Slow Cooker Sweet and Spicy Shredded Beef

This easy slow cooker sweet and spicy shredded beef is the perfect low-maintenance dinner! You will love how versatile, flavorful, and convenient this amazing freezer-friendly meal prep recipe is.

 

You are going to love this juicy shredded beef recipe covered in a well-balanced sticky sauce! This sweet and spicy beef recipe cooks until it’s melt-in-your-mouth tender in the slow cooker, leaving you free to work, play, or sleep while dinner is being made. It’s the perfect versatile dish to serve atop white rice, in lettuce wraps, or with roasted broccoli to satisfy the whole family!

Surprisingly enough, this recipe is diet friendly, too! It’s naturally free of many allergens (gluten, nuts, eggs, dairy, etc.), but two simple ingredients help make this low-carb and keto-friendly, too. Make a big batch of this slow cooker sweet and spicy shredded beef and freeze individual portions for simple meal prep that will have you winning “best lunch” in the office!

Ingredients

Here’s a quick overview of what you’ll need for this recipe. As always, scroll down to the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact measurements.

• Chuck Roast – This beef cut is tough when cooked quickly but becomes unbelievably tender when slow cooked due to the high ratio of fat to protein. Beef cheeks, brisket, and other slow-cooking cuts can also work.
• Sweet chili sauce, soy sauce, honey, unseasoned rice vinegar, sesame oil – Makes an amazing sauce! To keep it low-carb, use G Hughes Sweet Chili Sauce and replace the honey with sugar-free maple syrup.
• Minced garlic and ginger – These add a ton of flavor. Feel free to use the pre-minced jars or paste from the grocery store to save time.

Because the sauce ingredients have quite a bit of sodium, I recommend only adding salt and pepper to taste after the beef is cooked.

How to Make Sweet and Spicy Shredded Beef

This recipe could not be simpler — You don’t even need to brown the meat! You will just need a slow cooker. Here’s a step-by-step guide:

1. Combine the sauce ingredients in a mixing bowl or jar. Whisk (or shake the jar) until it’s well-combined.
2. Place the chuck roast in the bottom of your slow cooker. Pour the sauce on top, then place the lid on the crock pot.
3. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 6-8 hours. While beef is safe to eat at 145 degrees F, you want to cook this cut longer so that the connective tissue breaks down, causing the unbelievably tender beef to shred perfectly. Remove the beef when it reaches 205-215 degrees F as measured by a meat thermometer.
4. Place the beef on a cutting board or in a bowl and shred with two forks. Place the shredded meat back into the slow cooker and toss in the sauce.

How to Serve Slow Cooker Sweet and Spicy Shredded Beef

Garnish your slow cooker beef with chopped green onions and a sprinkle of sesame seeds. If you like it spicy, you may enjoy a drizzle of sriracha sauce on it, too! Serve alongside rice, noodles, cauliflower rice, roasted broccoli, or in lettuce wraps. I loved my lunch bowl full of this beef, some leftover brussels sprout fried rice, and a swirl of yum yum sauce.

This super versatile recipe goes with all kinds of side dishes!

• Asian Slaw
• Easy Cucumber Salad
• Cauliflower Fried Rice

Storage and Reheating:

Allow the beef to cool completely, then store in an airtight container and keep it in the refrigerator up to four days. To keep it longer, place in a freezer-safe container or bag and freeze up to three months. For the best texture, allow frozen beef to thaw slowly overnight in the fridge before reheating.

When ready to reheat, blast in 30-second increments in the microwave, stirring or turning after each session. If you’re heating up several servings at once, place in a baking dish, drizzle with about a tablespoon of water or beef broth, cover, and bake for 10-20 minutes in the oven at 350 degrees F.

Tips for the BEST Shredded Beef:

• Don’t rush it – This cut really benefits from a long, slow cooking time. If possible, I highly recommend cooking on low and getting near that 8 hour mark. While you will be able to shred it at 205 degrees, pushing it to 210 or 215 can help make this the juicy, melt-in-your-mouth texture you want.
• Make it saucy – If you like things super saucy or want additional sauce for rice or veggies, feel free to double the sauce ingredients. This won’t affect the cooking time at all, and extra sauce will keep in the fridge for at least a week. It makes an amazing dip for chicken nuggets, too!
• Use the right cut – If you do not have access to a beef chuck roast, feel free to swap this for another large cut that does well with slow cooking in a crockpot. The best cut of beef for this (besides chuck roast) would be brisket, beef cheeks, short ribs, bottom round, or even oxtail. Do not use lean cuts like steaks–These get very tough when slow cooked.

More great slow cooker recipes:

• Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas – Top these with salsa, slaw, avocado, and more! Serve with low-carb tortillas if you’re concerned about carbs.
• Easy Mississippi Pot Roast – Amazing with mashed potatoes, and the leftover beef sandwiches are perfect for meal prepping lunches!
• Crock Pot Fall-Off-The-Bone Ribs – The apple cider vinegar and long cooking time leads these to be super tender and delicious.
• Slow Cooker Mexican Shredded Beef – Makes amazing beef tacos and quesadillas; don’t forget a squeeze of lime juice!
• Juicy Crock Pot BBQ Chicken – This shredded chicken soaks up the delicious BBQ sauce for amazing flavor and basically no work! Serve this versatile recipe on hamburger buns or sear in corn tortillas for tons of dinner options.