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Y’all, it has been a WEEK! I know, I know it’s only Monday. But this last week has been a terrible one. I’m so happy we’re entering a new week full of limitless possibilities! Thankfully, despite a terrible, no-good, awful week — we had our trust Instant Pot to get us through! This super easy Instant Pot Copycat Chipotle Barbacoa recipe is just what we needed for a delicious weeknight meal.

What you’ll need
You’ll once again need your handy dandy Instant Pot. If you haven’t gotten one yet, what’s stopping you?! Seriously I use this kitchen appliance at least three times a week. It’s so perfect for busy weeknights. But besides the IP, you’ll need the following:
- 2.5 pounds beef chuck roast
- 1/2 of a medium onion,
- 3 tablespoons of minced garlic
- 3/4 cup of water
- 1/4 cup of lime juice
- 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon of tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon of cumin
- 3 teaspoons of chili powder
- 2 teaspoons of salt
- 2 tablespoons of cooking oil

You’ll want to cut your beef chuck roast into cubes. And set aside a little bit of a time to create the marinade. It doesn’t take long, but just be sure to prep it in advance.
How to make Instant Pot Copycat Chipotle Barbacoa
The steps are super easy. If you’ve never used the sauté function, get ready! It’s seriously the easiest and best way to get a one-pot meal.
Follow these super simple directions:
- Turn your instant pot onto sauté function. Set aside and allow to heat up while you make the marinade.
- In a small bowl or measuring cup, add your water, lime juice, apple cider vinegar, tomato paste, cumin, chili powder, and salt. Mix well until fully incorporated.
- Once your instant pot is hot, pour in your cooking oil. Place all of your meat, Garlic, and onions into the instant pot. Brown the meat completely.
- Once your meat is browned, pour in your marinade over the meat. Stir well until the meat is covered in the marinade.
- Close the Instant pot by twisting the lid on and closing the valve by pushing it away from you. Set the instant pot to high pressure for 30 minutes. It will take some time to build to pressure.
- Once your 30-minute timer is done, allow the instant pot to naturally release for another 15 minutes. Once the 15 minutes is done, manually release the instant pot by using a hot pad or towel to twist the valve toward you and open.
- Remove the meat from the instant pot to a cutting board. Shred with two forks.
- Enjoy your copycat chipotle barbacoa beef with rice, and a taco topped with cilantro and lime, or just by itself!
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Instant Pot Copycat Chipotle Barbacoa

Ingredients
- 2.5 lbs. beef chuck roast, cut into 2-inch cubes
- 1/2 medium onion, diced
- 3 tablespoons of minced garlic
- 3/4 cup of water
- 1/4 cup of lime juice
- 2 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon of tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon of cumin
- 3 teaspoon of chili powder
- 2 teaspoon of salt
- 2 tablespoon of cooking oil
Instructions
- Turn your instant pot onto sauté function. Set aside and allow to heat up while you make the marinade.
- In a small bowl or measuring cup, add your water, lime juice, apple cider vinegar, tomato paste, cumin, chili powder, and salt. Mix well until fully incorporated.
- Once your instant pot is hot, pour in your cooking oil. Place all of your meat, Garlic, and onions into the instant pot. Brown the meat completely.
- Once your meat is browned, pour in your marinade over the meat. Stir well until the meat is covered in the marinade.
- Close the Instant pot by twisting the lid on and closing the valve by pushing it away from you. Set the instant pot to high pressure for 30 minutes. It will take some time to build to pressure.
- Once your 30-minute timer is done, allow the instant pot to naturally release for another 15 minutes. Once the 15 minutes is done, manually release the instant pot by using a hot pad or towel to twist the valve toward you and open.
- Remove the meat from the instant pot to a cutting board. Shred with two forks.
- Enjoy your copycat chipotle barbacoa beef with rice, and a taco topped with cilantro and lime, or just by itself!
PIN FOR LATER


Ooo I know we’d love this. We go to Chipotle and order this often, so it’ll be nice to try at home. Yum!
This is something that my family woukld enjoy. I like that it can be made in the instant pot.
I would like to try this at home! Yummy!
How delicious, I love all these zingy flavours! I love you can do it in the slow cooker.
This looks so delicious!! Yum yum yum! ThanKS for the recipe.
This recipe looks Devine. And I love your photography! Pinned it on Pinterest. Thanks for sharing
This looks so good. I love using my instant pot and will defiantly have to try this recipe.
I’ve been looking for more instapot recipes. This one is a winner. My husband will love it
Wow this looks good, I’ll have to try sometime. I always appreciate and like how easy the isntapot is. It makes me feel fancy when I know I am not LOL.
This looks really delicious! Would love to make this sometime, thanks for sharing the recipe with us!
This recipe looks so delicious! I have never been to Chipotle as I think that is an American restaurant and doesn’t exist in my country, but I would love to try this barbecued beef, it looks so tender and full of flavour.
Oh I need to make this! I love Chipotlet Barbacoa and would love to be able to just make it myself at home instead of going out to chipotle everytime i have a craving.
Oh wow!! That Instant Pot can really help anyone to cook up a storm enough to start your very own YouTube channel with lots of copycat recipes.
This looks so delicious. I’m a big fan of anything chipotle!
oh my gosh this looks so good!! i totally need to try making it!! thanks for sharing this recipe
I don’t have an instapot yet and now I know i need one!
Definitely trying this out today! I needed a new recipe hahaha
All these instapot recipes are making me want to have one. Like now!
Ohh this looks so yummy, gotta try this for dinner in my InstaPot!!
This sounds delicious! I wonder what I could substitute to make it vegetarian. My friends that eat meat love barbacoa. I will be sharing this with them!
Thank you for this recipe! It sounds tasty and easy to make 🙂
At first I thought it would be more complicated to make. But it’s actually pretty easy! My kids would love this!
This looks so good and makes my mouth water. Thank you for sharingthe recipe, you bet I am going to try.
Eventhough I am not into beef, this recipe looks tempting and easy to make.
Okay WOW this looks so good! I need to try this. Thanks for the recipe!
I have hardly tried beef ever but husband loves it. Would love to try out this amazing recipe for him.
I’m thinking of getting an Instapot, too to make cooking easier for me. Thanks for sharing this recipe, too.
I definitely recommend getting one!!