Mexican Pot Roast is a tender chuck roast seasoned with easy spices, the ultimate comfort food. Leftovers are perfect for tacos or burritos.
Ultimate Pot Roast meets Beef Barbacoa in this delicious one-pot Main Course Recipe. Slow cooked tender beef that’s perfect with your favorite Mexican side dishes or as filling for tacos, burritos, enchiladas, and more!
Sabrina’s Mexican Pot Roast
Pot roast is one of the easiest ways to turn an inexpensive cut of beef into something irresistible. Braising over low heat allows the flavors to fully develop and softens the fat to make your beef almost buttery. This Mexican version is not only fork tender but full of slightly spicy taco flavorings, and if you want another flavor alternative, you should try my Indian Butter Pot Roast next.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
- 4 pounds beef chuck roast
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 yellow onion , diced
- 1/2 green bell pepper , diced
- 1/2 red bell pepper , diced
- 28 ounces canned diced tomatoes with chiles , 28 ounces
- 3 tablespoons taco seasoning , (Homemade Recipe)
- 3 cups beef broth
- 1/4 cup cilantro , diced
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Season beef with salt and pepper, then add to a large dutch oven with oil on medium-high heat.
- Cook on both sides until seared well, 6-8 minutes on each side.
- Remove the beef from the pot and add in the onions.
- Sauté until translucent and lightly browned, about 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add in the garlic, green and red bell peppers, diced tomatoes, taco seasoning, beef broth, and cilantro and stir well.
- Add the beef back to the pot, cover, and cook in the oven for 3 hours.
Nutrition
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Table of Contents
Chef’s Note
Browning your meat for Mexican Pot Roast is the most important thing you can do before braising meat. It only takes about 10 minutes but it gives it a rich flavor and gives that delicious crust. Even if you are cooking a Mexican Pot Roast in the slow cooker, you should always brown the meat first. Speaking of slow cooker Mexican Pot Roast, we have you covered with instructions later in this post!
What to Serve with Mexican Pot Roast
Serve Mexican Pot Roast with traditional Mexican side dishes like Mexican Rice, Black Beans, and some tortillas. It tastes delicious topped with sour cream, salsa, and avocado. Use leftover Mexican Pot Roast in Beef Burritos and Easy Taco Salad, or in place of the chicken in Chicken Enchiladas.
How to Store
- Serve: You can keep Mexican Pot Roast at room temperature for up to 2 hours. Keep warm on low heat on stove top or in slow cooker for up to 4 hours.
- Store: Cool meat completely before transferring to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
- Freeze: Place cooled Mexican Pot Roast in a sealed container or freezer-safe bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
Alternate Cooking Techniques
Stove Top
- Follow the recipe, bringing to a boil on medium-high heat once the broth is in the pot and the beef has been added back in.
- Once it has reached a boil, cover with a lid and reduce to a simmer and cook for 3 hours until for tender.
- Since you’re leaving this unattended on your stovetop for so long, it’s best to leave it on the back burner for safety.
- Be sure to check liquid levels halfway through as some lids are not very tight and you may lose liquid faster than you should if the lid is not tight.
Slow Cooker
- Follow the recipe to brown meat in large skillet, then place in the slow cooker.
- Sauté onions and garlic in skillet then deglaze skillet with beef broth.
- Pour beef broth mixture over the beef, then place the remaining ingredients in slow cooker and stir to combine.
- Cover with lid and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high 3-4 hours, until meat is fork tender.
Instant Pot
- Pat the beef dry, then season with salt and pepper.
- Turn on Instant Pot to Sauté setting and add olive oil. Brown the meat on both sides for 3-4 minutes per side, then set aside.
- Add onions and cook for 2-3 minutes until soft, then add garlic and cook for 30 seconds, until fragrant.
- Deglaze the Instant Pot with beef broth, scraping off all of the brown bits. Return beef shoulder to Instant Pot.
- Add the remaining ingredients, stirring to combine.
- Secure the lid and seal the pressure valve. Cook on Manual High for 45 minutes, then allow pressure to release naturally.
Variations
- Tomatoes: Instead of diced tomatoes with chiles, you can use crushed tomatoes or go half and half with each. You could also use Ro-Tel tomatoes with the spice level you like.
- Spices: You can skip the homemade seasoning mix and use packets of taco seasoning. You can also use 3-4 tablespoons Chili Seasoning Mix instead taco seasoning!
- Meat: You can try beef shoulder or beef stew meat instead of a chuck roast in a pinch. You can also substitute a pork butt roast or pork shoulder.
- Veggies: A can of diced green chiles, diced fresh jalapeño, or roasted poblano peppers would add a nice hint of spice. You could also sauté carrots and celery with the onions.
Related Recipes
More Delicious Roasts
Would black beans be ok to add.
Absolutely Jesse! Let us know how it turns out.
I made the years ago and loved it. Instead of all the separate ingredients I used homemade hot sauce and threw in roasted poblano peppers and extra onions. It was so tender and flavorable. Thanks for reminding me how great this roast is.
The largest pot roast I was able to find weighed 2.6 pounds. How should I revise the recipe for a smaller roast?
I realize this comment is very old, so I am so sorry for the delay in replying.
I would cook it for 2.5 hours. Also make sure it isn’t completely submerged in the liquid.
Can you add salsa to this?
Sure 🙂
So, the recipe doesn’t mention the oven temperature & times for baking. It gives for the crockpot & stove top, but when I clicked on the time, nothing happened. It sounds delish, so can you revise for the the oven temp & time? Thanks!
Thanks for catching that! You’ll want to place it in a 325 degree oven.
Sabrina, I have a Large 3/4 inch round steak I would like to use for this recipe. How long can I cook it In my crock pot after I sear it?
Thank you
Carla Dee
It might be too tough because this is a leaner cut. I’m not sure I would recommend using it for this recipe. I don’t think it would give you the outcome you want.
Carla, what I would do is season the round steak with Goya Sazon and Goya Adobo both spiced in the Latin or International section of your market. Or SnPnCumin. Dont forget garlic.Cook steak to your liking. But first maybe start a nice red sauce with said ingrediants and ladel over some pasta, maybe, bucatini. Some red wine, and bistek de bucatini ropa vieja.Now that does sound good.