Tangy, slightly spicy Italian beef is slow cooked all day until it’s fall apart tender, and then shredded. Perfect on it’s own, on a bun, or a baked potato!
If you’re looking for a great no-fuss meal, you have to try this amazing Slow Cooker Shredded Italian Beef! It cooks away in your slow cooker (hello easy weeknight meal!), until it’s so tender it practically falls apart by itself, then shredded. It’s tangy, a little bit spicy (totally customizable though), and SO versatile!
I love using my slow cooker year- round… that way you don’t have to heat up your kitchen by having your oven or stove top on, plus, dinner practically cooks itself!
This Italian beef is unbelievably easy… you don’t even have to sear the beef first! Of course you totally can, if you have the time and feel like it. About half the time I make this beef I sear it, and the other half I skip it. Sometimes, it’s more work than I feel like doing lol.
I like to use an English cut chuck roast for this (because of the great marbleization and I like the relatively flat cut), but feel free to use your favorite cut of beef that you usually use for a roast.
Have you heard of the famous Mississippi Pot Roast? This Italian beef is fairly similar, except it uses no packets full of additives. You just add your seasonings and chopped peppers to the bottom of your slow cooker and stir in the vinegar. Add your beef on top of that, top with some extra peppers and a few tablespoons of butter. Pop a lid on the slow cooker and cook on low all day. Easy as pie!!
So now that you have this gorgeous slow cooker full of the most tender and flavorful beef ever… what are you going to do with it? Well you can do a few things…
- Serve it up by itself, with some great side dishes alongside (I’ll link to my favorites later in the post)
- Toast a buttery brioche bun and pile the beef on with some extra peppers
- Bake some potatoes and top them with plenty of butter and Italian beef
- Bake some crispy oven fries (or even fries from a bag), and top them with beef and some mozzarella cheese
I actually have another recipe using this Italian beef coming up next week… so stay tuned for that… you definitely don’t want to miss it!
Alright, so some side dishes that are great with this beef are
- Horseradish Mashed Potatoes
- Garlic and Balsamic Roasted Mushrooms
- Cheesy Brussels sprouts with Bacon
- Crispy Oven Fries
Can’t you just imagine sinking your fork into that bowl full of succulent beef?!
The next time you’re craving some comfort food on a weeknight… whip up this Slow Cooker Shredded Italian Beef and prepare to fall in love!!
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup white vinegar
- 1 Tbsp dried minced onion
- 1/2 Tbsp garlic powder
- 1 - 1 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 7 pepperoncini peppers, chopped (I use the mild jarred ones)
- 7-10 banana pepper rings (I use mild)
- 2-3 lb beef chuck roast
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 4 Tbsp butter
Instructions
- Spray slow cooker insert with cooking spray. Add vinegar, dried onion, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, chopped pepperoncini peppers, and banana pepper rings to bottom of slow cooker. Stir to combine.
- Add beef chuck roast on top of spice mixture, season both sides with salt and black pepper. Top with butter.
- Place lid on slow cooker and cook on LOW for 8 hours. Remove beef from slow cooker and shred. Return to slow cooker to soak up any residual juice and serve.
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Chef Tips
Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Amy says
This was sooo good. Ridiculously fatty, so not something to have every week, but what a great recipe to pull out for group occasions and comfort food dinners.
Followed the recipe exactly with 2lbs of chuck and 1t of red pepper flakes. I made it to have leftovers this work weekend, but I couldn’t help myself while portioning, so I literally ripped open a wheat dinner roll and shoved the beef in with plenty of juices 😳🤤. Delicious! It’s not too spicy or too vinegary, which really surprised me. Thanks for the recipe 😁.
Justine Stornetta says
Made this as part of the slider recipe and it was so delicious! Never had Italian pot roast before and I’m hooked.
Erin says
Delicious! I make this often, and my whole family loves it.
Carolyn says
Hi Amanda!
I want to make this sometime this week but have a quick question regarding the vinegar called for. I might have missed it, but do you use white wine vinegar or distilled white vinegar? Or does it matter?
Thanks for the help!
The Chunky Chef says
I typically use distilled white vinegar since we always have it on hand, but you could use either 🙂
Diana says
This is so delicious!! I love this recipe and will always use it for shredding my chuck roasts. Perect balance
Diana M Kleineidam says
This is so good!!! I just make it and the meat just fell apart. I can’t wait to eat it!!!
Skyann says
Do you suggest draining the peppers before adding them to the slow cooker?
The Chunky Chef says
I don’t drain the couple of peppers specifically, just pull them out and let the excess brine fall away 🙂
Carole LaVeen says
I love this recipe and make it often for family gatherings or just to enjoy any ole time.
Angie Stanley says
This is incredibly easy and tasty. This is one of the few meals that everyone loves and will eat the leftovers. 👍🏻👍🏻
Angie S says
I had only tried Italian beef in prepackaged containers and wasn’t impressed.
Hubby asked me to find a recipe and try to make it.
I found this one and have made it a bunch of times now. It’s a new family favorite.
Didan says
Too sour for my taste but next time I will use beef broth instead and add green peppers, mushrooms and onions.
Sabrinia says
Would I be able to cook this on high to cut the time down?
The Chunky Chef says
I find my roasts don’t turn out as tender when I cook on high, but you could give it a try if you’d like. In general, if cooking on high, cook for about half the time.