Slow Cooker Birria Tacos

Hearty and saucy slow cooker birria tacos are the perfect game day and party food for all lovers of Mexican food. Loaded with beef, chili peppers, hot spices, and thick sauce these tacos are a must try!

A selection of hot peppers, slow-cooked and perfectly seasoned beef chuck roast, and rich sauce paired with grilled tortillas dipped in some extra sauce – do tacos get better than this? I am not sure.

My best tip for making birria taco sauce is to prep the peppers before blending the sauce and use a bunch of flavorful spices to make sure the birria beef and tortillas will be infused with flavors.

If you don’t love spicy food, don’t worry, my version of slow-cooker birria tacos is only mildly hot!

Have some spare corn tortillas? Make more tacos! This birria recipe shares flavors with barbacoa tacos and carnitas you should absolutely try.

What Are Birria Tacos (Birria De Res)?

Birria tacos are a delicious Mexican dish that hails from the state of Jalisco, Mexico. Traditionally, birria is made with goat meat and tough meat cuts of meat people wouldn’t buy, hence the name birria that in Spanish means “something of little value”.

Birria is famous for its rich, flavorful sauce made from a blend of dried guajillo chiles, chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, and various spices. The sauce often uses vinegar and serves as a marinade for the tough meat making it incredibly tender.

Recently, birria tacos became so popular because many households now have a slow cooker, which makes the long cooking process of a tough cut a breeze. Can’t be happier to have a crock pot myself!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• You will crave the birria consomé (the sauce) after you make this recipe. It is incredibly good and compliments the shredded meat perfectly.
• A delicious recipe that will work great for Taco Tuesday, game night, and Cinco De Mayo Fiesta.
• These Quesabirrias are easy to customize and adjust the heat level makes the recipe more kid-friendly.
• Perfect to make ahead. You can blend the sauce way ahead of time and load the slow cooker in the morning to only come back home and assemble the tacos. A win for a busy home cook.

Ingredients Notes

For exact quantities and printable steps, see the recipe card at the bottom of the page.

Birria Meat and Sauce

• Beef chuck roast with nice marbling and no bones or short ribs.
• Guajillo chiles. Fresh or dried, with all the seeds removed. These peppers are not that spicy so you can use them even if making this dish for guests who can’t handle heat.
• Ancho chiles are also on the milder side, even less hot than jalapenos. Dried are readily available online, even on Amazon.
• Chipotle peppers (from the can with adobo sauce) are the hottest peppers in the mix, closer to jalapenos. However, canned and pickled peppers are often not as hot as fresh ones.
• Adobo sauce. Pick the cak with peppers, as we will use them too. Easy to find at most grocery stores.
• Garlic cloves. My recipe calls for the whole cloves but if you have frozen minced garlic, use it. It all will be blended anyway!
• White onion. You can use yellow onions in a pinch. Both are sweet and have a bright flavor.
• Roma tomatoes. I use fresh tomatoes, but it is fine to use canned fire-roasted tomatoes and tomato paste in a pinch.
• Seasonings: cumin, bay leaves, smoked paprika, oregano (or dried marjoram), ground cinnamon (or whole cinnamon stick), salt and pepper to taste. Note that Mexican oregano is quite different from Meditteranean one.
• Apple cider vinegar for extra tang and tenderizing the meat.
• Beef broth or beef stock to make the rich and flavorful consume. Stick to the low-sodium version to keep the salt content in check.

Tacos

• Corn or flour tortillas. You can buy or make your own. Try my 30-minute flour tortillas or corn tortillas to make a fully homemade meal.
• Shredded mozzarella or Oaxaca cheese
• Chopped cilantro (optional)
• Lime wedges for serving or just squeeze some fresh lime juice over the tacos

Kitchen Equipment

• Crock pot
• Skillet
• Cutting board
• Bowls
• Blender
• 2 forks to shred beef (or use hands)
• Slotted spoon

How To Make Slow Cooker Birria Tacos

1: Prep The Peppers

Toast all the dried chiles in a skillet without oil over medium heat for about 1-2 minutes until aromatic. Soak the toasted chiles in hot water for 10 minutes until softened.

