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Slow Cooker Mexican Pot Roast is tender and delicious and just possibly the best pot roast I’ve ever made.
Why you Are Going to Love This recipe!
After my husband took a couple bites of this he announced, “This is the best pot roast I’ve ever had, don’t tell my mother!” I have to say I pretty much agree with him on his verdict. It was the most delicious pot roast ever!
Many of the ingredients are shelf stable and things you can keep stocked in the pantry so it’s an easy dinner to put together.
This recipe uses a slow cooker so it makes dinner easy. Put it in in the morning and dinner is ready when you are! The slow cooker also makes a nice tender, fall apart roast
This Mexican Pot Roast has a bit of a kick but it’s not spicy.
Spicy Pot Roast Recipe Ingredients
- Meat. Use a pot roast or a chuck roast.
- Broth. Use chicken broth or beef broth.
- Soy Sauce
- Tomatoes. We are using a can of crushed tomatoes and tomato paste.
- Chipotle Peppers in adobe sauce.
- Garlic. Minced fresh cloves garlic is best
- Seasoning. Chili Powder, cumin, oregano
- Oil. Use vegetable oil, olive oil or canola oil
- Tapioca. This is used for thickening
How to Make Crock Pot Mexican Pot Roast
- Sauté onions and garlic in a pan with oil.
- Add in tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, and oregano, stir, until onions are softened, about 5 minutes.
- Pour mixture into slow cooker.
- Stir tomatoes, broth, soy sauce, tapioca, and chipotles into slow cooker.
- Season roast with salt and pepper and put into slow cooker.
- Cover and cook until beef is tender, 9 to 11 hours on low or 5 to 7 hours on high.
Why is my pot roast tough?
If your pot roast is not turning out as tender as you like, it could be a couple of things.
First, you are not using the right cut of meat. A boneless chuck roast will give you the best results. Some cuts of meat will just never give you that fork, tender, fall apart quality you want in a pot roast.
Second, you aren’t cooking the roast long enough. If your meat seems tough and it isn’t fork tender, cook it longer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make Mexican pot roast in the instant pot?
You can! Put Instant Pot on manual high pressure and set to 60-80 minutes (60 for a 3 pound roast, 80 for a 5 pound roast). Do a ten minute natural release.
How do I make it less spicy?
I would say this roast is fairly mild on the spice scale but if you want less spice, use less of the chipotle peppers, that is what is giving it it’s heat. If you want more spice, add in more chipotle peppers.
Is it better to cook a pot roast on high or low in the crockpot?
I always choose low whenever I have the time. You will get a more tender pot roast when cooked on low. But if you just don’t have the time, use high and you will still have a delicious meal.
This Mexican pot roast literally falls apart. The rich smokey flavor provided by the chipotle peppers is amazing. If you want some rave reviews from your family feed them this slow cooker pot roast for dinner tonight!
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Mexican Pot Roast
Ingredients
- 4-5 lb boneless beef roast cut in two pieces
- 1 onion minced
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 3 Tbs vegetable oil
- 8 garlic cloves minced
- 1 Tbs chili powder
- 1 Tbs ground cumin
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 28 oz. crushed tomatoes
- 1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1/3 cup soy sauce
- 3 Tbs Minute Tapioca
- 2 tsp chipotle chiles in adobo sauce canned and minced
- Salt and Pepper
Instructions
- Sauté onions and garlic in a pan with oil. Add in tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, and oregano, stir, until onions are softened, about 5 minutes; transfer to slow cooker.
- Stir tomatoes, broth, soy sauce, tapioca, and chipotles into slow cooker.
- Season roasts with salt and pepper and nestle into slow cooker.
- Cover and cook until beef is tender, 9 to 11 hours on low or 5 to 7 hours on high.
- Slice or shred roasts and serve with sauce.
Tips & Notes:
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Nutrition Facts:
Peg says
so good! Used tapioca flour as there was no minute tapioca at the market but that was the only thing I changed. And the result was melt in your mouth tender and delicious. Cooked on low for 9 hours. Served with mashed potatoes. Next time I’m making cornbread. Would also be really good over rice. Boyfriend is wanting to use it in tortas as well. Whatever you do with it..it’s a winner!
Sheston says
My husband, my three kids, and I devour this whenever I make it. It is definitely a family favorite!
Victor says
I did make this and I followed your recipe to the letter, except I use a pork roast instead. I used the liquid to make an abundance of gravy and mixed some into the meat, which I shredded. I’m thinking I gotta make this again for family taco nigh, maybe I’ll kick up the spices a little too! Loved it! One question, what’s the tapioca for? Thank you.
Susie says
I made this exactly as posted today. There was a LOT of sauce! I was delivering the meal to another family, so I transferred to a deep casserole pan. After slicing the roast and and very generously ladling a lot of sauce over and around it, I still had so much sauce that I ended up leaving about 3+ cups of it in the crock. The roast was falling-apart tender, but the sauce was far too spicy for my taste. Maybe it was the brand of chipotle peppers that I used, but next time I will cut back to 1 teaspoon, and also cut one of the 3 onions into large slices instead of mincing all of them because, with so much sauce, the dish seemed to be lacking something (coarsely sliced onions and bell peppers cooked into the sauce, maybe). I served it with Food Network’s Roasted Potatoes & Tomatoes and a Cowboy Salad.
Marybelle says
I’m thinking about making this tonight, but I don’t have tapioca, can it be omitted? If not what is a god substitute?
Leigh Anne says
The tapioca is used as a thickening agent. You can leave it out, your sauce may just be a bit runnier but it will still taste the same.