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This easy, 5 minute prep Slow Cooker Shredded Beef is so juicy and melt in your mouth with amazing flavor. So versatile and can be eaten over noodles, mashed potatoes, in tacos, and more. A perfect dump and go slow cooker dinner recipe!
Nothing beats a cozy, slow cooked meal that takes only a couple minutes to prepare. This super simple, dump and go Slow Cooker Shredded Beef is just that. It is even easier than my easy pot roast recipe and I thought that one was easy!
Toss everything in and walk away. Come back to a delicious dinner that is so versatile! We love a dump and go crock pot recipe!
Try this short rib ragù slow cooked shredded chicken, shredded beef chili or mushroom beef stew for more crock pot meals!
Why You Will Love This Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Recipe:
- Less than 5 minutes to prep. Seriously, nothing more than adding all the ingredients into the crock pot to make this easy shredded beef. No chopping, slicing, searing, nothing. Just dump and go.
- Very minimal ingredients. The ingredients used in this slow cooked shredded beef are pantry basics and other simple ingredients. When I find a chuck roast on sale at the grocery, I grab it knowing that when I am in the mood one night for something easy, I will have everything I need for the shredded beef.
- Slow cooked for tender, melt in your mouth meat. A slow cooked chuck roast just falls apart into the perfect chunks of pulled beef. You seriously can’t beat it.
- Great for meal prep. This recipe is great for a cook once and then create other meals throughout the week. I can prep it and store it in the fridge or freeze some for later. Meal preppers dream come true for a busy night!
- A super versatile recipe. This shredded beef is great in so many recipes. Easily served as is over mashed potatoes or noodles, but also great beef sandwiches, in tacos, quesadillas, burrito bowls, on nachos and so much more!
What is the Best Cut of Beef for this recipe?
Not all cuts of beef are great for shredding. Some are better for slicing and hold together, so you will want to avoid those cuts.
When slow cooking the best shredded beef, opt for chuck roast first. It is fairly inexpensive and also has lots of marbling which helps with the shredding. Other cuts you can opt for include round roast or rump roast.
Recipe Ingredients:
- chuck roast: as mentioned, chuck is the best cut of meat for this crock pot shredded beef. When it is slow cooked, it literally falls apart and it so tender. You could use round or rump roast if chuck is not available.
- beef broth: I opt for low sodium beef broth so that I can control the amount of salt in the recipe.
- soy sauce: again, i like low sodium. For gluten free, use tamari sauce.
- Worcestershire sauce: This is a major key flavor enhancer. Avoid skipping this if possible.
- red wine: red wine is completely optional, but it does add another layer of flavor to the shredded beef. Pinot Noir or Cabernet Sauvignon are best for cooking beef. If you omit the wine, this is still a great recipe!
- garlic: freshly minced garlic cloves are ideal. If you don’t have any, opt for about 1/2 – 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- Italian seasoning: even if you are making tacos with this beef, the Italian seasoning is still amazing in my opinion. You can adjust the seasoning if desired. A bit of cumin, chili powder and oregano is great for making the shredded beef for tacos.
- onion powder: Just a touch for flavor. You could opt for sliced onions as well, but in making this the easiest recipe, I omitted any slicing.
- salt and black pepper: You can certainly lessen the amount of salt when seasoning the beef if desired.
How to Make This:
Making this slow cooker shredded beef is LITERALLY nothing more than dump and walk away.
Add the beef to the crock pot, pour the beef broth, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce and red wine (if using). Then cover the meat with the salt, pepper, garlic and seasonings.
Cover and cook on low heat for about 7-9 hours. When the meat easily falls apart with a fork, it’s ready! You can cook it on high heat, but this crock pot shredded beef is best when it slow cooks on low.
You can remove the beef from the crock pot to shred or use a fork to shred it right in the slow cooker. If you remove the beef to shred, transfer it back to the crock pot and allow it to sit in the juices until ready to serve.
How to Serve This Shredded Beef:
- Our favorite way to serve this slow cooked beef is over mashed potatoes. If you have an Instant pot, these Garlic Parmesan Mashed Potatoes are the very best. Other potato recipes include these parmesan crusted potatoes or air fryer baby potatoes.
- Over pasta is always a great idea as well. Wide egg noodles work really well.
- Add this slow cooked pulled beef to a hamburger bun with some cole slaw.
