These Crockpot Birria Tacos Are Your Family's New Favorite Dinner

If you're a busy parent always on the hunt for easy recipe ideas (aren’t we all?), you've probably discovered that TikTok serves up tons of mealtime inspiration. Or, if you haven't yet, here's your sign to create an account — if for no other reason than to make meal planning easier. Case in point? Birria tacos. They're having a moment on social media right now, and everyone wants to put their own spin on this delicious Mexican classic. But there's one recipe in particular destined to become a weeknight staple in your household: crockpot birria tacos. Let that sink in... crockpot birria tacos.

Recipes tend to trend. You probably remember when everyone was making Mississippi pot roast or TikTok made you try that scrumptious AF broccoli recipe (or the strawberry dessert). You can even notice it on restaurant menus. Sometimes it's just an ingredient: bacon, truffles, and aioli have all had their time as the "it" ingredient on a menu. Birria tacos are on that level of "trending." They're popping up nonstop — Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond even did a segment on her show, complete with taste-testing by her son-in-law.

Here's the hitch, though. As delicious as birria tacos are, they're typically a lot of work. (IYKYK!) So, if it's the time commitment keeping you from adding this delicious Mexican dish to your rotation, well, there's a TikTok recipe hack that'll be music to your ears.

Enter TikToker Luke (@CookingInTheMidwest). He just changed the birria game for busy families. “Crockpot birria tacos are far from authentic, but they are so good,” says Luke, introducing his video. From there, the video is roughly three minutes of what Anthony Bourdain would have called “food porn.”

The Recipe

1. Season chuck roast with salt, pepper, and garlic.
2. Sear in a skillet and then move the roast to the crockpot.
3. In the same skillet where you just seared your roast, add: 1 sliced onion, minced garlic, seasoning (see below), and 1/4 cup of green chilies. Bring to a simmer, constantly scraping the bottom of your skillet.
4. Pour skillet contents over roast.
5. Cook on low for 8 hours.
6. Shred the meat.
7. Sprinkle Monterey Jack cheese onto a skillet.
8. Dip your tortilla (corn preferred) into the sauce around your meat and lay it on top of the melted cheese.
9. Add your shredded meat, fold in half and cook on each side until the shell is slightly crunchy and nice and orange-brown.
10. Dip in the juice/sauce before eating.

Notes:

• Luke’s seasoning blend is 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne, 2 teaspoons chili powder, and 1 teaspoon each of cumin, cilantro, and black pepper.
• To add a bit more authenticity, you can add chopped onions to your taco before you close it up.
• A more authentic cheese option might be Oaxaca.
• Corn tortillas are more authentic, but if that’s a deal-breaker, just do flour. No one will hate you for it.

About Birria Tacos

Birria is actually a stew, which explains the soupy nature of the meat. It came from the Jalisco state of Mexico and originally contained chili peppers and goat meat. It was cooked “low and slow” on a fire and eventually came out as a stew. In recent years, people have started making birria tacos (or quesabirria) with beef instead of goat. They’re sometimes referred to as “red tacos” and are an Americanized way to eat birria. The cheese can go on the outside, inside, or both. There are several common pronunciations of birria. “Bi-dia,” “bur-ia,” and “beer-ia” are all fine, though the latter version with a rolled r-sound seems to be the most original pronunciation.

Want a more authentic birria taco recipe? MyLatinaTable has a recipe that is much closer rooted to birria stew’s origins. And Pioneer Woman’s recipe falls somewhere in the middle.

More Birria Tacos TikToks

In need of more birria taco recipes? Look no further and check out these mini tutorial TikToks on how to make this delicious Mexican dish.