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Crockpot Chuck Roast Tinga Tacos: Slow-cooked beef chuck roast seasoned with smoky chipotle peppers and enchilada sauce, then braised until caramelized and falling apart. Shred the meat, then stuff it into warm taco shells with a quick cilantro-cotija yogurt sauce and plenty of crumbled cotija cheese.
Happy Cinco de Mayo! Tacos are always fun, but especially today. All you need is a margarita — or maybe a paloma — and it’s the perfect night. I’ve been so excited to share this easy recipe. These are currently some of our favorite tacos!
I used to almost never cook with chuck roast. Honestly, I avoided it because it can be a bit tricky to photograph when it’s braised pot-roast style. Silly, I know. But sometime last year, I got over that and started shredding the slow-braised meat to use in recipes beyond the classic pot roast — and now, tacos are our favorite way to enjoy chuck roast!
And funny enough, as we head into summer, most people tend to retire their crockpots until fall. But I think the crockpot is actually one of the best tools for easy summertime cooking. It’s totally hands-off, keeps the kitchen cool by skipping the oven, and it’s perfect for BBQs or laid-back taco nights with the family.
If you’re not familiar with Tinga, it’s a Mexican dish traditionally made with shredded chicken in a tomato-based chipotle sauce with sliced onions. It’s simple, flavorful, and the smoky chipotle is key — that’s what gives it its signature taste.
Instead of chicken, I’m using chuck roast. And to make things even easier (and more flavorful), I swapped tomato sauce for enchilada sauce. The result? A deeply savory, spicy, and satisfying taco that’s perfect for celebrating — or just for your next taco night.
These are the details
Ingredients – for the tacos
- yellow onions
- garlic powder, chipotle powder, Mexican oregano, cumin
- chuck roast
- red enchilada sauce
- canned chipotle chiles in adobo
- salted butter
- flour or corn tortillas
-
green onion, avocado, and crumbled cotija cheese
Ingredients – for the sauce
- plain Greek yogurt or mayo
- cilantro
- jalapeno
- crumbled cotija cheese
- garlic
- lime juice
- 2 teaspoons honey
Special Tools
For this recipe, you’ll need a crockpot, or you can use the oven and a Dutch oven.
Step 1: the seasoning
The taco seasoning blend is garlic powder, chipotle chili powder, Mexican oregano, cumin, and salt.
Then canned chipotle chiles in adobo.
Step 2: slow-cook the meat
You can braise the meat in the oven or use the crockpot. Both methods are almost identical and equally delicious.
Arrange lots of sliced onions in the bottom of the slow cooker. Rub the meat all over with the seasonings, add the enchilada sauce and butter. Slow braise the meat for 2-3 hours in the oven or 5 hours in the crockpot. As the meat slowly cooks, the braising liquid turns into a yummy red sauce. Save this sauce, and we’ll make a dipping sauce with it!
Step 3: the yogurt sauce
Blend everything, the yogurt, cilantro, jalapeño, cotija cheese, garlic, honey, and lime juice in a blender.
If you are using mayo, do not blend for long or the sauce will break.
Step 4: shred the meat
Shred the meat in the sauce.
Step 5: assemble
I used soft-shell tortillas from Caramelo Tortillas. Using good tortillas is the key to great soft-shell tacos, and theirs are the best. I like the pork and duck fat options.
Stuff the meat into the charred tortillas. Then take the braising liquid and spoon it over the meat. Add the yogurt sauce. Then, add all of your favorite taco toppings –avocado, cilantro, and lots of cotija cheese.
Not only are these beef tinga tacos delicious, they’re also surprisingly easy to make. Oh, and I always recommend a pineapple salsa or mango salsa. I love a good fruity salsa.
