Birria Nachos with Birria Shredded Beef

Birria Nachos are a delicious, ooey gooey, fun way to use up Birria Taco meat. Loaded onto a sheet pan, these beefy nachos make a great game day snack, party food, or family weeknight dinner.

Birria Nachos are so delicious and hearty that they make a great appetizer or main course family dinner. They have a layer of tortilla chips on a sheet pan, topped with tender, melt-in-your-mouth, juicy shredded beef, then melty cheese. Then of course, you can go nuts with the toppings, but I did a simple drizzle of cool, tangy sour cream, bright fresh tomatoes, cilantro leaves, and a hint of lime squeezed over top.

If all that wasn’t enough, you still have the rich lick-your-fingers Birria consomme sauce that you can dip each and every nacho chip into if you want!

Now, the best way to enjoy these nachos is using the leftover beef from Easy Birria Tacos with Consomme in the Slow Cooker. You just get a slightly larger chuck roast, about 3-4 pounds, so there is plenty of beef for two fantastic dinners!

Do you meal plan your dinners?  It makes weeknights so much easier!  Check out my Meal Planning Theme Night Recipes and then add this one to your Taco Tuesdays meal planning calendar!

Why you will love Birria Nachos

Aside from the fact these Birria Nachos are delicious, here are my top three reasons to make this recipe.

1. TWO-FOR-ONE – First, if you make the Birria Tacos, you get 2 dinners out of cook!
2. EASY – It can be entirely prepped ahead and then in 15 minutes, assembled and cooked in the oven.
3. FUN FAMILY DINNER – This is a fun way to have a family-style dinner where everyone comes to the center of the table to grab their nachos.

Simple Ingredients and Substitutes

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Birria Beef Ingredients

• Beef chuck roast, boneless – Chuck roast or cubed chuck meat is best. If you cannot find Chuck Roast, sometimes labeled as blade roast, arm roast, or pot roast, you can use tri-tip, top round, bottom round, or rump roast.
• Onion, diced – I used yellow onion, but you can use white onion, red onion, shallots, or even scallions. If you don’t have fresh onion, you can also use a tablespoon of onion flakes or onion powder.
• Fresh Garlic cloves, minced – Fresh is best in this simple recipe, but you can buy the pre-minced garlic sold in a small jar or use dried garlic flakes or garlic powder.
• Dried Ancho chiles – If you cannot find Ancho chiles, then look for dried Guajillo peppers.  If you cannot find any of these dried peppers, you could use Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, but go light, as they tend to be spicy.  Then supplement with another ½ to 1 teaspoon of ground Smoked Paprika.
• Dried Herbs and Seasonings: There are lots of variations of blends out there, so feel free to use another, but this is what I used. ground cinnamon, ground cumin, ground Smoked paprika or ground chipotle Pepper, dried thyme ground or whole, dried oregano, salt, ground black pepper, and whole bay leaves.
• Fresh Cilantro Leaves – Fresh cilantro adds a beautiful vibrant flavor. However, if you are one of those that think it has a bitter taste, replace with fresh Italian parsley or simply eliminate.
• Tomato sauce – You will want plain tomato sauce for this recipe. You can substitute crushed or diced and blend them to smooth it out.
• Beef Broth or stock – You can also use, vegetable broth or stock or Chicken broth or stock. You can also use water mixed with a beef or chicken bouillon cube or beef base or chicken base.

Nachos Ingredients

• Corn Tortilla Chips – Try to find thick chips that can hold the weight of these shredded beef.
• Shredded Cheddar Cheese – I like to shred my own cheese to avoid fillers and stabilizers. But of course, you can buy pre-shredded cheese to save time. Oaxaca cheese, cheddar cheese, Monterey Jack cheese, Pepper Jack, Mozzarella, or any other melting shredded cheese will work!
• Sour Cream – The sour cream is for garnish at the end, so you can use it or leave it out.
• Tomato – Use whatever fresh tomatoes you have, such as vine, beefsteak, plum, or even cherry or grape.
• Fresh Cilantro, Chopped – Cilantro adds classic Mexican flavor and a touch of color to this casserole. You can substitute with parsley or just eliminate.

See recipe card for quantities.

Simple Equipment

For the nachos, you just need a large sheet pan (I used a 17×11).

I made the beef and sauce in a slow cooker. However, you could also make it in the oven in a dutch oven or small roasting pan with a lid, (see the oven instructions below).

