by Melissa 15 Comments
Instant Pot Barbacoa Recipe – tender fall apart beef loaded with traditional mexican spices and finished with fresh cilantro and lime juice. If you like Chipotle Barbacoa, you are going to love this recipe!
Instant Pot Barbacoa
This Instant Pot version of my Slow Cooker Barbacoa recipe is just as flavorful and tender as the original and is done in a fraction of the time. A good quality chuck roast, seared on both sides and seasoned with a blend of traditional mexican spices. Once the barbacoa is finished cooking, top with fresh lime juice and cilantro to enhance and brighten the flavors. The acid from the lime juice and the freshness of the cilantro cuts through the richness of the meat and is absolutely delicious together.
How to Make Instant Pot Barbacoa
- Start with a good quality chuck roast. For best results, let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before searing to take the chill off the beef.
- In a 6 QT Instant Pot, heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil on Sauté mode. Sear chuck roast on both sides.
- Remove seared roast and rub all over with seasoning mixture.
- Deglaze Instant Pot with 1 cup of low-sodium beef broth.
- Add seasoned and seared chuck roast back to Instant Pot and set to High Pressure for 1:30 hours (90 minutes on older Instant Pot models)
- Let Instant Pot Natural Pressure Release, this will ensure that the meat is tender.
- Use two forks to shred meat and top with fresh lime juice and freshly chopped cilantro.
Recipe Tips
- I’ve noticed that my newer 6QT Instant Pot does a better job at searing than my original model from a few years ago. If you aren’t impressed with the searing on your Instant Pot, you can also sear this in a large skillet on the stove-top. Then transfer to Instant Pot.
- The Instant Pot does a great job of tenderizing the meat, but it doesn’t melt the fat away as well as a low and slow method. If you have a roast with excess fat, try trimming some of it off before searing, or choose a chuck roast that has more even marbling of fat throughout. Alternatively, you can just remove any excess fat after cooking, but before serving.
- Great as a main dish, on tacos, tostadas or burritos.
5 from 15 votes
Instant Pot Barbacoa
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
1 hr 30 mins
Natural Pressure Release
20 mins
Total Time
2 hrs
Tender fall apart beef loaded with traditional mexican spices and finished with fresh cilantro and lime juice.
Course:Dinner
Cuisine:Mexican
Keyword:Barbacoa, Barbacoa Recipe, Instant Pot Barbacoa
Servings: 6
Calories: 376 kcal
Author: Melissa
Ingredients
- 1tablespoonvegetable oil
- 2.5poundchuck roast
- 1cupbeef brothlow sodium
- 2teaspoonskosher salt
- 1/2teaspoonblack pepper
- 1tablespoonchili powder
- 1teaspoongarlic powder
- 1teaspoononion powder
- 1teaspooncumin
- 1teaspoonsmoked paprika
- 1lime
- cilantrochopped for garnish
Instructions
For best results, let chuck roast sit a room temperature for at least 30 minutes before searing.
Set Instant Pot to Sauté function and make sure you hit adjust until the more light is lit. That indicates it is heating at the highest setting. Heat vegtable oil until hot, then sear chuck roast on both sides.
While chuck roast is searing, combine salt, pepper, and seasonings in a small bowl. Remove roast from Instant Pot and season chuck roast all over.
Deglaze Instant Pot with beef broth, then return roast to Instant Pot and set to cook at High Pressure for 1:30 hours (display will read 90 minutes for older model Instant Pots). Once Instant Pot has finished cooking, let barbacoa Natural Pressure Release. Once the pin drops, remove lid and shred barbacoa. Squeeze juice from fresh lime over meat and sprinkle with fresh cilantro.
Nutrition Facts
Instant Pot Barbacoa
Amount Per Serving
Calories 376Calories from Fat 216
% Daily Value*
Fat 24g37%
Saturated Fat 12g75%
Cholesterol 130mg43%
Sodium 1100mg48%
Potassium 706mg20%
Carbohydrates 3g1%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 1g1%
Protein 37g74%
Vitamin A 584IU12%
Vitamin C 3mg4%
Calcium 46mg5%
Iron 5mg28%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
5 Easy Dinner Ideas for Busy Weeknights
My five FAVORITE recipes for busy families!
- Quick to make
- Light on your budget
- Easy to clean-up
- and...most important...absolutely DELICIOUS
Previous Post: « Single Serving Chocolate Chip Cookies
Next Post: Lemondoodles – Brown Butter Lemon Snickerdoodles »
Reader Interactions
Comments
Anna
We had this for dinner today and it was a huge hit! Another Instant Pot winner dinner!Reply
- Natalie
Tender, juicy, & so flavorful! This is great for so many dishes!Reply
- Cyd
My husband and two teenage boys went crazy over this! Such an awesome way to make barbacoa in the Instant Pot.Reply
- K
This recipe is ahhhhmazing! Even better day 2 if it lasts that long!Reply
- Katie
This looks so amazing! Can’t wait to try this one.Reply
- Lily
This was incredible, tender and juicy, this made for the best taco night 🤤Reply
- Jennifer
My husband and I LOVE this recipe! So versatile and simply delicious!!Reply
- Sarah Hernandez
I’ve made this for my husband’s Salvadoran family and everyone loves it. My husband say it’s just like what his aunt makes and is very reminiscent for him. I’ve made it for other friends and family, and shared the recipe with others and I’ve never heard anyone say they don’t love it! I make it for you almost every month!Reply
- Lauren
This is one of the best instant pot recipes I have ever made. Highly recommend to any and everyone!Reply
- Betsy
So juicy & tender it just falls apart! Love all the flavor! This is absolutely incredible! All my tacos need to be barbacoa now! YUM!!!Reply
- Gina Ceraso
Wow, the texture is just perfect! My husband went crazy for this!Reply
- Erin
We just had this for lunch! It was so flavorful and I loved how easy it is! Will make again.Reply
- Dana
I will never make another taco filling! This is so tender and delicious.Reply
- Kristyn
We use this recipe for so many different meals! We love it for tacos or burritos & I love it in salads!! Super easy & yummy!Reply
- jess
So amazing! I love barbacoa and wanted to know if there is a slow cooker version as well for this recipe?Reply
