Shredded Beef Tacos with Honey Chipotle Sauce & Pickled Onions (2024)

These are not your average shredded beef tacos, they are restaurant quality! These flavor packed beef tacos are loaded with rich shredded beef, a honey chipotle lime sauce, tangy pickled onions and salty cotija cheese all wrapped in a warm tortilla.

Not to toot my own horn, but if I ordered these Shredded Beef Tacos at a restaurant I would be so very excited. The shredded beef is rich and flavorful, but it’s the sweet and spicy chipotle and honey sauce, paired with the tangy pickled onions and salty cheese that really elevate these tacos. These are a great make ahead meal to feed a crowd, everything can be prepared a day in advance (beef, sauce & pickled onions) and then simply assembled into tacos right before eating. If you are a fan of tacos, I think you will absolutely LOVE these flavor packed shredded beef tacos.

Why You Will Love These Shredded Beef Tacos

• These are not your average beef tacos, they are flavor packed and taste restaurant quality but are actually incredibly easy to make at home
• The delicious shredded beef is incredibly versatile and can be served with any of your favorite taco toppings.
• These shredded beef tacos are a great make ahead dish, the shredded beef, chipotle honey sauce and pickled onions can all be prepared a day or two in advance. Before serving simply reheat the beef and then assemble the tacos
• This recipe requires less than 30 minutes of hands on prep, then just sit back and let the oven do all of the work.

How To Serve This Shredded Beef

I like serving this shredded beef in corn or flour tortillas. For a grain free or paleo option you can use almond flour, cassava or low-carb tortillas or serve the tacos in lettuce cups. Another great low carb option is to serve the beef, pickled onions and chipotle mayo in a salad bowl, or with rice as loaded burrito bowls.

Taco Toppings

I really think that the tangy pickled red onions, sweet chipotle sauce and salty feta pairs incredibly well with the shredded flavorful beef and should not be skipped. If you would like to serve these beef tacos as part of a taco bar with all the toppings, some of my other favorite toppings that I think would be fantastic in these shredded beef tacos include sliced avocado or guacamole, queso fresco, sour cream, chopped tomatoes, pico de gallo or your favorite salsa and fresh cilantro or chopped green chiles.

Are These Shredded Beef Tacos Paleo?

With two simple modifications these shredded beef tacos can easily be made paleo! The beef and chipotle sauce are naturally paleo, There are lots of great paleo tortillas that you can find at the grocery store (such as siete). Alternatively if you are not able to find paleo tortillas than you can serve the shredded beef and toppings in a lettuce cup. For the toppings, the only change is to skip the cotija cheese and add a touch more salt to the chipotle sauce.

​Ingredients You Need To Make These Shredded Beef Tacos

• Chuck Roast: boneless beef chuck roast is my favorite cut of beef for slow cooking and shredding. It has a good amount of fat which will result in tender beef that falls apart with a fork when shredded after cooking.
• Yellow Onions: thinly slice the onions, as they cook they melt into the sauce and mix well with the shredded beef.
• Spices: the beef roast is rubbed in a mix of chipotle powder, paprika, oregano, ground cumin and garlic powder. If you do not have chipotle powder then chili powder can be used in its place although it won’t have the same smoke flavor.
• Orange Juice: freshly squeezed orange juice or store bought both work.
• Lime Juice: either fresh lime juice or store bought both work.
• Beef Stock: use good quality beef broth for the best flavor
• Honey: honey can be substituted for any other liquid sweetened you prefer such as maple syrup or agave
• Chipotle in Adobo: Chipotle in adobo can be found in the mexican food section of most grocery stores.
• Mayonnaise: any type of store bought or homemade mayonnaise can be used as the base of the sauce. Sour cream or greek yogurt can be used in place of mayo.
• Apple Cider Vinegar: Apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar can be used in the sauce.
• Cotija Cheese: Cotija cheese is a type of Mexican cheese that is firm and crumbly in texture with a tangy and salty flavor. If you cannot find cotija cheese than feta cheese is a great substitute.

