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Shredded Beef Tacos with Spicy Slaw and Avocado start with Mexican-seasoned beef that’s cooked in the slow cooker or Instant Pot. Then the beef is shredded apart and served in tortillas for a dinner the whole family is going to love, and you can use low-carb tortillas to make this a low-carb meal!

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Shredded Beef Tacos with Spicy Slaw and Avocado shown on serving plate.

For Friday Favorites every week I’m reminding you about my very favorite recipes out of the many recipes on this site. And since Cinco de Mayo is next week, today I’m sharing my favorite recipe for Shredded Beef Tacos with Spicy Slaw and Avocado. As much as I love my easy slow cooker ground beef taco meat (and make it regularly) shredded beef tacos are the ones I love most.

Slow cooker (or Instant Pot) shredded beef tacos are a recipe idea with endless variations, but what makes me crazy over these particular tacos with shredded beef is the addition of spicy slaw and avocado, of course! I love the spicy slaw that comes with fish tacos, and that spicy cabbage mixture was so delicious in these tacos. And don’t you love sneaking some healthy cabbage into a taco recipe?

I used my favorite low-carb whole wheat tortillas, and two tacos made a great dinner for me, but if you want even fewer carbs you could make lettuce wraps or eat the shredded beef over the cabbage, for a slightly different variation of my Slow cooker Green Chile Shredded Beef Cabbage Bowl.

What ingredients do you need for this recipe?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.

How to Make Shredded Beef Taco Meat in the Instant Pot:

I cooked the spicy shredded beef you see in these photos in the slow cooker, but if you prefer to make the shredded beef in the Instant Pot, you can use instructions from my recipe for Instant Pot Southwestern Pot Roast to make the meat! I’ll summarize the Instant Pot method in the actual recipe below in this post.

Can you use salsa verde for the shredded beef tacos?

If you want a bit more green chile flavor in these Shredded Beef Tacos, just switch out the Pace Picante Sauce for Herdez Salsa Verde (affiliate link).

What low-carb tortillas can you use for the shredded beef tacos?

I used my favorite Mission Carb Balance Whole Wheat Tortillas (affiliate link) which makes it a dinner that’s pretty low in carbs! Another low-carb tortilla I have been loving for tacos is Mr. Tortilla 2 Net Carb Multigrain Tortillas (affiliate link) which have even fewer carbs and a texture that’s very similar to corn tortillas.

How low in carbs are these Shredded Beef Tacos?

If you use the low-carb tortillas recommended here or other tortillas that are low in carbs, these tacos with shredded beef, spicy slaw, and avocado have only about 5 net carbs per taco!

Shredded Beef Tacos with Spicy Slaw and Avocado process shots collage

How to make Shredded Beef Tacos with Spicy Slaw and Avocado:

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

  1. These are the steps for the slow cooker version. To see Instant Pot instructions, scroll down to complete recipe.
  2. I used boneless chuck roast for this recipe. Cut the meat in several pieces and rub all the pieces with steak seasoning.
  3. I know some of you don’t like to brown the meat when you’re cooking it in the slow cooker, but I promise it makes a huge difference in the flavor.
  4. While the meat browns, mix together salsa, diced green chiles, lime juice, taco seasoning, and a tiny bit of salt to make the cooking sauce. I used my favorite Pace Picante Sauce (affiliate link), but any salsa without added sugar would be good.
  5. Put browned meat in the slow cooker, pour sauce over, and cook on low until the meat pulls apart easily with a fork, about 6 hours.
  6. Here’s how meat looked in my slow cooker when it was done, swimming in sauce.
  7. Remove pieces of meat to a cutting board, put the sauce in a small pan, and simmer over medium heat until the sauce has thickened and reduced by about half.
  8. While the sauce is reducing, use a fork to pull the meat apart, and put it back in the slow cooker so it stays warm.
  9. When it’s thickened and reduced, mix the sauce into the meat.
  10. I used my favorite low-carb whole wheat tortillas which are perfect for soft tacos.  These whole wheat tortillas have a lot of fiber, and only three net carbs.
  11. I recommend Green Tabasco Sauce (affiliate link) for the spicy slaw, or use another brand of Jalapeno sauce.
  12. Thinly slice the red and green cabbage and put in a bowl.
  13. Combine the shredded green cabbage, shredded red cabbage, chopped cilantro, mayo, greek yogurt (or more mayo), and Green Tabasco Sauce to make the spicy slaw.
  14. Cut up the avocado and toss it with lime juice.
  15. Heat a non-stick pan over medium-high heat and cook tortillas, turning often. As soon as they start to slightly harden, fold the tortilla in half to make a taco shell.
  16. To assemble the taco, spread about 3 tablespoons of meat on the bottom of the shell, top with a thin layer of slaw and a couple of spoonfuls of avocado.  Enjoy!

Square image for Shredded Beef Tacos with Spicy Slaw and Avocado shown on serving plate.

More Mexican Flavors in the Slow Cooker:

Weekend Food Prep:

This recipe has been added to a category called Weekend Food Prep where you’ll find recipes you can prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!

Shredded Beef Tacos with Spicy Slaw and Avocado
Yield: 8 servings

Shredded Beef Tacos with Spicy Slaw and Avocado

Prep Time 50 minutes
Cook Time 6 hours 20 minutes
Total Time 7 hours 10 minutes

Beef roast is cooked in the slow cooker or Instant Pot with Mexican flavors; then it’s shredded apart for these Shredded Beef Tacos.

