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.
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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 with a 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 a homemade taco Seasoning Mix that 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
Salsa Verde Beef is a delicious dish of beef braised in salsa verde (green salsa) until it is fall apart tender. It’s great as a taco or burrito filling as well as for topping bowl meals or lettuce wraps.
Chuck roast is one of the best cuts of beef for shredding. It’s marbled with fat that breaks down and makes for a very tender roast or meat for shredding. Rump roast works well, too.
Salsa verde, “green sauce” in Spanish, is typically made from a base of tomatillos and chiles. It’s delicious as a topping for Mexican food, but goes wonderful as a sauce in dishes. I feature Salsa Verde in Chicken Enchilada Casserole and Poblano Chile Enchiladas.
You absolutely can make your own salsa verde. I tried it once years ago but didn’t like fussing with the sticky tomatillo skins. Both Herdez and Trader Joe’s make such great bottled versions, that I’m okay with not making homemade in this instance.
More Great Taco Fillings
If you love making homemade tacos for Taco Tuesday, be sure to try some of these other favorite taco fillings:
Tell us what you think!
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Salsa Verde Beef
Equipment
- Electric pressure cooker
- 6-qt oval slow cooker
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- salt and pepper
- 2-3 lb rump roast cut into 1 ½-inch chunks, can also use chuck roast
- ½ onion chopped for ½ cup
- 2 tablespoon Taco Seasoning Mix
- 1 cup salsa verde
Instructions
To prepare in the slow cooker:
- Heat the oil in a large skillet. Season the meat with salt and pepper to taste. Add the beef chunks and brown on all sides to caramelize. Remove the meat to the crock of a slow cooker.1 tablespoon olive oil, 2-3 lb rump roast, salt and pepper
- Add the onion to the drippings in the pan and saute until lightly browned. Stir in the taco seasoning mix and heat about 1 minute. Add the salsa and stir, scraping up any browned bits. Transfer the liquid to the slow cooker. Stir to combine.½ onion, 2 tablespoon Taco Seasoning Mix, 1 cup salsa verde
- Cook on low 6-8 hours. Shred and serve.
To prepare in the pressure cooker:
- Heat the oil in the pot of your pressure cooker on sauté. Season the meat with salt and pepper to taste. 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 a bowl if you’re using the Instant Pot.1 tablespoon olive oil, 2-3 lb rump roast
- 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 pressure cooker.½ onion, 2 tablespoon Taco Seasoning Mix, 1 cup salsa verde
- Add the meat back in. Stir well to combine.
- Secure the cover and close the pressure valve. Set the pressure cooker 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.
To serve:
- Serve the meat in tacos, bowls, or burritos. The meat is also good in chili, soup, or wraps.
Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published in August 2009. It has been updated for content and clarity.
Tina
My husband loves this – thanks! I’m a vegetarian, so I just do the cooking! This is my go-to recipe now for burritos for him. I wanted to reply about using London Broil – I used it for this recipe and a lot of other slow cooker recipes, like beef stew. It always turns out tender and juicy. It has a lot less fat than a chuck roast, so it’s not swimming in grease and you get more for your money, I think. Maybe if they used too much meat and not enough liquid in the slow cooker it could possibly be dry, but I have never had a problem with it or a complaint about it. Thanks again!
Jessica Fisher
Thanks for chiming in, Tina! I’m so glad you’ve had such great success with this.
Kim Tasker
Dee-licious!
Becky
Curious what you used to create the salsa topping in your photo. Was it just basil, onion and chopped tomatoes?
Jessica Fisher
Pico de gallo: https://goodcheapeats.com/2010/08/pico-de-gallo/ Cilantro, not basil.
Heidj
This had been on my Pinterest board forEVER, but I just got around to actually making it tonight. I walked my daughter through the prep (on the phone while I was at work) and came home to an amazing dinner! It was so good, there are ZERO leftovers for lunches!
Thanks so much! Everyone has already requested this again! 🙂
Jessica Fisher
Yay! It’s a big favorite here, too. No leftovers unless you make a double batch. 🙂
Tina
I tried this and there wasn’t enough liquid at all. The meat was hard because of it. There is only the one cup of salsa for liquid. I used top round. Any suggestions?
Jessica Fisher
In a slow cooker you really should not need much liquid. However, round steak (top round) is not really the best cut for this. I think you’d have better luck with chuck roast.
Julie Hooper
We have been making this for several years now and it is a winner! It is one of my husband’s favorite meals. I try and make a large batch and freeze a meal – problem is I can’t always keep enough to save, as the family devours it!!
Jennifer
Soo good!! Definitely a keeper! 🙂 Just wish I wasn’t fresh out of Pico de Gallo – will definitely get some tomorrow for the next round because I think it would make it even more AMAZING.
Jessica Fisher
So glad you liked it!
Marjori
This looks delicious and your tortillas always look so yummy…do you make them yourself?
Jessica Fisher
Yes, we usually, not always, make our own homemade corn tortillas.
Brooke Kingston
Unequivocally the most DELICIOUS thing that has ever come out of our slow cooker. I found the recipe in your book, wanted to be sure you got another rave review for this beauty. It is TO.DIE.FOR. I’m literally tearing up just thinking about it…it’s that good! Thank you thank you thank you! You made me look like a rock star in the kitchen this week!!
Jessica Fisher
Aww! Thank you. What a sweet thing to say. Glad you enjoyed it!
Holly
Tried this the other night and it was fantastic! The husband and picky kids loved it too.
Jessica
Isn’t that funny? It’s something that I just threw together one day and it turned into a huge hit.
Holly
You know, I think the browning step is really important. So much flavor developed in that. A lot of recipes just call for tossing it in the crockpot. It’s definitely worth that extra step.
Jessica
I agree. I see those bag it up slow cooker/freezer meals and cringe. They’re missing out on taste and texture by not browning the meat and aromatics first.