This post contains affiliate links.
Easy Slow Cooker
recipes are always a favorite. The easy chili-lime shredded beef is great plain, or for tacos, burritos, quesadillas, enchiladas….you see where I’m going here? I love versatile slow cooker meats. I can throw it in the crock in the morning and then I have a whole 8 hours before I have to actually decide what we’re going to have for dinner. Leftovers? Guess you’ve got a completely different dinner for tomorrow night. I do love the slow cooker. In fact, I wrote a whole cookbook of easy prep recipes using whole, real ingredients. Soda walks the line on being a real ingredient, but I do love the way that soda flavors and tenderizes beef. It’s amazing what it does really. The sugar and carbonation break down that tough roast and produce a tender, moist, and tasty shredded beef. It’s easy, and totally delicious.
Hello: Have you ever tried this with chicken instead of beef?
I’m sure it would taste great.
I am trying this recipe tonight. Wondering if you are supposed to drain liquid prior to shredding or at All? Thanks!
I prefer to shred it in the liquid to absorb more flavor. You wouldn’t serve it in the liquid though.
I accidentally put lime in in the beginning I didn’t realize it’s after do you think it will be ok? 🙁
Should be! I’d add in extra at the end as slow cookers tend to dull flavors.
Thank you! It’s still delicious!
I’m starting with a 5 pound chuck roast, should I double the ingredients as well? My thought was to cut the roast into smaller pieces and set the slow cooker on high for 5 to 6 hours due to time constraints. Any thoughts?
Cutting the roast into smaller pieces will certainly help it cook faster. It can be a challenge to cook it tender enough when you are only cooking it on high for 5-6 hours. You will be cutting it close.
As for ingredients, double everything except the soda. 4-6 cups will suffice.
Thanks Rachel,
I’m hoping that cutting into smaller pieces will help. We’re doing a “World food day” at work and I didn’t want to cook it the day before or overnight because I wasn’t sure how it would taste sitting in the crock pot for an additional 7 or 8 hours on warm and I definitely didn’t want to reheat it in the microwave.
Can I cook it half way on slow and then resume when I get to work?
So I’ve made this twice now. First time I followed the directions to a T, and used Serra Mist. The meat was moist and shredded beautifully, but it was very bland. The second time I doubled the Chili powder. Added Cumin powder and Onion powder but used 7-up instead of the Mist. The roast came out a little bit on the dry side and I ended up cutting it in cubes instead of shredding it. It would have shredded if I really wanted it to, but it was cutting fine. The most disappointing thing was that the meat was almost… Read more »
maybe try 1/2 or so 7 up, the other 1/2 use just Lime soda water? Or soad water w/ some lemon &/or lime juice added for flavor? JustI have yet to try, but I’d prefer sticking to 7-up to avoid chemicals…
Is there meant to be heaps of liquid at the end? Do you just throw it out? My other slow cooker meals tend to absorb the liquid or become thick so I’m a bit worried about this one.
Yes, it’s kind of like a marinade. The amount of liquid you have leftover will vary depending on the meat you used and how much water was added to the meat (yes, this is a common practice).
Do you think substituting pork like a butt would work also?
Absolutely!
I’d love to use this recipe but I’m short on time. If I set the crockpot on high how many hours would it save me?
On high it will take between 5 and 6 hours, but it won’t be as tender. I find the low produces a much better end result.
I just made this tonight – It was fantastic! I read the comments first and I added a little extra chili powder, salt, and garlic (love me some garlic!).
It turned out great – I stored a lot of the meat in my fridge and I just wanted to snack on it all. Will definitely make this for the family!
Also, I just ordered your slow cooker book. Excited to try more 🙂
Oh my gosh! You made my day!
Do you know the nutritional values so I can calculate for Weight Watchers?
Also, I used this for Chipotle style burrito bowls with cilantro lime rice,guac, corn salsa, pico de gallo and pinto beans. this could go for just about any taco or tostada.
Just made this, I decided to take the plunge and just use 7Up. I will say, it needed more salt,garlic and chili powder when I taste tested about 3 hours in. I added 2 more cloves of garlic, I can't even pretend I measured the extra chili powder, but I'd say about 3 more tablespoons were added. I would not use a sparkling water, the flavor wouldnt be strong enough without adding about a quarter cup of lime juice to balance the sparkling water. There are naturally flavored sodas with real juice out there, so I would look for it.… Read more »
Honestly people – There are many ways to print, and sometimes you may have to take (Savior of Your Choice forbid) a bit of a different route. Rachel – Thank you! Keep the recipes/ideas coming. Much appreciated.
I would use the SodaStream lemon-lime soda as it has no high fructose corn syrup like most all other sodas. I do wish that your recipes had a PRINT button so it was possible to print a clean recipe page.
It is the next "to-do" on my programmer's list! Hopefully there will be a good print button soon.
Do you think Fresca would be okay to use instead of sprite or 7-up?