Beef barbacoa is a huge hit in our house—when my kids get to pick their birthday meal, this is what they want!
Making it in the Instant Pot (or any pressure cooker) saves time but still delivers that fall-apart tender, juicy goodness. This version is sweet and smoky without being spicy, so it’s totally kid-approved.
Searing the Roast
First things first—let’s get that meat seasoned. Mix all your spices together in a small bowl.
Pat the chuck roast dry with a paper towel (this helps the dry rub stick better!), then coat the roast evenly with the spice mixture.
Heat a pan over medium-high heat, then add your favorite cooking oil. I like avocado oil for this, but olive, coconut, or whatever you’ve got works fine.
Once the pan is hot, place the roast in and let it sit for a few minutes—don’t move it around too much! You want a deep, golden-brown sear, and keeping it still helps with that.
Adjust your heat as needed:
- If it’s not searing well, turn the heat up.
- If it’s getting too dark too fast, lower the temp a bit.
Side note: I swear by my Red Chef hybrid ceramic pans—they sear beautifully, clean up like a dream, and don’t have any of those awful chemicals found in non-stick pans.
Mixing up the Sauce
While the roast is doing its thing, grab a bowl and mix together the BBQ sauce and tomatoes.
I use cherrywood chipotle BBQ sauce, which has a sweet, smoky kick, but there are tons of great chipotle BBQ sauces out there—pick your favorite!
For the tomatoes, I usually go with fire-roasted diced tomatoes with green chilies, but if you don’t have fire-roasted, no worries—it still turns out great.
Add ⅓ of the sauce to the bottom of your 6-quart Instant Pot, creating a flavorful base layer.
Into in the Instant Pot
Once you’ve got a nice sear on one side of the roast, flip it over and sear the other side. Then, hold the roast up with tongs and sear the edges, working your way around all sides.
Take the roast off the heat and set it aside.
Pour ⅓ of the sauce into the bottom of your 6-quart Instant Pot—this creates a nice, flavorful base layer. Then, place the roast inside and cover it with the remaining sauce.
Lock the lid, set the Manual function to 90 minutes, and make sure the pressure valve is set to sealing. It’ll take about 10 minutes to build pressure, then the timer starts.
Once the cook time is up, don’t rush to open the lid! Let the pot sit for at least 15 minutes to naturally release some pressure—this helps keep the meat extra juicy.
After resting, switch the pressure valve to “release” to let out any remaining steam, then carefully remove the lid.
Shredding & Finishing
Turn off the Instant Pot and move the roast to a plate. Break it up slightly and let it cool for easier shredding.
There will be a lot of delicious broth in the pot—using a mesh strainer, strain it into a separate container and set it aside. Discard anything left in the strainer.
Once the meat has cooled a bit, shred it up and put it back in the Instant Pot. I’m super picky about shredded meat—I get rid of all the extra fat, but that’s totally up to you!
Pour about 1 cup of broth over the shredded meat and stir. Want it juicier? Add a little more in small amounts until it’s just right—I usually end up using around 1½ cups, depending on the roast size.
Turn the Instant Pot to sauté to warm it back up before serving.
Serving Ideas
Now comes the best part—digging in!
Burrito bowls: Serve over rice with toppings like grilled corn, avocado, black beans, cilantro, and tomatoes.
Barbacoa tacos: This is my kids’ favorite way to eat barbacoa! Serve in a soft or hard-shell taco with any toppings you love.
Looking for a great sauce? If you haven’t tried Ortega’s Ranch Taco Sauce yet, it’s amazing for both tacos and burrito bowls. It’s a staple in our house!
No Instant Pot? No Problem! You can totally make this in a slow cooker instead. Add the seared roast to the slow cooker and cover with the sauce. Cook on LOW for 6-8 hours or HIGH for 3-4 hours. Follow the same shredding and broth steps, and you’re good to go.
Instant Pot Beef Barbacoa
Equipment
- 1 Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- 4 lb beef chuck roast (a little larger or smaller is fine)
- 3 Tbsp avocado oil for searing (you can substitute any cooking oil you prefer)
Dry Rub
- 1 Tbsp sea salt
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 3/4 tsp oregano
- 3/4 tsp chipotle chili powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Sauce
- 1/2 cup chipotle barbeque sauce (any sweet chipotle bbq sauce will work fine)
- 10 oz can of diced tomatoes with green chilies
Optional toppings
- grilled sweet corn
- black beans
- diced tomatoes
- cilantro
- avocado
- sauce of choice (Ortega’s Ranch Taco sauce is amazing on barbacoa)
Instructions
- Combine all the spices in a small bowl and set aside.
- Prep the roast by removing excess moisture so the spices adhere better. This can be done by wrapping or patting with paper towels.
- Rub the spice mixture all over the surface of the meat, making sure to coat the sides as well.
- Warm a pan over medium-high heat, then add cooking oil.
- Place the roast in the pan and sear each side until golden brown.
- While the roast is searing, combine the diced tomatoes and barbecue sauce in a bowl.
- Pour ⅓ of the sauce mixture into the bottom of the Instant Pot.
- Once the roast is fully seared, transfer it to the Instant Pot and pour the remaining sauce over the top.
- Secure the lid on the Instant Pot and set the valve to “Sealing.”
- Cook on Manual pressure for 90 minutes. It will take up to 10minutes to reach pressure before the timer starts.
- When the timer is up, let the Instant Pot naturally release pressure for at least 15 minutes before switching the valve to “Releasing.” Once all pressure is released, remove the lid carefully.
- Turn off the Instant Pot and move the roast to a plate. Break it up slightly and let it cool for easier shredding.
- Using a mesh strainer, strain the broth into a separate container and discard any solids.
- Shred the meat, removing as much fat as desired, then return it to the Instant Pot.
- Pour about 1 cup of broth over the shredded meat and stir. Add more in small increments until the meat is as juicy as you like.
- Turn the Instant Pot to the Sauté setting to warm the barbacoa back up. Once warm, switch the setting to warm or turn the Instant Pot off.
- Serve over rice with your favorite toppings or in taco shells. Enjoy!
Notes
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