Cafe Rio Copycat Shredded Beef Recipe (in the Crock Pot!)
If you love Café Rio Shredded Beef, you’ll love this copycat recipe that you can easily make at home in your slow cooker with just a few ingredients!
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Do you all live near a Cafe Rio?
I had never heard of it until we moved to DC last year and a coworker of my husband’s took him there for lunch. He came home raving about it and insisted on taking the entire family and of course, we were hooked immediately on the fresh Mexican food!
As soon as I tasted their shredded beef I started searching online for a copycat Cafe Rio recipe-it’s SO good!
I found quite a few versions online, some even having you cook the meat in soda! After trying a few versions I found that the perfect copycat recipe! This combination of ingredients gave me the exact flavor I wanted.
It’s a super easy meal thanks to the slow cooker, beware though, it smells amazing while it’s cooking, you may be tempted to dig in before it’s finished!
Ingredients
- boneless beef chuck roast
- green enchilada sauce
- tomato sauce
- ground cumin
- minced garlic
- beef broth
- small onion
- salt
Step by step
- Place roast in the bottom of slow cooker.
- Pour beef broth, enchilada sauce, and tomato sauce/paste over the top of the roast.
- Top with cumin and garlic. Place onion slices over the top.
- Cook on high 6-8 hours. Use a slotted spoon to remove onion. Shred meat with two forks. Season with salt if desired.
Meal Prep Instructions
You can also combine the ingredients ahead of time in a freezer safe container and freeze for up to three months. Then just thaw overnight and cook as directed.
Serving suggestions
My favorite way to eat this shredded beef is in a bowl topped with fresh peppers, salsa, pico de gallo or tomatillo dressing, and avocado but it’s amazing in burritos with cheese or over Spanish rice or cilantro lime rice as well! You can also make shredded beef tacos with all of your favorite taco toppings or use it to top salads.
Storage
Store leftover shredded beef in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave, adding a splash of beef broth if it starts to look too dry.
Have you tried Cafe Rio? If so what is your favorite meal there?
If you try this recipe please comment and rate it below, I love hearing from you!
Cafe Rio Copycat Shredded Beef Recipe (in the Crock Pot!)
- Total Time: 6 hours 5 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
Description
If you love Café Rio Shredded Beef, you’ll love this copycat recipe that you can easily make at home in your slow cooker with just a few ingredients!
Ingredients
- 3 pound chuck roast
- 10 oz can green enchilada sauce
- 1/2 cup plain tomato sauce or tomato paste
- 1 1/2 tablespoon cumin
- 2 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 1/3 cups beef broth
- 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and quartered
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Place roast in the bottom of a slow cooker.
- Pour beef broth, enchilada sauce, and tomato sauce/paste over the top of the roast.
- Top with cumin and garlic. Place onion slices over the top.
- Cook on high 6-8 hours. Use a slotted spoon to remove onion. Shred meat with two forks. Season with salt if desired.
Notes
You can also combine the ingredients ahead of time in a freezer safe container and freeze for up to three months. Then just thaw overnight and cook as directed.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 6 hours
- Category: main course
- Method: slow cooker
- Cuisine: Mexican
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 251
- Sugar: 3.2 g
- Sodium: 746.5 mg
- Fat: 8.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 5.9 g
- Fiber: 1.1 g
- Protein: 35 g
- Cholesterol: 100.5 mg
I typically think it’s annoying when people comment about changing a recipe, but I feel inclined to add this one in case any else is married to a hunter and looking for elk recipes. I haven’t loved a lot of elk recipes I’ve used. I decided to try this with elk meat and it was delicious! I’m sure I would love it even more with beef, but elk is what I have right now. Thank you for your recipe!
Mine also turned out like a dried up roast. I couldn’t shred it.
We’ve made this recipe like 6 times. It is SO GOOD. I did not realize how easy it was to make and it always turns out awesome. I’m usually a one-hit wonder with every new recipe I try, not this one. Repeated success! Yay! Thanks so much!
Mine turned out like a dried up roast. I couldn’t shred it at all. Doesn’t look like yours at all. I was so disappointed. Not sure what I did wrong.
I have made this several times and is very good. But because of the smell factor. I put the crockpot out in the garage when it’s cooking. Thanks
Thank you for this recipe! I made this recipe today, and it was AMAZING! I did a 5 lb. roast for about 6 1/2-7 hours on high and it was delicious. We’ll be making this more often!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Ana! You might like my Pork Carnitas too-they are very similar (and just as easy!) https://thehappierhomemaker.com/2016/10/slow-cooker-pork-carnitas/ ~Melissa