Looking for more simple, Mexican recipes? Here are a few favorites:
Slow Cooker Chipotle Chicken Tortilla Soup with Salty Lime Chips
Cauliflower Al Pastor Quesadillas with Lime Smashed Avocado
Mushroom Al Pastor Tacos with Garlic Lime Special Sauce
Lastly, if you make these Crockpot Chuck Roast Tinga Tacos, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Crockpot Chuck Roast Tinga Tacos
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 480 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 2 yellow onions sliced
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon chipotle chile powder
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 4 pound chuck roast, quartered
- 1 1/2 cups red enchilada sauce
- 2-3 chipotle peppers in adobo, chopped
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 12 hard or soft taco shells, warmed
- cilantro, green onion, avocado, and crumbled cotija cheese, for serving
Cilantro cotija Yogurt Sauce
- 1/2 cup mayo or plain Greek yogurt
- 1 cup fresh cilantro
- 1 jalapeno, seeded if desired
- 1/2 cup crumbled cotija cheese
- 1 clove garlic, chopped
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 2 teaspoons honey
Instructions
Oven
- 1. Preheat the oven to 325°F.2. Arrange the onions in the bottom of a large, oven-safe Dutch oven.3. In a bowl, mix the garlic, chipotle powder, oregano, cumin, and season with salt. Rub the roast all over with the spice mix, then place it on top of the onions. Pour over the enchilada sauce, add the chipotle peppers in in adobo, 3/4 cup water, and the butter. Cover and roast for 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until very tender.4. Crank the heat up on the oven to 425°F. Uncover and cook for 10 minutes until deeply caramelized on top. Remove the meat from the pot and shred it using two forks.5. To make the Cilantro Lime Yogurt Sauce, combine all ingredients in a blender and pulse until combined. Do not puree or the sauce will be thin. Season with salt.6. Stuff the beef and onions into the warmed taco shells and top with crema, cilantro, avocado, and cheese. Serve with the braising liquid. Enjoy!
Crockpot
- 1. Arrange the onions in the bottom of the crockpot bowl.2. In a bowl, mix the garlic, chipotle powder, oregano, cumin, and season with salt. Place the roast over the onions, then rub all over with the spice mix. Pour over the enchilada sauce, add the chipotle peppers in in adobo and the butter. Cover and cook on LOW for 5 hours or on HIGH for 3 hours.3. Remove the meat from the crockpot and shred it using two forks.4. To make the Cilantro Lime Yogurt Sauce, combine all ingredients in a blender and pulse until combined. Do not puree or the sauce will be thin. Season with salt.5. Stuff the beef and onions into the warmed taco shells and top with crema, cilantro, avocado, and cheese. Serve with the braising liquid. Enjoy!
This post was originally published on May 5, 2025
Can the meat and yogurt sauce be made ahead and frozen?
Hey Annette,
Sure, I don’t see why not! I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xx
This turned out absolutely delicious for me! I read the comment section first and prepared to slow cook my roast for significantly longer than listed, just in case. I used a 2.5lb chuck roast and slow cooked on low for 8 hours and it was perfectly fork tender. We really enjoyed the cojita sauce (minus the cilantro and jalapeño for taste preference), too. I’m a busy mom of young kids and love crockpot recipes like this! Thanks Tieghan!
Hey Celeste,
Amazing! Love to hear this recipe turned out nicely for you, thanks for making it! Have a great Memorial Day Weekend!
You say you swapped tomato sauce for enchilada sauce, yet the recipe calls for enchilada sauce, not tomato sauce. Do you actually mean that you started with a traditional tinga recipe calling for tomato sauce and then swapped enchilada sauce for the tomato sauce?
Hi Zelda,
Yes, that is correct. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
Yummy tacos but prepare for a much longer cooking time to get meat fork-tender. I had a 4.5 pound Chuck roast, sliced into four pieces and it took 9 hours to cook on low, in a new Instapot. Roast had no bone which could have required even more time. Worth the wait, just start earlier than recipe indicates and keep warm if having dinner guests. Or prepare to order pizza. LOL
Hi Gerri,
Happy Sunday!💐💕 Love to hear this recipe was a hit, I appreciate you making it and your comment! Sorry this took longer than expected. xx
I have never had great luck with the low setting “crockpot” mode in the Instant pot. Super annoying but maybe try again using a different method.
