Quick and easy paleo and keto-friendly Instant Pot barbacoa beef – this recipe takes just over an hour to make and only requires 8 ingredients. This mouth-watering recipe is simple and awesome for meal prepping.
One of my all-time favorite recipes on this site is my Crock Pot Barbacoa Beef which I have probably made at least 8 times in the last couple years.
So you can imagine when I bought my Instant Pot a few weeks ago, barbacoa beef was one of the first recipes I made in it.
How to Make Instant Pot Barbacoa Beef:
The process is so simple! First, we blend up the chilies, seasoning, broth and lime juice in a small blender to create an adobo sauce.
We then brown the meat in the Instant Pot on the Sauté mode just long enough to give it a nice sear.
(^ Don’t mind the background noise 😉 )
Pour in the sauce, set the Instant Pot to the Pressure Cook mode, then let it do its thing for an hour!
Once the beef has finished cooking, transfer the meat to a cutting board and shred it using two forks. Place the meat back into the Instant Pot so that it can absorb the juices, making it extra flavorful.
When the beef is ready, the world is your oyster when it comes to serving options.
You can eat it in tacos, swaddle it up with beans and rice in a burrito, make a burrito bowl with your choice of toppings, or create a hodge podge bowl o’ nutritious vegetation like what you see here.
I ate the beef on top of mixed greens with a hefty portion of avocado, quinoa, tomatoes, red cabbage, and green onion.
What Type of Beef Should I Use?:
I always use grass-fed beef because it contains more nutrients than grain-fed. Plus you get a nice dose of omega-3 fats. An added bonus, is it tastes better than grain-fed beef (in my opinion).
I source all of my beef from ButcherBox, which serves up grass-fed, grass-finished beef as well as heritage pork, organic chicken, and wild Alaskan salmon. In addition to the fact that the beef is never grain-fed, I love that there are no added hormones or antibiotics, the convenience factor (it’s delivered right to your door), and the fact that it’s affordable!
It’s really just clean, great tasting beef! I simply place an order whenever I’m running low on animal protein to keep my freezer stocked.
What did we do with the leftovers?
We consumed them in all meals, of course! – we added the barbacoa beef to scrambled eggs with potatoes and kale for breakfast, ate it as a sandwich or burrito for lunch, and made a bowl situation for dinner.
If you don’t follow a Low-FODMAP diet, consider adding 1 small diced yellow onion and 5 minced cloves of garlic for even more flavor.
The beef is magnificent without, but a little onion and garlic action is MEGA when your tummy can tolerate it.
I’m still baffled by the power of the Instant Pot to make incredible shredded meat so quickly. Where the Instant Pot approach only takes 1 hour of cook time, the slow cooker version took upwards of 10 hours to get the level of shred.
How, pray tell, will you eat your barbacoa beef??
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Instant Pot Barbacoa Beef
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp avocado oil
- 2 lb beef chuck roast
- 2/3 cup beef broth
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 3 Tbsp cider vinegar
- 3 chipotle chilis in adobo sauce
- 1 Tbsp ground cumin
- 1 Tbsp dried oregano
- 1.5 tsp sea salt to taste
Instructions
- Blend the beef broth, lime juice, cider vinegar, chilis, cumin, oregano, and sea salt in a small blender and set aside.
- Cut the beef roast into 4-6 large chunks.
- Press the Saute button on the Instant Pot and add the oil. Once hot, carefully place the chunks of meat on the surface. Brown 2 minutes per side.
- Pour the adobo sauce over the browned meat and secure the lid on the Instant Pot. Pressure cook on high for 60 minutes.
- When the pot has finished its cycle and beeps, allow the pressure to naturally release.
- Remove lid and transfer the chunks of beef to a cutting board. Use 2 forks to shred the beef and place the meat back in the pot. Stir well and allow beef to sit 15 minutes or longer to absorb the juices.
- Serve barbacoa beef in tacos, burritos, or bowls.
Nutrition
I can’t eat food w/ heat spice. Any exchange? I can eat, some, otherwise, it is not enjoyable, for me!
Any adjustment,to use a pork roast instead??
Hi Suzi! I would omit the chipotle chilis and chop up one bell pepper so that you’re getting some additional flavor without any spice. No changed needed for a pork roast!
This was great! Wanted a different way to make something with a tougher meat. I only had diced green chilis in the pantry so made a daring substitute. The whole family approved!
I’m so happy to hear it, Nicole! Thank you for reporting back! xo
Would you say the 3 chipotle chilis makes this quite spicy? I really want to make this recipe, but do not want a huge punch of heat.
Hi Heather,
I’d recommend decreasing it to one chipotle chili…that way you still get some chili flavor but less heat. Hope you enjoy it! xo
This sounds delicious! Would it work with lamb shoulder instead of beef?
Hi Mena,
That’s a great question! I assume it would work great if it’s an equivalent size, but I’ve never tried it with lamb shoulder, myself. Let me know if you go for it! xo
Did anyone take a “mili-moment” to look into the ingredients of the suggested “Goya” brand chipotle chilies in adobo sauce? Show me the gmo and I’ll show a spike in your blood glucose! Dear God!!! What a way to ruin a possibly wonderful recipe!!!
If you don’t like the brand of chilies. Use a different one. Just a thought.
xoxoxo 😀
Half of it is fiber. Not that big of a spike in blood sugar.
Omg, best barbcoa I’ve tasted. If made it 2 times already and everyone loved it. I used lemon juice though.
What are the macros?
Tami, my mouth is watering ! This sounds delicious and so versatile. Bet you take this to the camp. Love ? you .
wow. I never heard of adobo sauce but looking at its ingredients, I guess it would bring the good taste.
The beef looks amazing in the salad bowl! However, is 2 tbsp of avocado oil too much? I often add a little oil in my food. 🙂
– Natalie
Hi Natalie,
If you like to limit your use of oil, you can definitely cut down the amount of oil. I use about 2 Tbsp to ensure nothing sticks to the Instant Pot 😀
What are the Macros?
Just made this and it’s my first time making this. It turned out great. I did use coconut vinegar instead of ACV since that’s what I had. Yummy!
Looks really great … wonder ‘if’ you could use a crock pot?? I know it would tke much longer, but I tried one of those Instant Pots and it terrified me .. I once had a pressure cooker (totally loved it, but these new pots are diffferent) … I’ll give it a try .. THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!
Looks yummy! I would like to try this in my crock pot!
Did you try this in a crock pot? I want to make this but don’t have an instant pot! 😀
Hi Amanda,
You can follow this recipe for the crock pot version: https://www.theroastedroot.net/crock-pot-barbacoa-beef-tacos/ Enjoy! xo
I’ve never made barbacoa beef and this is the place to start because I love my Instant Pot! This would be a huge hit the family…especially my boys so I need to try it out!