Once the beef is cooked, you need a blender for blending the ingredients into a smooth and creamy Birria sauce. You can also use a food processor, an Immersion blender or regular standing a blender.

Time Saving Prep-Ahead Steps

We are all extremely busy and making dinner during the week can be overwhelming. Here are steps you can prepare ahead to save time on busy nights! (See the full recipe below) 

If you are using leftover Birria shredded beef from another dinner, then jump ahead to the Nachos Assembly.

You can cook the beef and shred in advance up to 5 days or freeze it up to 5 months. If you are using the slow cooker, either the night before or just before starting, you can prep these ingredients.

Dice the onions, rough chop the garlic, remove/discard the stems from the dried chiles and shake out the seeds. Discard the seeds and cut the chiles into 2-3 pieces each (will get pureed once cooked, so this is just to fit into slow cooker).

Cooking Your Birria Beef

Again, if you already have the beef, keep scrolling to the Nachos assembly.

I used a 3 pound boneless Beef Chuck Roast for this recipe. See the below FAQs for other options if you don’t have chuck.

TIP: You can also get pre-cut beef chuck as long as the cuts look large enough to give you good shreds of beef. The cut will also cook faster if you need to cut time!

Sear all sides of the beef first in a pan.  This is an optional step.  Preheat a frying pan or skillet on high heat. Season your chuck roast with salt and pepper to coat all sides.

Add the beef to oil in a hot pan and sear for 2 minutes on each side to brown evenly. This step is option, if you need to save time.

Transfer the beef to the slow cooker and add the diced onions, dried ancho chilis, herbs and seasonings.

Finally, add the fresh cilantro, tomato sauce, and beef broth. Gently press to submerge all of the ingredients.

Cook on high for 6 hours or low for 8-10 hours until the beef is tender. Then remove the beef.

Shred the beef with forks and discard any string that may have been tied around the roast. Transfer the beef to a bowl and set aside.

Make sure to first fish out the bay leaves and discard them.  Then using a slotted spoon, scoop out all of the onions and ancho peppers and transfer to a blender. 

Blend the onions and the peppers until smooth. If needed, add ½ cup of the cooking liquid to the blender to help smooth it out. Once smooth, pour it back into the slow cooker and mix with the remaining liquid. Add the shredded beef back and stir to combine.

Assemble Your Birria Nachos

Onto a large sheet pan, layer your corn tortilla chips. Then top with a generous portion of shredded beef. Try to strain it a bit so the chips do not become too soggy.

Next top with cheese. Place into a 400 F degree preheated oven to warm through and melt for about 10 minutes.

When the the nachos are melty and hot, top with sour cream, diced tomato, and cilantro leaves. Add a squeeze of lime juice on top or just serve the wedges for people to use as they desire. Enjoy!

Oven Instructions for Shredded Birria Beef

If you do not have a slow cooker, you can make this in a dutch oven in the oven, cooking the beef at 400 F degrees for 3 hours until the beef is fall apart tender.  You could also use an Instant Pot or pressure cooker if you have one.  Refer to the equipment instructions for a beef roast or short ribs.

Birria Nachos FAQs

Are There Other Cuts Of Beef I Can Use For The Birria Meat?

For cooking this Birria Beef in the slow cooker, a Chuck roast or cubed chuck meat is best.  If you cannot find Chuck Roast, sometimes labeled as blade roast, arm roast, or pot roast, you can use tri-tip, top round, bottom round, or rump roast. 

Are Ancho Chiles Spicy In The Birria Consomme?

The Ancho chiles are not spicy in this recipe.  Dried ancho chiles are more smokey and peppery than spicy.  By way of comparison, ancho chiles measure up to about half of the scoville units vs. jalapenos.

What Can I Substitute For Ancho Chiles In This Birria Recipe?

For this recipe, you really want smokey and peppery, but not spicy.  If you cannot find Ancho chiles, then look for dried Guajillo peppers.  If you cannot find any of these dried peppers, you could use Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, but go light, as they tend to be spicy.  Then supplement with another ½ to 1 teaspoon of ground Smoked Paprika.

Birria Nachos Variations

Nachos are totally customizable. Whatever yummy favorite toppings you like can be added. However, I have a few ideas for how to change this recipe for the next time!

