Slow Cooker Pulled Beef with maple chipotle barbecue sauce is a delicious, kid-friendly weeknight dinner with only 15 minutes of prep. Serve it on top of buns with coleslaw for a yummy easy meal.

two plates with pulled beef sandwiches and coleslaw

Why Make This Recipe

I love this Slow Cooker Pulled Beef recipe because it is a combo of barbecue food- that which we associate with outdoor summer ease– buns dripping with slow cooked and smoky meat– married with the time-saving necessity of using a slow cooker for busy weeknight dinners.

This Slow Cooker Barbecue Pulled Chicken is a sister from another mother to this BBQ Pulled Beef recipe, except I am the same mother. Wink! I developed this beef variation because we love the pulled chicken so much and wanted to try it with beef. Sure enough, everyone loves this one too!

Reasons to love this recipe

  • It is made in a crockpot, and has very little hands-on time.
  • You can set the slow cooker up the night before so all you have to do is turn it on before work in the morning.
  • There is no searing, but there is plenty of rich flavor from the homemade Maple Chipotle barbecue sauce!
  • It goes with all sorts of side dishes like Coleslaw and Cornbread and can feed a crowd.
  • It is great for tailgating or sports nights because it can be kept warm in the crockpot for hours.

Ingredients For Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Beef

Beef Chuck Roast

Beef chuck is a great cut of meat to use for pulled beef because it is a tough and inexpensive cut of meat from the shoulder area of the steer. It has a lot of connective tissue that breaks down when slowly simmered in the slow cooker. I use it in this Slow Cooker Beef Chuck and Porcini Mushroom Pasta too for the same reasons. It needs to braise for four hours to become tender.

Sweet Onion

To improve the level of sweetness in the barbecue sauce, I used a sweet onion. To learn how to dice an onion check out my tips. 

Crushed Tomatoes

The body of the barbecue sauce/braising liquid is canned crushed tomatoes. If you can find them, I prefer the fire roasted variety because it adds smoky flavor to the recipe.

Maple Syrup

I like to use maple syrup in place of refined sugars whenever possible. My family makes and sells maple syrup and I even wrote a cookbook about it (published in 2015.) Look for amber rich or dark robust grade A pure maple syrup. You can buy our syrup when available here

Tomato Paste

To thicken the braising liquid I used a quarter cup of tomato paste.

Coarse Grain or Brown Mustard

For added flavor and a savory taste I added in mustard. I like coarse grain if you can find it, but brown deli style mustard also works really well.

Chili powder, Salt, Pepper and Chipotle chili powder

The seasonings are chili powder, chipotle powder and salt and pepper. If you do not like spicy food, use 2 teaspoons smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon chili powder and the salt and pepper instead of the ratio in the recipe card below. 

How To Make Barbecue Shredded Beef in the Crock Pot

  1. Place beef chuck roast in the insert of a large slow cooker. Top with onion.
  2. Whisk crushed tomatoes, maple syrup, tomato paste, apple cider vinegar, chili powder, salt, chipotle chili powder and pepper in a medium bowl. Pour over the beef.
  3. Cover the slow cooker, and set to low heat for 8 hours.
  4. When timer is up, remove beef to a cutting board, and remove any visible pieces of fat. Shred the meat with forks. Skim any fat off of the sauce. Return the meat to the sauce and stir to combine. Serve with the barbecue sauce.
a bun piled high with shredded beef

Expert Tips For This Recipe

To Make Ahead:

Fridge: Cook and cool the beef. Store in a resealable glass container for up to 4 days. Reheat until steaming hot in the microwave or on the stovetop.

Freezer: This beef can also be frozen and thawed as well. Freeze portions up to three months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat until steaming hot. 

What Goes With Barbecue Beef?

I love piling the shredded barbecue beef on soft buns and spoon on just enough sauce to moisten the sandwiches. Here are some side dishes to pair with it.

Other Recipes You’ll LOVE

Thanks so much for reading! If you are new here, you may want to sign up for my email newsletter to get a free weekly menu plan and the latest recipes right to your inbox. If you make this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review. I would love to hear what you thought!

Happy Cooking! ~Katie

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bbq shredded beef in a bun from the side

Slow-Cooker Barbecue Pulled Beef


5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 3 reviews

  • Author: Katie Webster
  • Total Time: 8 hours 15 minutes
  • Yield: 8 servings 1x

Description

Slow-cooker barbecue pulled beef with maple chipotle BBQ sauce is a delicious, kid-friendly weeknight dinner with only 15 minutes of prep. Serve it on buns with coleslaw for an easy meal.


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 3 to 3.5 pounds beef chuck roast, preferably grass-fed
  • 1 large sweet onion, finely diced
  • 1 14ounce can crushed tomatoes, preferably fire-roasted
  • 1/3 cup pure maple syrup, dark or amber
  • 1/4 cup tomato paste
  • 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon coarse grain or brown mustard
  • 2 teaspoons chili powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Instructions

  1. Place beef chuck roast in the insert of a large slow cooker. Top with onion.
  2. Whisk crushed tomatoes, maple syrup, tomato paste, apple cider vinegar, chili powder, salt, chipotle chili powder and pepper in a medium bowl. Pour over the beef.
  3. Cover the slow cooker, and set to low heat for 8 hours.
  4. When timer is up, remove beef to a cutting board, and remove any visible pieces of fat. Shred the meat with forks. Skim any fat off of the sauce. Return the meat to the sauce and stir to combine. Serve with the barbecue sauce.

Notes

To make ahead:

Cook and cool the beef. Store in a resealable glass container for up to 4 days. Reheat until steaming hot in the microwave or on the stovetop.

  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 8 hours
  • Category: Main Course
  • Method: Slow Cooker
  • Cuisine: American

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 3.5 ounces meat
  • Calories: 262
  • Sugar: 13 g
  • Sodium: 427 mg
  • Fat: 13 g
  • Saturated Fat: 6 g
  • Trans Fat: 1 g
  • Carbohydrates: 16 g
  • Fiber: 1 g
  • Protein: 20 g
  • Cholesterol: 66 mg