Instant Pot Mexican Shredded Beef is full of rich, tasty Mexican-inspired flavors. It’s faster to make than traditional barbacoa, and perfect to use in tacos, burrito bowls, and so much more.
This Mexican shredded beef recipe is inspired by the classic, traditional beef barbacoa recipe. Although in the United States, barbacoa is usually made with beef, in Mexico, you’ll often find barbacoa made with either beef or goat.
Traditionally, the meat is slow cooked and braised with a long cook time, which results in tender, flavorful meat. Thanks to the electric pressure cooker, we’re able to get the same results in a fraction of the time!
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🌟 Why this recipe works
This Instant Pot shredded beef recipe is sure to be a repeat in your family dinner rotation!
- Using the Instant Pot (or other electric pressure cooker) cooks the meat in less time than cooking it in the traditional method. So you can have this flavorful meal on the table in about one hour.
- The meat turns out juicy and tender, and packed with flavor from all the delicious spices that soak through thanks to pressure cooking.
- It’s a versatile meal: use the meat for tacos, burritos, with eggs, over rice, polenta, or mashed potatoes. So many possible ways to enjoy this dish!
- This delicious recipe makes enough to serve at least 6 people.
🛒 Ingredient notes
Don’t be intimidated by the number of ingredients in this easy recipe. It’s mostly simple ingredients, including a variety of spices, which is what gives the beef so much flavor!
Beef – The best cut of beef to use for this recipe is chuck roast.
Spices – I use chili powder, cumin, oregano, paprika, salt and pepper. This makes the dish flavorful and rich, without being spicy. But you can also add some fresh chilis if you want this dish to be spicy!
✅ Step-by-step instructions
- In a large bowl, make a dry rub by whisking together the light brown sugar, chili powder, cumin, paprika, kosher salt, and black pepper.
2. Season the beef pieces on all sides with the dry rub. Set aside on a plate.
3. Select SAUTE (or SEAR/SAUTE), and set to HI. Once heated up, add the olive oil to the pressure cooker pot. Add the garlic and onions, and sauté for one minute, just until the garlic and onions are softened and fragrant.
4. Add the beef to the pot and sear on both sides, then transfer to a clean plate and set aside.
5. Pour about half of the beef broth into the pot and use a wooden spoon to deglaze the pan, scraping up any brown bits that might be sticking to the bottom.
6. Return the beef to the pot and place in a single layer.
7. Then add the rest of the beef broth, salsa, tomato paste, lime juice, liquid smoke and dried oregano. Stir slightly.
8. Secure the lid to the top, ensuring the pressure release valve is in the SEAL (or Sealing) position. Then select PRESSURE COOK (or MANUAL), set the temperature to HI, and set the time to 45 minutes.
9. Once the high pressure cooking is complete, use tongs or a wooden spoon to carefully move the pressure release valve over to the VENT (or VENTING) position.
10. Once the pressure release valve knob is all the way down, carefully open the lid. Use two forks to shred the tender beef. Serve immediately.
👩🏻🍳 Recipe FAQs
Yes: you can substitute 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder for the fresh garlic in this recipe.
This style of Mexian shredded beef is Barbacoa. In traditional cooking, barbacoa meat is slow cooked, but we’ve created the same depth of flavor and tender meat by pressure cooking it instead of slow cooking or braising the beef.
Allow the meat to cool, then store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days.
Yes! Allow the meat to cool, then store in an airtight freezer-safe container in the freezer for up to one month. Thaw before reheating either in the Instant Pot on Sauté mode, or on the stovetop.
🍽 Serving ideas
One of the best parts of making Mexican shredded beef is how versatile it is! It’s great to make a big batch on meal prep day, then divide up and serve in different ways.
- Serve over Instant Pot Garlic Rice and Air Fryer Broccoli for an easy dinner.
- Use it in beef enchiladas, or as taco meat to make the best beef tacos ever. Place in flour tortillas then add your favorite toppings. My top picks: sour cream, pico de gallo, homemade guacamole, red onions, black beans, chipotle peppers, fresh cilantro. Make it your own!
- Serve it over Instant Pot Garlic Mashed Potatoes.
- Add it to Salsa Eggs for a super satisfying delicious meal for breakfast, brunch, lunch, or dinner.
- Use the meat for burritos or make a delicious burrito bowl with it (see our Instant Pot Vegetarian Burrito Bowl for inspiration!).
🍷 🥂 Wine pairings
While it’s full of spices, this Mexican beef recipe isn’t really spicy. Instead, it’s full of rich, deep flavors. So when pairing a wine with this dish, go for a full-bodied red wine, such as a Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, or Tempranillo.
🍳 Kitchen tools and equipment
Ready to make this recipe? Here are the kitchen tools and equipment you’ll need:
- Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi, or other pressure cooker – use at least a 6-quart electric pressure cooker. Do NOT attempt to make this recipe in a small, 3-quart pressure cooker!
- Mixing bowl and whisk – to whisk together the spices.
- Forks – to shred the beef.
More pressure cooker recipes
And if you love Mexican cuisine, try this easy Pico de Gallo recipe, which goes great with any Tex-Mex or Mexican dishes!
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to leave a 5-Star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card, and if you really loved it, please leave a comment further down on the page. Thank you!
Instant Pot Mexican Shredded Beef
Ingredients
- 2 pounds beef chuck roast, trimmed and cut into about 6 even pieces
- 2 Tablespoons light brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon chili powder
- 1 Tablespoon cumin
- ½ Tablespoon paprika
- ½ Tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ cup diced yellow onion
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1 cup salsa
- 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 Tablespoons lime juice
- 2 teaspoons liquid smoke
- 1 Tablespoon dried oregano
Instructions
- In a large bowl, make a dry rub by whisking together the light brown sugar, chili powder, cumin, paprika, kosher salt, and black pepper.
- Season the beef pieces on all sides with the dry rub. Set aside on a plate.
- Select SAUTE (or SEAR/SAUTE), and set to HI. Once heated up, add the olive oil to the pressure cooker pot. Add the garlic and onions, and sauté for one minute, just until the garlic and onions are softened and fragrant.
- Add the beef to the pot and sear on both sides, then transfer to a clean plate and set aside.
- Pour about half of the beef broth into the pot and use a wooden spoon to deglaze the pan, scraping up any brown bits that might be sticking to the bottom.
- Return the beef to the pot and place in a single layer.
- Then add the rest of the beef broth, salsa, tomato paste, lime juice, liquid smoke and dried oregano. Stir slightly.
- Secure the lid to the top, ensuring the pressure release valve is in the SEAL (or Sealing) position. Then select PRESSURE COOK (or MANUAL), set the temperature to HI, and set the time to 45 minutes.
- Once the pressure cooking is complete, use tongs or a wooden spoon to carefully move the pressure release valve over to the VENT (or VENTING) position.
- Once the pressure release valve knob is all the way down, carefully open the lid. Use two forks to shred the beef. Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Perfectly delicious and totally yummy recipe that I was able to make for my family in no time!
I’m loving all the seasonings in this fabulous Mexican shredded beef. It’s marvelous.
What a great simple Instant Pot recipe! It’s great for dinner with some rice and beans.
I made this over the weekend and it was so good. Definitely making it again.
the recipe came out fantastically! it was super yummy and easy to make in the instant pot.