Chipotle Barbacoa -Flavorful and tender, this Copycat Barbacoa Recipe is as good as it gets! Slow Cooker Barbacoa melts in your mouth and is ideal for burritos, tacos, salads or as a main dish. This Mexican shredded beef specialty is easier to make than it is to pronounce!
Chipotle Barbacoa
Chipotle lovers, rejoice! This is the copycat recipe of all copycat recipes for the most mouthwatering beef that you can stuff into a taco shell or burrito— I'm talking about Barbacoa!
It took me a moment to break out of my usual order of steak to give barbacoa a try, but when I did ... it was love at first bite!
What is Barbacoa
Barbacoa is a slow-cooked beef marinated with fresh garlic, Chipotle peppers, Adobo and a blend of seasonings and spices. This copycat Chipotle recipe isn't all that complicated, and the best part is that you can cook it in a slow cooker!
Slow Cooker Barbacoa lets all the yummy flavors and juices of the beef and spices meld together while you do other things during the day, yielding that all-day marinaded flavor without any of the work!
I use this Barbacoa recipe to make my own copycat Chipotle burritos, but it's also great on salads, or even as a low carb main course with veggies.
Slow Cooker Barbacoa
This Chipotle barbacoa recipe makes a large portion of barbacoa beef, so make sure to freeze the excess for days when you need a barbacoa tacos fix.
Chipotle Barbacoa Recipe
Chipotle Barbacoa Ingredients:
- 4 lb Chuck Roast, trimmed of excess fat
- 2 tablespoon Vegetable Oil
- 3 Bay Leaves
- 1 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
- 4 teaspoon Minced Garlic
- 4 teaspoon Cumin
- 3 teaspoon Oregano
- 1 teaspoon Black Pepper
- ½ teaspoon Ground Cloves
- 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 4 Chipotle Peppers (from canned Chipotles in Adobo Sauce)
- 1 tablespoon Adobo Sauce (from canned Chipotles in Adobo Sauce)
- 1 cup Chicken Broth
- ¼ cup Lime Juice
How to Make Barbacoa
1. To make the sauce combine vinegar, lime juice, chipotle peppers, Adobo sauce, garlic, cumin, oregano, black pepper, salt, and cloves in a blender or food processor on high speed until smooth.
2. Cut meat into 6-8 pieces.
3. Heat oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat.
4. Sear all sides of the meat to get a nice crust.
5. Place meat in the slow cooker.
6. Cover with sauce from the blender.
7. Pour in chicken broth and add bay leaves.
8. Cover and cook 5 hours on high (or 8 hours on low).
9. Remove the bay leaves.
10. While still in the slow cooker, shred the meat with two forks and turn the heat to low and allow to cook for 1 more hour.
11. Serve with your favorite burrito toppings!

- 4 lb Chuck Roast trimmed of excess fat
- 2 tablespoon Vegetable Oil
- 3 Bay Leaves
- 1 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
- 4 teaspoon Minced Garlic
- 4 teaspoon Cumin
- 3 teaspoon Oregano
- 1 teaspoon Black Pepper
- ½ teaspoon Ground Cloves
- 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 4 Chipotle Peppers from canned Chipotles in Adobo Sauce
- 1 tablespoon Adobo Sauce from canned Chipotles in Adobo Sauce
- 1 cup Chicken Broth
- ¼ cup Lime Juice
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To make the sauce combine vinegar, lime juice, chipotle peppers, Adobo sauce, garlic, cumin, oregano, black pepper, salt and cloves in a blender or food processor on high speed until smooth.
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Cut meat into 6-8 pieces.
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Heat oil in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat.
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Sear all sides of the meat to get a nice crust.
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Place meat in slow cooker.
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Cover with sauce from blender.
-
Pour in chicken broth and add bay leaves.
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Cover and cook 5 hours on high (or 8 hours on low).
-
Remove the bay leaves.
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While still in the slow cooker, shred the meat with two forks and turn the heat to low and allow to cook for 1 more hour.
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Serve with your favorite burrito toppings!
How to Pronounce Barbacoa
Barbacoa is Spanish and it's pronounced Bar-buh-co-uh.
jose
Looks easy enough
Yuyun
I made this last night and it was a hit!! And so easy to make I did have to do the rice separatley thoguh b/c I didn't have the minute rice but my husband loved it! He's such a picky eater, but he seems to love your recipes! Thank you for this!