Ingredients

  • 3 lbs. lean chuck roast (before trimming)
  • 1 T steak seasoning of your choice
  • 2 tsp. olive oil, for browning meat
  • 1 1/4 cup Pace Picante Sauce (see notes)
  • one 4 oz. can diced green chiles (see notes)
  • 2 T fresh squeezed lime juice
  • 1 T taco seasoning
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 8 Mission Carb Balance Whole Wheat Tortillas
  • 2 avocados, diced
  • 1 T fresh squeezed lime juice, to toss with avocado
  • 1/4 small head green cabbage, very thinly sliced, then slightly chopped
  • 1/4 small head red cabbage, very thinly sliced, then slightly chopped
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
  • 2 T mayo
  • 2 T Greek yogurt (see notes)
  • 1 tsp. green Tabasco sauce (or use your favorite hot sauce)

Instructions

  1. Trim all visible pieces of fat and gristle from the chuck roast and cut it into several pieces.  (I save the meat scraps in the freezer to make homemade beef stock.)
  2. Rub the pieces of roast all over with steak seasoning.
  3. Heat the oil in a heavy frying pan and brown the meat well on all sides, about 8 minutes total browning time.
  4. While the meat browns, mix together the salsa, diced green chiles, lime juice, taco seasoning, and a little salt.
  5. Put the browned meat into the slow cooker, pour the sauce over, and cook on low until the meat is tender and shreds apart easily, about 6 hours.
  6. When the meat is done, remove it to a cutting board.
  7. Pour the sauce mixture into a small pan and simmer on medium until the sauce thickens and reduces by about half, about 10 minutes.
  8. Shred the meat apart with two forks and put it back in the slow cooker to keep warm.
  9. When the sauce has reduced, mix it with the meat and continue to keep warm in the slow cooker.
  10. Thinly slice and chop the cabbage and chop the cilantro.
  11. Mix together the mayo, Greek yogurt and green Tabasco sauce to make the dressing and mix it with the cabbage.
  12. Dice the avocados and toss with the lime juice.
  13. Heat a non-stick pan over medium-high heat and cook 2 or 3 tortillas at a time (whatever you can fit in the pan.)
  14. Turn tortillas several times until they are just starting to get firm, then fold each one over in half to make a taco shell.
  15. To assemble the tacos, spread 2-3 tablespoons of shredded beef on the bottom of a taco shell, top with a thin layer of slaw and a couple of spoonfuls of avocado.
  16. Serve with extra piece of lime and more green Tabasco sauce to add at the table, if desired.
  17. This meat freezes well and keeps well in the fridge, so don’t be afraid to double the recipe. If you’re making more meat to eat later in the week, I’d make the slaw and cut up the avocados   right before you eat the leftovers, as those won’t keep that well. The meat can also be used to make burritos or eaten over lettuce for taco salad.
  18. INSTANT POT INSTRUCTIONS: Trim meat and rub with Steak Rub as described above. Heat oil in the Instant Pot and brown the pieces of meat (in two batches if needed.) Mix the cooking liquid as described and add to Instant Pot with the browned meat. Lock lid, set to MANUAL, HIGH PRESSURE, 35 minutes. Let Instant Pot release pressure naturally. Remove meat to a cutting board and set the instant pot to SAUTE or SIMMER, medium heat and cook the liquid for a few minutes to thicken and reduce (if needed.) Shred meat apart with two forks and put back into the Instant Pot to keep warm while you make slaw, chop avocados, and heat tortillas as above.

Notes

I used my Crock-Pot 2.5-Quart Slow Cooker (affiliate link) for this recipe. If your slow cooker is much larger than that, I would recommend doubling the recipe so the slow cooker is at least half full. If you prefer to make the shredded beef in an Instant Pot, you can use my recipe for Instant Pot Low-Carb Southwestern Pot Roast to make the meat or follow my instructions above!

I used medium Pace Picante Sauce (affiliate link) for this recipe but if you have kids I would use mild. The diced green chiles are Anaheim chiles, not Jalapenos. You can use all mayo if you don't have Greek yogurt.

Nutritional information is calculated using net carbs for the low-carb tortillas I recommend.

Recipe created by Kalyn.

Nutrition Information

Yield

8

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 635Total Fat 43gSaturated Fat 14gTrans Fat 2gUnsaturated Fat 26gCholesterol 156mgSodium 859mgCarbohydrates 13gFiber 8gSugar 5gProtein 49g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

Did you make this recipe?

Did you make this recipe? Please leave a star rating (under the PRINT button in the recipe) or share a photo of your results on Instagram! THANKS!

© Kalyn Denny
Category: Tacos

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
With low-carb tortillas like I used, Shredded Beef Tacos with Spicy Slaw and Avocado would be good for most low-carb eating plans, or eat with lettuce wraps if you want a version that’s Keto. Other low-carb ingredients like cabbage and avocados make these tacos a good choice for carb-conscious diets, but for the original South Beach diet it’s important to use whole wheat or low-carb flour tortillas and meat with less than 10% fat. 

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Tacos or Slow Cooker Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
The Shredded Beef Tacos were first posted in 2012. The recipe was last updated with more information in 2024.

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