2: Prepare The Blended sauce

Combine the softened chiles, chipotle pepper, adobo sauce, fresh garlic, chopped onions, tomatoes, cumin, smoked paprika, oregano, cinnamon, apple cider vinegar, and 1 cup of beef broth in a blender. Blend until smooth.

3: Slow Cook the Beef Chuck Roast

1. Place the beef in the slow cooker, and season with salt and pepper.
2. Pour the sauce over the beef and add the remaining beef broth, bay leaves, and additional salt to taste.
3. Cook beef on low for 8 hours or high for 6 hours, until the meat is fork-tender, shreds easily and the birria sauce is thickened.

4: Shred Beef

1. Remove the beef from the slow cooker, and shred it.
2. Reserve 1 cup of the broth from the slow cooker – set aside in a shallow dish.
3. Return the pulled beef back to the cooker and continue cooking in the remaining sauce.

5: Assemble Birria Tacos

1. Heat a skillet over medium heat. You can use olive oil or work with a dry skillet.
2. Dip a tortilla into the reserved sauce in the shallow dish, then place it in the hot skillet.
3. Add cheese to one side of the tortilla, and add some shredded beef on top of the cheese. Fold the tortilla in half. Cook until the tortilla is crispy and the cheese melts.

What To Serve With Birria Tacos

Serve tacos with fresh cilantro, pickled red onions, lime wedges, sour cream, guacamole, hot sauce, or your favorite salsa.

Use the remaining broth as a dipping sauce.

You can also make some sides like:

• Grilled corn
• Elote Street corn dip
• Baked beans
• Cilantro Lime rice
• Spanish rice
• Mexican street corn salad
• Mexican corn salsa

Storage

The beef birria tacos are best when they are fresh.

Store leftover beef birria meat in an airtight container in the fridge for 6-7 days.

You can freeze the slow cooker birria meat for up to 3 months. Simply reheat in a saucepan until warm and serve or make tacos.

However, if you have already assembled tacos, they won’t store well. So only make as many as you will be able to finish. If you still have some, wrap them tight and keep them in the fridge for 2-3 days maximum.

Make ahead. Blended sauce can be stored in the fridge for 6 days or freezer for up to 6 months.

Substitutions & Variations

• Meat options. Feel free to use shredded turkey, make chicken birria tacos, and use lamb or goat meat (like the original Birria tacos recipe – Birria de Chivo).
• Peppers. California Chiles, New Mexican Chiles, and chile de arbol are also often used in birria recipes. California Chiles are very mild while chile de arbol are rather hot! If you really love spicy, add chili powder too. New Mexican Chiles add nice smoke to the sauce.
• Vegetarian birria tacos can skip shredded meat and use beans, slow-cooked Jackfruit (which has a similar texture to shredded meat!), mushrooms, or vegan chicken and meat substitutes.
• Cheeses. You can also use Monterey jack cheese, Asadero, Cheddar cheese, crumbled queso fresco, Mexican blend, or any other shredded cheese you like (just shred it yourself and avoid pre-shredded cheese).

Popular Questions

What Cuts Of Meat Are Best For Birria?

For making birria, the best cuts of meat include beef chuck roast, steak, brisket, beef sirloin roast, and beef short ribs. These cuts are ideal because they are flavorful and become tender when slow-cooked. You can also use goat meat or lamb shoulder for an authentic Mexican birria experience. You can choose both bone-in and boneless cuts.

Why Are My Birria Tacos Not Crispy?

If your birria tacos are not crispy, it could be because the tortillas are not cooked at the right temperature, the filling has too much moisture, or you didn’t dry the tortillas for long enough. To make them crispy, you should heat a frying pan over medium-high heat and dip the tortillas in the birria sauce before cooking. This helps them get that golden brown texture.

If you love this tasty taco recipe, you’re going to love these other slow-cooked dishes too. Please click each link below to find the easy, printable recipe!

More Taco Recipes

Chicken Birria Tacos

Taco Meat

Slow Cooker Pulled Chicken Tacos

Pork Street Tacos

---

---