Crunchy Baked Shredded Beef Tacos
If you’re not making crunchy tacos, you’re missing out! Golden, crisp, cheesy, and filled with flavorful shredded beef.
Then topped with fresh crunchy lettuce and creamy sour cream. These are a TREAT. The shredded beef takes 5 minutes of prep and then slow cooks while you live your life! The crunchy tacos come together in less than 30 minutes active prep total.
These are SO easy to make, and a platter of these is perfect for dinner for your family or to bring to a football party. It’s the perfect way to serve tacos as a complete dish vs. prepping a taco bar (with a million dishes and bowls).
I grew up loving chuck roast for Sunday dinner, and it wasn’t until I made Olivia Adrianne’s viral just-salt-and-pepper recipe several years back that I thought to try shredded chuck on tacos!
In this version, I added onion, tomatoes, and spices that melt right into the tender meat. It’s barbacoa-ish and delicious! I’ve included both a dutch oven and slow cooker options for cooking — perfect for starting in the morning before heading into your busy day.
My family loved these so much! Hope you enjoy.
Overview:
1. Slow Cook the Beef
Just 5 minutes of prep, then let your chuck roast simmer low and slow until tender and shreddable.
2. Shred the Beef
Use two forks to shred the tender meat. The spices, tomato, and onion will melt right in!
3. Bake Until Crispy
Fill tortillas with shredded cheese and beef. Bake until golden and crunchy.
4. Load Up with Toppings
Pile on romaine, sour cream, tomatoes, radishes, jalapeños, and lime. Serve with salsa for dipping.
Knead to Know
No need to sear your meat when slow roasting in a Dutch oven
If you’re baking the meat in a Dutch oven, you can skip the searing step. It feels wrong, but the roast browns beautifully all on its own — no extra oil, pan, or dirty dishes required. If you’re making this in the slow cooker, I highly recommend searing in oil in skillet beforehand.
Recipe:
Crunchy Baked Shredded Beef Tacos
Yield: 8 servings
Difficulty: Easy weeknight meal
Time: About 5 minutes active time for the meat, 30 minutes active time total for the tacos, and 4 hours to mouth if made in Dutch over, 7-8 hours to mouth if made in slow cooker.
These crunchy baked shredded beef tacos are made with slow cooked chuck roast for the most tender, flavorful filling. Corn tortillas are layered with cheese, stuffed with juicy shredded beef, and baked until golden and crispy. Easy to prep ahead, customizable with fresh toppings, and perfect for weeknight dinners, game day, or feeding a crowd.
Ingredients
3–4 pound chuck roast
1 large onion, chopped
3 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 T cumin
2 tsp. smoked paprika
1/2 tsp. chili powder
2.5 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
Corn tortillas
Olive oil
Mexican-style shredded cheese blend
For topping: shredded romaine, sour cream, chopped tomatoes, radish slices, jalapeño slices, lime wedges
For dipping: your favorite salsa
Equipment
Dutch oven or slow cooker
Method
Step 1:
In oven: Preheat oven to 325. Pat chuck roast dry with paper towel. Place onion and tomatoes at the bottom of a Dutch oven with a lid (or a casserole dish you cover with foil before baking). Place chuck roast on top of onions and tomatoes. Sprinkle with spices and garlic. Bake about 3–4 hours with lid on (about 1 hour per pound of meat). Check meat during last hour and cook until meat is totally soft and easy to shred. The vegetables will melt into the meat when the meat is shredded. Shred with two large forks.
In crockpot: Sear meat in oil after patting dry. Then repeat steps in a crockpot but add 1/2 cup of beef broth and simmer on low 6-8 hours or until shreddable. Add more broth if needed during the cooking process.
Step 2:
Heat oven to 400. Microwave corn tortillas in a damp paper towel about 30 seconds or until soft. Drizzle olive oil on a sheet pan. Dip each tortilla on both sides into oil on sheet pan. When all tortillas have been dipped, sprinkle one handful of cheese on each tortilla. Place in oven with tortillas open, not folded, until cheese is just melted. Top each tortilla with shredded meat and fold tortillas closed, pressing them down with a spatula. Bake about 20 minutes (or longer for crispier tacos).
Step 3:
Arrange tacos on a platter and top with shredded romaine, sour cream, chopped tomatoes, radish slices, jalapeño slices, and lime wedges.
Step 4:
To serve: Dip crunchy tacos into your favorite salsa.
If making ahead or bringing to a party: Arrange tacos on an oven-safe platter and wrap in foil. Right before serving, remove foil and place in warm oven to reheat. Add toppings and serve.
This makes about 8 servings. You will have enough meat to make about 24 crispy tacos, or enough meat for 12 tacos and leftovers to use for bowls, soup, etc.
I hope you love it!
I hope you love these crunchy baked shredded beef tacos as much as we do! If you give them a try, I’d love to see — snap a picture and send it my way @kathrynkneads
