Shredded Salsa Verde Beef (5-Ingredient Recipe) (2024)

This Salsa Verde Beef recipe is one of the simplest instant pot or slow cooker recipes, yet it packs a ton of flavor. With just five ingredients plus salt and pepper, this easy dinner recipe comes together in a flash, creating a delicious protein for burrito bowls, burrito filling, or the starring ingredient in Salsa Verde Beef Tacos.

When dinnertime rolls around, what do you most want to do? Eat, right? Sure, somedays you look forward to cooking, but at the end of a long day, most of us are looking forward to the eating part more than the cooking part.

Well, no problem.

Yes, I’m serious. It’s no problem if you’re all set witha meal plan,particularly one that includes this Salsa Verde Beef.

I developed this recipe more than ten years ago and even featured it in my first cookbook. And for good reason! Not only does it contain a mere five ingredients (oil not pictured below) but it can also be made super efficiently in the slow cooker or instant pot and freezes beautifully.

Boom! Dinner ready with very little effort on your part.

Why Make This

It’s easy. With just five ingredients and a slow cooker or instant pot prep, this salsa verde shredded beef couldn’t be easier to make.

It’s delicious. This tender beef has so much flavor, thanks to the salsa verde and the taco spices. Serve it simply in warm corn tortillas, build a bowl with Mexican brown rice or cauliflower rice, or tuck the tender meat into a burrito. Not matter how you serve it, it’s gonna be a hit on your taco bar or burrito bar.

It freezes beautifully. This is such a simple recipe that brings a lot of satisfaction. Make a double batch and freeze the leftover beef for another time. Talk about an easy Taco Tuesday!

Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need for Salsa Verde Beef. It’s so simple!

olive oil – You just need a bit of oil to sear the beef. This helps create the Maillard reaction which improves both the flavor and texture of the meat.

beef roast – Salsa Verde Beef is a braise, so a certain cut of meat will work better than others and will give you the best flavor. I recommend a beef chuck roast or rump roast.

onion – Onion is an aromatic to add flavor to the dish. You can also use a garlic clove or two if you prefer or that’s what you have on hand.

taco seasoning – I make ahomemade taco Seasoning Mixthat is perfect in this dish. When you make homemade you can perfectly control the spice level and save money, too. Feel free to use your favorite taco seasoning.

salsa verde – This is the key ingredient to this chile verde dish, is of course, the green salsa, usually made from tomatillos, green chiles, onions, and cilantro. You can make it yourself but I’m happy with getting Trader Joe’s or Herdez brand salsas. You’re not going to use the entire jar of salsa verde, so be sure to plan another meal with it (I’m partial to Sour Cream Chicken) or freeze it for another time.

Instructions

This is such an easy recipe! You can make it in either the slow cooker or the electric pressure cooker. Here’s the basic method:

Cube the meat, chop the onion, and measure out your oil, taco seasoning, and salsa verde.

Heat the oil in a large skillet or in the pot of your pressure cooker on sauté. Brown the meat in the hot oil, turning to sear all sides. Don’t crowd the meat cubes in the pan; you may need to do this in batches.

Transfer the meat to the slow cooker or to a bowl if you’re using the Instant Pot.

Add the onion to the drippings in the pan and cook, stirring, until tender. Add the taco seasoning and cook for another minute.

Stir in the salsa verde and cook, scraping up any bits on the bottom of the pan or pressure cooker.

If using the slow cooker, add this mixture to the crock. If using an Instant Pot, add the meat back in. Stir well to combine.

Cover the slow cooker and allow to cook 6 to 8 hours on low or until the meat is fall apart tender. If you’re using the pressure cooker, set it to manual high pressure for 45 minutes. Release the pressure when the cycle ends.

Shred the meat with two forks and use as a taco or burrito filling. Serve immediately or store in the fridge in an airtight container. Consume within 4 days.

To freeze: chill the Salsa Verde Beef in the refrigerator before transferring to the freezer. Store for up to 6 weeks. To serve, thaw and reheat.

FAQs

More Great Taco Fillings

If you love making homemade tacos for Taco Tuesday, be sure to try some of these other favorite taco fillings:

This post was originally published in August 2009. It has been updated for content and clarity.