This easy slow cooker birria recipe creates rich, flavorful beef that’s perfect for tacos or enjoying as a stew. A simple way to make authentic birria de res at home.

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A rustic brown bowl filled with shredded beef birria in red broth, made using a slow cooker birria recipe, is topped with chopped onion and cilantro, and sits on a colorful embroidered cloth with fresh herbs and a jalapeño in the background.

This slow cooker birria recipe is the perfect way to enjoy rich, authentic Mexican flavors without spending all day in the kitchen.

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Traditionally from Jalisco, Mexico, birria is a slow-cooked stew made with tender beef simmered in a deeply flavorful chile-based sauce.

Whether you serve it as a comforting stew or turn it into crispy birria tacos, this dish is guaranteed to be a family favorite.

Table of Contents

1 👩🏼‍🍳 Instructions
2 🫙 Storing & Reheating Instructions
3 🥘 How To Serve
4 🥩 More Mexican Beef Recipes
5 😋 Hungry for More
6 Slow Cooker Birria Recipe (Birria de Res)

👩🏼‍🍳 Instructions

A large, raw beef roast with visible marbling and a sprinkle of black pepper sits in a stainless steel pot, ready to be transformed into flavorful birria de res.

Sear the meat all sides on medium heat to lock in the flavors. Mmm… imagine the smell! It’s Mexcellent! 😃

The best cut of meat to use is boneless beef chuck roast. Chop into beef chunks for searing in batches.

Originally, this recipe was made with goat meat. You might also find people who make with lamb.

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These dried chiles are what give amazing smokiness flavor to the beef. We’re using guajillo chiles and ancho chile.

Full ingredients list is below in the printable recipe card.

Two ancho chiles. One with the stem removed and the other intact on a white surface.

It’s easy to devein and remove the seeds from the chiles. Start by cutting off the tops, or the stems.

Hand holding an ancho chiles that's been cut open exposing the seeds.

Then cut them lengthwise. Do you see the seeds? You don’t want these in your sauce. Remove them. You won’t be able to get all of them. Just remove as many as you can. If you can remove any veins, remove them too.

Place your stems removed, deveined, and seeds removed chiles in a stock pot. You will need to use a pot that can handle all the chiles.

Reconstituting chiles means they have to soak in hot water. This does not take long. 5-10 minutes at the most.

There really are no substitutions for these two types of chiles. If you can’t find guajillos, use chipotles. They have great smoky flavor.

Spices to make the Birria de Res sauce on a decorative Mexican clay plate.

To make this birria sauce recipe, you will need all these aromatics. Spices like ¼ cinnamon stick, thyme, Mexican oregano, cloves, laurel leaves (or bay leaves), salt, and pepper. It sounds like a lot, but each spice brings a lot of flavor to the dish.

Blender with chile, spices, and garlic cloves on a wooden surface.

Add the spices, the reconstituted chiles, liquid, bouillon, and garlic to the blend. Blend until smooth. Since we are not straining, make sure it is fully blended. You might need to blend a second time.

Not a fan of bouillon? Use beef broth instead.

A top-down view of a blender containing thick, red, bubbly birria de res sauce or mixture, with the blender blades and handle visible on the left side.

For a smoother adobo sauce, strain the sauce. Set this aside until ready to use. This is what will help create a rich consommé.

If the sauce tastes too spicy, add 1-2 tomatoes to the blender and blend away. They will help reduce the heat level.

Back to our beef… salt and pepper the side that’s up. Then turn and sear the uncooked side. You really want color on your beef. Don’t skip this step. It helps lock in some amazingly delicious flavors.

The slow cooker is your friend in the kitchen. You can go shopping, go horseback riding, watch two movies, and your food will not burn. Gotta love that!

This crockpot birria recipe is sure to be a hit, but just in case… Stovetop and instant pot instructions are in the recipe card below.

Chile sauce pouring into the slow cooker over the beef.

Now time to add the sauce. You want the sauce to cover the entire piece of beef. If it doesn’t for some strange reason, add more water and a little more salt or simply add beef broth.

Slow cook the meat – Set it on low for 6-8 hours, or high for 4-6 hours. The meat will be fall-apart tender and ready to eat.

Shredded beef in a rich, red barbecue sauce fills a black slow cooker, inspired by a slow cooker birria recipe and ready to serve.

🫙 Storing & Reheating Instructions

Store leftovers in airtight container in the refrigerator.
Reheat in a microwave covered for 2 ½ to 3 minutes.

🥘 How To Serve

Beef Birria is typically served with raw diced onion, chopped fresh cilantro, lime wedges, and a dozen tortillas.
Or, you can take it up a notch and use the shredded meat to make Birria Ramen, Instant Pot Birria Tacos (also known as quesabirria tacos), Birria Burritos, even Birria Tamales!

A bowl of red shredded beef stew, made from a Slow Cooker Birria Recipe, garnished with chopped onions and cilantro, sits next to fresh cilantro and a whole jalapeño pepper on a white cloth.

🥩 More Mexican Beef Recipes

Barbacoa de Res (Beef Barbacoa)
Carne con Papas (Beef and Potatoes)
Salpicon de Res (Cold Beef Salad)
Caldillo (Mexican Beef Stew)
Milanesa de Res (Fried Beef Steak)
Carne Asada Street Tacos

This slow cooker birria recipe delivers bold, authentic Mexican flavor with minimal effort. Juicy shredded beef and a rich consommé make it perfect for tacos or serving as a stew.