Instant Pot Mexican Shredded Beef Tacos

soft tacos filled with instant pot mexican shredded beef and topped with guacamole, sour cream, salsa, shredded cheese and lemons.

5 from 3 votes

These tender, juicy, fall-apart Instant Pot Mexican Shredded Beef Tacos have a deep rich flavor and are a great make-ahead meal prep option!

Prep Time15

Cook Time2

Total Time2 15

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: Barbacoa, Instant Pot Beef, Mexican Beef, Shredded Beef, Shredded Beef tacos

Servings: tacos

Calories: 101kcal

Author: Nosheen Babar

Ingredients

3 lbs eye of round roast
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion
3 tsp garlic paste (see notes)
1 can tomato paste 6 oz.
1 can beef broth 10.5 oz
2 serrano chilies
3 tsp salt
3 tsp cumin
3 tsp paprika
3 tsp chili powder (see notes)

Instructions

Dice the onion and set it aside.
Finely chop the serrano chili and set it aside.
In a bowl, whisk together the garlic paste, tomato paste, beef broth, salt, paprika, cumin and chili powder.
Add the onion and chilies to this mixture and stir to mix.
Turn the Instant Pot on to Saute Mode and heat the olive oil. (see notes for stovetop and slow cooker instructions)
Once the oil is hot, brown the beef well on all four sides. (see notes)
Once the meat is browned, turn off saute mode, add in the marinade, seal the lid, and cook on High Pressure for 2 Hours if your beef is in 1 big piece or for 1 hour if you decide to cut it into smaller pieces.
Do a natural release once the cooking time is up, uncover the Instant pot, and turn it on saute mode to dry all the excess liquid.
As the liquid dries, break up the meat into shreds with the help of a fork.
Once the liquid is dry your meat is ready to enjoy!

Notes

Garlic Paste - I like to use homemade garlic paste or fresh garlic cloves for maximum flavor in this recipe. I usually have homemade garlic paste in my freezer, but in the event that you don't, just toss in 15 garlic cloves (5 cloves = 1 tsp of garlic paste). These will cook down and melt into the marinade and meat beautifully.

Salt, Chili Powder - The salt and chili powder may need to be adjusted to taste. I try to keep both at a medium level in my recipes in order to leave some margin for personal adaptation. As soon as you open your Instant Pot, check the seasoning and adjust it, if needed, as you saute the meat.

Stovetop - If you don't have an Instant Pot, you can easily cook this on the stove. Saute the Beef in a pot on high heat. Once it's nicely browned on all sides, add the marinade and cover with foil to seal the pot tightly before placing the lid on top. Cook on medium-high heat for 30 minutes to create steam and then cook on low for an additional 3 ½ hours. Once the meat is cooked through, dry all the excess liquid on high heat and then pull it apart with a fork to shred it.

Slow Cooker - Do you prefer the traditional slow cooker method? No problem! First, sear the beef on high heat in a pan on the stove. Once it's nicely browned, transfer it to your slow cooker along with the marinade. Set to cook for 4 hours on the high setting or 8 hours on a low setting. Once cooked, shred the beef with a fork and if needed cook the residual marinade in a saucepan on the stove to reduce it.

Browning The Beef - There are two ways to brown and cook the meat. One method is to sear the entire 3-pound roast and cook it for 2 hours (In the Instant Pot). However, if you want to cut down on the cooking time, a second method is to cut the roast into 4 big pieces, sear them and cook for 1 hour. I don't recommend cutting the beef into smaller pieces as you won't get nice long shreds unless you have large chunks of meat, but there are times when you may need to take this short cut!

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