• Ground Beef – Instead of shredded Birria beef, you can use ground beef in my Easiest Taco Meat Recipe.
• Extra-Loaded – After the nachos come out of the oven, really load them up! Add guacamole, pico de gallo, jalapenos, more cheese like Cotija, hot sauce, sour cream, and sliced black olives!
• Nacho Salad Bowls – Balance these nachos out by turning them into a Nacho Salad. Add sliced lettuce, diced tomatoes, black beans, and corn to bowls, then top with the nachos and all of the yummy toppings. Serve with a zesty Tex-Mex Ranch Dressing, by mixing taco seasoning into ranch dressing.

Want More Mexican or Tex-Mex Dinner Ideas?

If you like these Birria Nachos, then you will love these recipes too!

Have you tried this recipe? If so, please leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star rating in the recipe below! I love to hear your feedback and your rating helps others to find this recipe. Thanks so much!

Birria Nachos

Carrie Tyler

Birria Nachos are so delicious and hearty that they make a great appetizer or main course family dinner. They have crispy tortilla chips layered onto a sheet pan, topped with tender, melt-in-your-mouth, juicy shredded beef, then melty cheese. Then a drizzle of cool, tangy sour cream, bright fresh tomatoes, cilantro leaves, and a hint of lime squeezed over top finish them off.

Print Recipe Save RecipeSaved! Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 8 hours hrs

Course Appetizer, Main Course

Cuisine Mexican

Servings 6 servings

Ingredients

  

Birria Beef Ingredients

• 2-3 pounds Beef chuck roast, boneless
• 2 tablespoons Olive oil
• 2 Yellow onions about 2-3 cups
• 4 garlic cloves 4 teaspoons
• 2 Dried Ancho chiles
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon Ground Cumin
• ½ teaspoon Ground Smoked Paprika or Ground Chipotle Pepper
• ½ teaspoon Dried thyme ground or whole
• 1 tablespoons Dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons Ground black pepper
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 cup Fresh Cilantro Leaves
• 8 ounces Tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes
• 4-5 cups Beef stock or broth

Nachos Ingredients

• 12-14 ounces Corn Tortilla Chips
• 20 ounces Shredded Cheese (Oaxaca, Cheddar, or Monterey Jack)
• ½ cup Sour Cream
• 2 Tomatoes, Medium
• ½ cup Fresh Cilantro, Chopped

Instructions

 

Prep-Ahead Steps

• Dice the onions, rough chop the garlic, remove/discard the stems from the dried chiles and shake out the seeds. Discard the seeds and cut the chiles into 2-3 pieces each (will get pureed once cooked, so this is just to fit into slow cooker).

Cook the Beef

• SEAR BEEF. Preheat a frying pan or skillet on high heat. Season your chuck roast with salt, and pepper to coat all sides. Drizzle the olive oil in the hot pan and add the beef and sear for 2 minutes on each side to brown evenly. On the final side, pour 1 cup of the beef stock in the pan to scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Transfer the beef to the slow cooker and pour in the liquid from the pan.
• SLOW COOKER. To the slow cooker with the beef, add the onions, garlic, cilantro leaves, tomato sauce, chiles, cinnamon, cumin, paprika, salt, pepper, oregano, thyme, and bay leaves. Stir to combine. Then pour in the rest of the beef stock until it reaches the top of the beef. Set the slow cooker to Low 8 or 10 hours, depending on your schedule.
• SHRED BEEF. When the cooking time is done, transfer the beef using tongs to a platter or cutting board. Shred the beef with forks and discard any string that may have been tied around the roast. Transfer the beef to a bowl and set aside.
• BLEND SAUCE. Fish out the bay leaves and discard. Using a slotted spoon, scoop out all of the onions and ancho peppers and transfer to a blender. (alternatively, you could strain the liquid into another bowl, add then add onions and peppers to the blender.) Blend the onions and the peppers until smooth. If needed, add ½ cup of the cooking liquid to the blender to help smooth it out. Once smooth, pour it back into the liquid in the slow cooker and stir to combine. Finally, pour ½ cup of this sauce over the beef and gently stir to mix through.

Assemble the Nachos

• Preheat your oven to 350 F degrees. If you are using leftover beef, make sure to warm it slightly in the microwave or on the stove before assembling.
• Layer your tortilla chips on the bottom of a large sheet pan. Then added generous portions of shredded beef on top of the chips. Next top with cheese. Place into the oven to warm through and melt for about 10 minutes.
• When the the nachos are melty and hot, top with sour cream, diced tomato, and cilantro leaves. Add a squeeze of lime on top or just serve the wedges for people to use as they desire. Enjoy!

Keyword shredded beef, slow cooker