whole wheat tortillas instead of white. Well, absolutely no more packaged tortillas for us! These tacos were phenomenal! I had to show my husband the recipe so he could see for himself that there was no packaged tortillas or powdered taco seasoning involved! (powdered taco seasoning is another thing i’ll be tossing out of our diet) Cant wait to explore more of your paleo recipes. We are hooked! Thanks so much for the recipe!
Oh my gosh! I can’t tell you how much I appreciate reviews like yours. I can really appreciate you trying to make foods that are healthier for your family. It’s so great to hear it was well received. I think there is a misconception that healthy means less flavor. So NOT true. I hope you find more recipes for you and your hubby to enjoy. Just making a couple of healthy meals a week means your on your way. High five! and thank you so much for your kind words. :) Trina
How many serving is this recipe for? Thank you!
Jessica, its a lot of beef! You could fee a good group of people. The tortillas recipe makes 6.
Just made this exactly as written turned out sooooo tasty! Thanks for the recipe!
So glad you enjoyed Makala! My family has requested it as well! Happy New Year!
Cooked this tonight followed recipe no deviation and they were amazing. Will def make again! Finally a Paleo wrap!
Jimmy, Hi and wow! Thanks so much! I’m really happy you enjoyed the recipe and are kind enough to let me know! I really appreciate it! Cheers!
How many servings does this make? Enough for four full grown adults?
Yes, even if you’re all hungry. :)
Can this be done with A deer roast?
Have not tried that one! You will have to let me know. :) Sounds like it would work.
Have the roast in the crock pot now and it smells really great! Just made the avocado sauce in my blender and it’s my first time making a sauce in there. Turned out great! My cilantro is still a bit bigger than in your picture, but we won’t mind that. Thanks for posting this great recipe!
You are most welcome! I love this recipe too. And the sauce….well, it’s the bomb! :)
I am so making this tomorrow
This is delicious! The house smelled wonderful all day and I couldn’t wait to eat dinner. I wasn’t so sure about the hot peppers, but the heat was a good amount of heat and it faded quickly. This recipe made enough to feed 2 grown ups and a teenage boy, and we have leftovers for my husband to take to work and for my son for a snack. My son and I ate this with the tortillas and my husband had paleo naan, as eggs don’t always agree with him. I shredded some carrots and chopped some raw spinach and added them to the tacos, so I could “hide” some veggies in the meal. Thank you!
Hi Staci! I’m doing a happy dance! I can’t tell you how excited I get when the whole family enjoys our recipe. And you added more veggies! Way to go! :) I hope you find a few more recipes for your “boys”. :)
April Hickson!! Yum!!
Reviewed this site, as well on today!!! OMG
Looks good!
I imagine it would yum
Monique Judd would this work with kangaroo meat
Be careful with those slow cookers!!!! High is usually way to hot. My Hamilton beach on low was a tad to hot, not sure about the warm setting. Check the temps on your brand, otherwise you’ll be trying to salvage what could’ve been a fabulous meal
Looks amazing!!
That looks beautiful
Did you put onions,peppers and garlic into a slow cooker ? Thank you.
Yes Elena, when you set the roast in your slow cooker, just scatter them on top of the meat…sorry I left those out of the instructions so thanks for asking! I’ll correct the recipe.
I think this is the best one yet!! Cant wait to try!