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Spicy dutch oven pot roast with tomatoes, jalapeños, oregano, bay leaves, fajita vegetables, and tons of Mexican-inspired braised beef flavor!
This easy spicy dish is great as a main – or served shredded in tacos and burritos. I designed it to be perfect in leftovers, too!
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At Sweet C’s, I add lots of tips in all of my recipes – because I am a home cook without any formal training, and I find I am more confident making dishes when I understand why it works, and what each ingredient means to the flavor of a recipe. My goal is for even the most beginner home cook to feel empowered in the kitchen.
Spicy Fajita Pot Roast
Pot roast is one of my favorite easy weekend meals – it is simple, filling, mostly hands-off, and always a family favorite – the soft, tender meat is always a huge hit! It can get a bit repetitive to have the same standby roast recipe, time after time, so we came up with this spicy version – packed with fajita vegetables, tons of garlic, oregano, cumin, cayenne, and more.
One of the ways I love to eat this dish is spooned into Air Fryer Baked Potatoes, with shredded cheese and sour cream!
I hope you love this dish as much as we do.
How to Make Mexican Pot Roast
To make this recipe, you will need the following ingredients:
- Pot roast
- Olive oil
- Bell peppers
- White onion
- Garlic
- Bay leaves
- Jalapeños
- Diced tomatoes
- Cumin
- Chili powder
- Ancho chile powder
- Beef stock
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Once you’ve gathered your ingredients, we will use the following process:
- Prep. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Season pot roast well with salt and pepper and heat olive oil in dutch oven until light and shimmery, about 30 seconds.
- Brown. Sear pot roast on all sides until browned, about 4 minutes per side.
- Braise. Add ingredients. Remove dutch oven from heat, and add peppers, onions, garlic, herbs, seasonings, and stock to pot over pot roast. Cover with lid and braise 4-5 hours, until fork tender.
- Shred. When pot roast is able to shred with light pressure from a fork, remove from oven and remove roast. Let sit on a cutting board or plate until cool enough to shred. Remove bay leaves and discard. When pot roast is cool, shred using forks, a stand mixer with paddle attachment, or your hands.
- Serve. Pot roast is great over salad, potatoes, or rice with fajita vegetables from the pot and a bit of the stock as a gravy – or add to tacos, burritos, sandwiches, and more!
Tips and Tricks for Perfect Mexican Pot Roast & FAQs
Make it birria. This pot roast is a good filling for birria tacos!
Add to casseroles. Since the beef cooks slowly in a lovely stock with tons of flavor, this pot roast packs a punch – it is fabulous in casseroles, sandwiches, wraps, tacos, and other recipes that could use a bit of a kick!
Pat dry. For a perfect sear, it is essential to pat roasts dry from any liquid that might be on the roast from the packaging.
Control your heat. For even more flavor, add more pepper – try this recipe with Guajillo peppers, chipotle in adobo, cayenne, or aleppo pepper. You can also reduce the heat if you like!
FAQs
Pot roast is done when the meat can easily be shredded with a fork and gives in to gentile pressure. The temperature will be above 165 degrees F.
It is not strictly necessary to brown pot roast before cooking, but it adds more flavor, and a great color!
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container for up to four days in the refrigerator or frozen for up to four months.
What to Serve With Mexican Pot Roast
Pot roast is delicious with lots of our favorite Mexican recipes like Pickled Carrot and Jalapeno Salsa, Cous cous, Shredded Chicken Tacos, Grilled Carne Asada, and our One Pot Cheesy Taco Skillet! For more ideas check out some favorites below:
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Mexican Pot Roast
Ingredients
- 4 lb pot roast
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 bell peppers, any color, sliced
- 1 white onion, sliced into strips
- 6-8 cloves garlic
- 2-4 bay leaves if fresh, 1 if dried
- 2-3 jalapeños, sliced
- 12 oz can diced tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ancho chile powder
- 16 oz beef stock
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
- Season pot roast well with salt and pepper and heat olive oil in dutch oven until light and shimmery, about 30 seconds.
- Sear pot roast on all sides until browned, about 4 minutes per side.
- Add ingredients. Remove dutch oven from heat, and add peppers, onions, garlic, herbs, seasonings, and stock to pot over pot roast.
- Cover with lid and braise in oven at 325 F 4-5 hours, until fork tender.
- When pot roast is able to shred with light pressure from a fork, remove from oven and remove roast. Let sit on a cutting board or plate until cool enough to shred.
- Remove bay leaves and discard. When pot roast is cool, shred using forks, a stand mixer with paddle attachment, or your hands.
- Pot roast is great over salad, potatoes, or rice with fajita vegetables from the pot and a bit of the stock as a gravy – or add to tacos, burritos, sandwiches, and more!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Can this be made in the crockpot
Yes! Follow the recipe until step 4 and put everything in the slow cooker, cook on high for 4-6 hours or low for 8-10. I suggest slow since it creates a better texture.
Big hit! Used a London Broil and Chugwater Chili seasoning plus the cumin recommended. Hubby loved it and it will go into favorites.
So glad you loved it! And with Chugwater seasoning?? HECK YES!!!
This looks amazing Courtney! I’m thinking I’ll give it a try this weekend! I have everything except the jalapenos. Do you think it would work in the slow cooker? Maybe like 7 or 8 hrs on low?
Definitely! It will be delicious!
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