Recreate your favorite fast-food barbacoa burrito bowls with this easy slow cooker recipe from Twin Cities food blogger greens & chocolate.

While I try to use my slow cooker year round, I feel like the fall and winter seasons are particularly ideal times to set it and forget it. There’s not much better than coming home on a dark and chilly evening to dinner already made.

You might think of pot roasts and soups when you think of slow cooker recipes, but I’m switching things up today! A Mexican spiced beef that is slow cooked until it is so tender it falls apart with just a couple of forks.

But first, have you ever heard of barbacoa beef? I first tried it at Chipotle and was hooked on the smoky and spicy flavors and tender beef. I’m usually more of a chicken burrito girl but this beef beats chicken every single time we go.

Since I get a kick out of making restaurant meals at home, I made it a mission to recreate Beef Barbacoa Burrito Bowls in my own kitchen. The result? Even better. And as a bonus, this makes a lot of beef so unless you’re feeding a family of 8 (which, maybe you are…) you’re bound to have leftovers.

I love burrito bowls, so that’s what we used this beef for and that’s what the recipe below instructs. However, you could also use the beef in tacos, burritos, a salad or even enchiladas.

If you want to make this an even easier weeknight dinner, I would recommend cooking the rice and prepping the rest of the toppings ahead of time. This way you don’t have to wait the 20 minutes for rice to cook.

Even if you don’t do this, these burrito bowls come together in a snap once the beef is done. Just assemble the rice with all the goodies like corn, black beans, salsa and guacamole and top with that deliciously spiced beef, sour cream, cheese and cilantro. It’s like Chipotle, but WAY better.