Barbacoa Beef Meal Prep (2024)

March 23, 2023 2 Comments

I had an unshakeablecraving for Mexican food so I made this Barbacoa Beef Meal Prep. It cookswith very little effort in the slow cooker, which I love! The shredded chipotle limebeef pairs beautifully with yellow rice and freshradish salad. I will definitely make this again! Best of all, it's gluten-free, dairy-free, and macro-friendly.

Did you know? Grass fed beef has up to five times as much anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids compared to conventional grain-fed. Grass fed is also much higher in fat soluble vitamins like A and E, and generally contains more anti-oxidants. (source)

I usuallychoose grass-fed over grain-fedbeef.Typically, conventional grain-fed beef arecrammedinto feedlots where they are fattenedon corn and soy, thenadministered growth hormones to speed things up even more. While grass-fed isn't strictly enforced, the USDA does require the cattleare grass-fed for their entire lives.

"Organic" requires that the cattle are pastured on certified organic land, have year round access to the outdoors, and may not be administered hormones or antibiotics. However, organic beef *may* be fed corn and other grains so long as it's organic, which changes the nutrient content of the final product.

What's the best cut of beef for this? I typically choose a leaner cut, but not too lean for slow cooker meats. This includes beef tenderloin, tri-tip roast, top sirloin roast, bottom round, eye of round, sirloin tip, and top round (London broil). Really any of these will work, but I went with London broil!

For seasoning the beef, you're going to need lime juice, cider vinegar, canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, fresh garlic, ground cumin, dried oregano, salt, and pepper. You can also add ground cloves and dried bay leaf if you have it, or use beef broth instead of orange juice.

Thecanned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce can be found in theMexican food aisle at your local grocers! They might also be called "adobo peppers."

You can make this in the slow cooker OR a dutch oven, but Ifound the slow cookermethod to be more tender and juicy. I might havelet the oven version cooktoo long! For the oven version, cook forabout 1 1/2 hours at 325 degrees F and use double the juiceor broth. For the slow cooker version, you will want to cook it on LOW for 6-8 hours (preferred) or HIGH for 3-4 hours (less tender). I haven't tested this in an Instant Pot yet, butyou couldtrya method like this!

The cucumberradish salad was the perfect side! All you need is two bunches of radishes, two English cucumbers, one jalapeño, half a red onion, two garlic cloves, lime juice, apple cider vinegar, honey, cilantro, salt.

It's really flavorful with the bite of radish, tart lime, fresh cucumber, and balance of sweet and heat! And, it's surprisinglyeasy to make.

I servedthis with yellow rice, which is flavored with saffron and turmeric. For convenience I just usedthe prepackaged kind! Mahatmabrand has pretty wholesomeingredients, good macros, and great flavor. You could also do tortillas, cilantro lime rice, black beans, refried beans, Mexican street corn... whatever you feel like.

Feel free totop your meal with fresh lime, cilantro, and avocado, too!

Here's the printable recipes for this Barbacoa Beef Meal Prep! I hope your family loves it as much as we did :)

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