- Tacos, quesadillas, add to enchiladas. I love adding the slaw from this taco recipe over top.
- Shredded beef on nachos like these is also so delicious! Using leftover beef makes for a fun and easy dinner!
Recipe Tips:
- This shredded beef is not ready until it falls apart easily. Don’t be afraid thinking you are overcooking your crock pot beef. If it’s too tough, it typically means it has not cooked long enough. Continue to cook on low until it easily falls apart. Cooking time can certainly vary based on your crockpot, the piece of meat, etc.
- To thicken the juices, add corn starch. Ladle about 1/2 cup of the juices and whisk in 2-3 tablespoons of corn starch until smooth. Add the mixture back into the crock pot and stir to combine.
- Make this recipe once and eat off of it for several meals. You can freeze the meat in its juices for up to 3 months. You can also store it for 3 days in the refrigerator and use it in other meals throughout the week.
Storage:
Leftover shredded beef can easily be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about 3-4 days.
This recipe is great for freezing as well. Allow the beef to cool completely and then place in a freezer safe container. Freeze for about 3 months and thaw in the refrigerator before reheating.
Ways to Vary This Recipe:
- add balsamic vinegar in place of the wine or some of the beef broth
- add a couple tablsepoons of brown sugar
- vary the seasoning–as mentioned previously, if you want to make beef tacos, omit the Italian seasoning and use a teaspoon or two of chili powder, cumin, and oregano. Smoked paprika is another option as well as a big squeeze of lime juice.
- use fresh herbs
- add some vegetables: slice up some red onions, add bell peppers, banana peppers,
- sear the beef chuck roast prior to slow cooking for several minutes on each side
- add some tomato paste for a saucier texture
Other Beef Recipes:
- Beef Pot Pie
- Ground Beef Pasta Skillet
- Slow Cooker Pot Roast
- Air Fryer Steak Bites with Lemon Garlic Butter
- Parmesan Crusted Steak Sheet Pan Dinner
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Crock Pot Shredded Beef
Ingredients
- 3-4 lb chuck roast, round or rump will work as well
- 1 c beef broth
- 2 T soy sauce, tamari for gluten free
- 2 T Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 c red wine, optional
- 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp cracked pepper
- ½ – ¾ sea salt
- 2 T corn starch* (see notes), optional
Instructions
- Add the chuck roast to your slow cooker. Pour the beef broth, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and red wine (if using) over top of the meat. Cover the meat with the garlic, sea salt, pepper, Italian seasoning and onion powder.
- Cover and cook on low for about 7-9 hours or until it easily falls apart with a fork. (I recommend cooking on low, but you can cook for 4-6 hours on high)
- Shred the beef when it is ready and allow to keep warm in the juices until ready to serve. Add more salt or pepper to taste and serve as desired.
Notes
- This shredded beef is not ready until it falls apart easily. Don’t be afraid thinking you are overcooking your crock pot beef. If it’s too tough, it typically means it has not cooked long enough. Continue to cook on low until it easily falls apart.
- To thicken the juices, add corn starch. Ladle about 1/2 cup – 2/3 of the juices and whisk in 2-3 tablespoons of corn starch until smooth. Add the mixture back into the crock pot and stir to combine. Allow the mixture to thicken and add more as desired.
- Make this recipe once and eat off of it for several meals. You can freeze the meat in its juices for up to 3 months. You can also store it for 3 days in the refrigerator and use it in other meals throughout the week.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I made this beef for Easter, and it was a huge hit!
I followed the recipe exactly; however I made it the day before so I could refrigerate overnight and easily remove some fat from the juice. It also gave me more time on the holiday since I had shredded the beef the day before.
Making it again today for tomorrow’s dinner.
Thank you
Love hearing this so much! Being able to make it a day ahead is always a bonus. Thanks so much for sharing, Jacqueline!
I am making this tomorrow. Should I double the sauce if serving over mashed potatoes? Thank you!
Hi! I think there’s plenty of juices and what not. But if you want it super saucy, you totally could!
Basically perfect. I used brisket as we prefer our roasts shredded. The juices were superb, especially with the red wine which I’m starting to think is a must with beef. Thanks!
Yay!!! I am seriously feeling the exact same way about red wine and beef! Glad it was a hit, Chris!
Great
Thanks
That’s what I love to hear!!! Thanks so much!