A winner! Since I was short on time, I had my butcher cut the chuck roast into two-three inch pieces, like you would with beef stew, followed the recipe as was, and cooked in the IP on high for 35 minutes. Meat came out fork tender and shreddable. The sauce is a must!
Hey Abby,
Amazing! So glad this recipe turned out well for you, thanks a bunch for making it! Have a wonderful weekend!💐
The directions for this recipe need some corrections! The amount of salt specified is different in the instructions vs what is in the ingredients list. Also, doing this in a slow cooker requires WAY more time than 3 hours – I need to cook this another 2 hours before the meat would shred!!
Hi Lisa,
You are going to use 1 teaspoon of salt for this recipe. For the slow cooker, it’s 3 hours on high and 5 on low, but you know your crockpot best! I hope you love this recipe! xx
What exactly is “tinga.” This term appears frequently in HBH recipes.
Hi Jen,
If you’re not familiar with Tinga, it’s a Mexican dish traditionally made with shredded chicken in a tomato-based chipotle sauce with sliced onions. It’s simple, flavorful, and the smoky chipotle is key — that’s what gives it its signature taste. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
Made this last night. Served it in a Salad bowl with Lime, cilantro Jasmine rice, a Mexican street corn salad with sweet bomb tomatoes and lettuce and the delicious slow roasted Meat.
For the meat I used I had Two Oxtail, and a few boneless short ribs and added in the three Hot Italian Sausages also, because I had them. I seasoned and added the red enchilada sauce covered well and slow roasted 3 1/2 hours. It was out of this world delicious.
The dressing for the Salad bowl I made as you have there above for Cilantro cotija Yogurt Sauce; except I had no Cotija so I used the Feta and used Mike’s Hot Honey because we like spice. This was a wonderful meal for Cinco de Mayo. Thank you.
Hi Kay,
Love this!! Such a great idea to serve as a salad bowl:) Thanks for making this recipe and your feedback! xT
Could you please provide cook time if I were to make this in the Instant Pot? Thanks so much – looks amazing!
Hi Carolina,
I haven’t tested this, but I would do at least 60 minutes on high pressure. I hope you love this recipe! xT
Fantastic!! I used round steak because I had it in my freezer. The combination of spices was absolutely incredible
Hi Kitty,
Wonderful:) Thanks for making these tacos and your comment, so glad they were enjoyed! xT
I made this tonight and it was AMAZING—so full of flavor, just like all of your recipes, Tiegan! The only tweak I made was browning the seasoned meat in my Dutch oven with a bit of avocado oil to get a nice crust. Then I deglazed the pot with the sliced onions and a generous pinch of sea salt, making sure to lift all the fond from the bottom.
My store was out of chipotle peppers in adobo, so I substituted with an extra teaspoon of chipotle powder, which I toasted for about a minute until fragrant near the end of cooking the onions to really bring out the flavor. (I Googled the conversion for 2–3 chipotle peppers.)
The cilantro cotija sauce was the perfect finishing touch—so bright and flavorful! I served it with Mexican rice on the side, and the whole dish turned out absolutely delicious. Another family favorite in the books—thank you, Tiegan!
Hi Jessica,
Thank you so much! I am thrilled to hear this recipe turned out nicely for you! Thanks for giving it a try and sharing what worked well for you:) xT
The ingredients list 1 tsp salt, but the directions state 1 Tbsp salt- which is correct?. The oven method calls for 3/4 water, but the crock pot does not (just making sure that is correct as I am using the crock pot method.) Thank you!
Hey Lisa! Use 1 teaspoon of salt, then add more if needed! Thank you for pointing this out!
The crockpot variation does not need water. Hope you love the tacos!!
I’ve read this over a few times. Where do you include the chipotle peppers in adobo?
Hi Rose,
You are going to add those in step 3:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
4 servings? So each person is eating 3 tacos and a pound of meat? It does sound yummy, though. I assume that by “crema,” you mean the yogurt sauce? You might have made that clearer.
Hi Sandy,
So sorry about that, this will make 6 servings! I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xT
This looks fantastic! Could I use pork instead of beef? Thank you!
Hi Cheryl,
Totally, that would work nicely for you! I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xx