How To Make These Shredded Beef Tacos

1. In a small bowl stir together all of the spices (chipotle powder, paprika, oregano, cumin, garlic powder & salt). Sprinkle the beef roast all over in the spice mix so that it is completely covered.
2. In a dutch oven add the sliced onions, orange juice, lime juice and beef stock. Place the beef on top, cover with a lid and transfer to the oven. Cook for 3-4 hours until the beef is fall apart tender.
3. To make the pickled onions, whisk together the vinegar, honey and water, add in the sliced red onion and leave them to marinate while the beef cooks.
4. To make the honey lime chipotle sauce, combine the mayonnaise, honey, lime juice and chipotle in adobo in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.
5. Shred the tender beef with forks and let the beef soak up the cooking sauce in the bottom of the pot. Leave to broil until there are browned bits on the edges.
6. Fill warm tortillas with shredded lettuce, beef, pickled onions, chipotle sauce and crumbled cotija cheese overtop.

You can find detailed instructions in the recipe card below.

What Is The Best Cut Of Beef To Use?

I prefer using chuck roast which is well marbled with fat and collagen which breaks down during cooking, resulting in tender and flavorful meat. Chuck roast should be available at most grocery stores and is sometimes labelled as shoulder roast, chuck eye roast, or arm chuck roast. Brisket is another great option, it has a bit more fat than chuck roast which adds to the flavor when slow cooked.

Can I Make The Shredded Beef In An Instant Pot

You can! For extra flavor, add a tablespoon of olive oil to the instant pot and put it on saute. Cook the roast for 3-4 minutes per side until a nice sear forms before adding the onions, orange juice, lime juice and beef broth to the pressure cooker. Secure and seal the lid, then set a cooking time of 50 minutes on manual high heat. Once the time is up, allow a 10-minute natural release, then open the pressure valve to release any remaining pressure.

Can I Make The Shredded Beef In A Slow Cooker

Absolutely! Simply place the spice coated beef plus the sliced onions, beef broth, orange juice and lime juice in the slow cooker and leave to cook for 4 hours on high heat or 8 hours on low heat. After shredding the beed I recommend placing it on a sheet pan and quickly broiling it in the oven so that the beef becomes crispy.

Chipotle Honey Lime Sauce

This chipotle honey lime sauce requires just a handful of simple ingredients and takes less than 5 minutes to make. The creamy sauce has a base of mayonnaise (which can be substituted for sour cream or greek yogurt) and is blended with chipotle in adobo which gives the dip a wonderful smokey and spicy flavor, plus honey and lime juice. Blend everything together in a blender or food processor and then taste and adjust the ingredients as needed depending on your taste. If you have any leftover sauce, it’s great for using as a dip with shrimp, chicken or fries.

Pickled Onions

These quick pickled onions require just 4 ingredients and add a wonderful tangy flavor to the tacos. When cutting the red onion I recommend slicing it as thinly as possible, or using a mandolin or vegetable peeler to get thin slices. After adding the sliced red onion to the bowl with the vinegar and water, try to ensure that all of the slices are submerged in the liquid. Any leftover pickled onions can be stored in the pickling liquid in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

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What About Leftovers

Leftover mexican shredded beef can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days or stored in a container or freezer-safe bag in the freezer for 6 months. I love to have a batch of this shredded beef in the freezer to bring out for a low fuss taco night or easy weeknight dinner when I don’t have time to make dinner. To reheat the beef I recommend placing it in a large skillet on medium-high heat for 3-5 minutes until the beef is warmed through or heating it in the microwave.

Here are a few more easy Mexican recipes that you might enjoy:

• The Best Taco Ground Beef
• Shrimp Tacos
• Shredded Chicken Tacos
• Seared Tuna Tacos
• Barbacoa Beef
• Shredded Pork Tacos

If you make this recipe let me know in the comment section below, I would love to hear what you think or take a photo and tag me (@everylastbite_) on Instagram, I love seeing your photos!

This post was originally published on June 26, 2024.