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Crockpot Korean Gochujang Pot Roast Tacos. Slow-cooked beef chuck roast in a sweet and spicy Korean chile sauce with caramelized shallots. As the meat slowly cooks, it will caramelize and fall apart. Shred the meat, then stuff it into warm taco shells with spicy mayo and crumbled cotija cheese. These tacos are saucy, spicy, and so yummy! They’re especially great on a busy day!
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Woohoo, tacos on Tuesday! Korean-inspired to switch things up and add some flavor to our week! I love this fun Korean-inspired fusion taco. It reminds me a bit of the Korean street foods we enjoyed while visiting Seoul, but it’s also very Americanized at the same time.
These are so yummy and easy!
It was around this time last year when I started cooking more with chuck roast. Whether it was slow-roasted in the oven or cooked in the crockpot, I’ve been enjoying using this cut of meat. And I’ve been using it for many dishes other than just traditional pot roast!
Tacos are one of my favorite recipes to make using a chuck roast. Since I’ve already shared my favorite chipotle pot roast tacos, I wanted to share something completely new and different. We love Korean-inspired beef or pork bulgogi-style tacos, so I knew that slow cooking a roast in my favorite Gochujang sauce would come out SO GOOD.
These tacos turned out delicious, with spicy-sweet meat, which my family really enjoyed! Remember, we are very much a taco family!
Here are the details
Taco Ingredients
- beef chuck roast
- ground ginger – you could easily use grated fresh ginger too
- chili flakes – I use a mix of Korean chili flakes and crushed red pepper flakes
- shallots
- garlic
- green onions – or scallions? What do you call them?
- tamari – or soy sauce
- ginger juice (this is from the brine of a pickled ginger jar), or use rice vinegar
- maple or honey – I love honey
- hard or soft shell tacos – see my notes on these down below
- shredded cabbage or lettuce
- toasted sesame seeds
- roasted peanuts
Ingredients – for serving
Use any mix of fresh chopped cilantro, green onions, avocado, and crumbled up cotija cheese. I typically use all of the above, including my spicy mayo (ingredients below).
Spicy Mayo Ingredients
- chili paste
- honey
- toasted sesame oil
- plain Greek yogurt or mayo – or use half mayo and half yogurt
Special Tools
For this recipe, you’ll need either a crockpot or a large dutch oven to slowly braise the meat.
Steps
Step 1: slow-cook the meat
This is essentially a 2-step recipe. Add the chuck roast to the bowl of your crockpot (or braiser). Then add the ginger and season to taste with chili flakes. Add the shallots, garlic, green onions, Gochujang, tamari, ginger juice brine, and honey.
Now, pour over some water, then cover and let the roast cook low and slow. Ideally all day, but you can make this in as quick as 3 hours in the oven.
Step 2: shred the meat
When the roast is falling apart, remove it from the pot and shred the meat.
Step 3: the sauce
For my spicy mayo, simply add everything to a bowl: the yogurt or mayo, chili paste, honey, and toasted sesame oil. Then, season with salt and extra chili flakes and mix until creamy. The recipe is in the ingredient notes!
Step 4: assemble
I used soft shells tortillas from Caramelo Tortillas that I had on hand. We love their tortillas. Using good tortillas is the key to great soft-shell tacos, and theirs are the best. I like the pork and duck fat options.
Stuff the meat into the charred tortillas. Then, take the sauce left in the pot and spoon it over the meat. Add toasted sesame, maybe some peanuts, and all of your favorite taco toppings: avocado, cilantro, and lots of sharp cheddar cheese and/or cojita cheese.
You could even do burrito bowls and serve the meat over rice with chips for scooping! YUM!
Looking for more simple weeknight recipes? Here are a few of my favorites:
Crispy Cider Braised White Chili Chicken Tacos
Crispy Jalapeño Cream Cheese Buffalo Chicken Taquitos
Sheet Pan Buffalo Chicken Pizza
Slow Cooker Chipotle Chicken Tortilla Soup with Salty Lime Chips
Healthier Homemade Crunchwrap Supreme
Crispy Chipotle Chicken Tacos with Cilantro Lime Ranch
Crockpot Crispy Buffalo Chicken Tacos
Lastly, if you make these Crockpot Korean Gochujang Pot Roast Tacos, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And, of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Crockpot Korean Gochujang Pot Roast Tacos
Ingredients
- 1 (4 pound) chuck roast
- 2 teaspoons ground ginger
- chili flakes
- 3 shallots, sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1/4 cup chopped green onion
- 2-3 tablespoons Gochujang, (Korean chili paste)
- 1/2 cup tamari or soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons ginger juice or rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons maple or honey
- 12 hard or soft taco shells, warmed
- shredded cabbage or lettuce for serving
- 1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds
- 1/3 cup chopped roasted peanuts
- cilantro, green onion, avocado, and crumbled cotija cheese, for serving
Instructions
Crockpot
- 1. Arrange the pot roast in the bottom of the crockpot bowl. Sprinkle over the ginger and season with chili flakes. Add the shallots, garlic, green onions, Gochujang, tamari/soy sauce, vinegar, and maple/honey.2. Pour over 3/4 cups water. Cover and cook on LOW for 5 hours or on HIGH for 3 hours.3. Remove the meat from the crockpot and shred it using two forks.4. Stuff the shredded cabbage or lettuce into the warmed taco shells. Add the shredded beef, sesame seeds, and peanuts. Top each taco with cilantro, avocado, and cheese. Serve with spicy mayo.
Oven
- 1. Preheat the oven to 325° F.2. Arrange the pot roast in the bottom of a large, oven-safe Dutch oven. Sprinkle over the ginger and season with chili flakes. Add the shallots, garlic, green onions, Gochujang, tamari/soy sauce, vinegar, and maple/honey.3. Pour over 1 1/2 cups water. Cover and roast for 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until very tender.4. Crank the heat on the oven up to 425° F. Uncover and cook for 10 minutes, until deeply caramelized on top. Shred the roast using two forks.5. Stuff the shredded cabbage or lettuce into the warmed taco shells. Add the shredded beef, sesame seeds, and peanuts. Top each taco with cilantro, avocado, and cheese. Serve with spicy mayo.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
Tieghan, I forgot to ask you in my other comments about what looks like a dry rub or seasoning on the roast in one of the photos. There’s nothing really dry like that in your ingredients. Just curious what that is
Hey Laura,
No dry rub, it’s just the ginger and chili flakes:) I hope you love this recipe, thanks for asking!! xT
Hello! For the “chili paste” in the spicy mayo, do you use the Gochujang? Or is this meant to be more of Thai chili sauce? Can’t wait to try tonight.
Hi Jenny,
I like to use gochujang or sriracha. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Made these and they had a good flavor, my family enjoyed them and the leftover meat for rice bowls the following day. Anyone making these note 3hrs on high in a crockpot is not enough to get a 4lb roast tender. You can clearly see that from her IG stories where she struggles to ‘shred’ the meat and it looks tough. I cook mine for 5hrs on high and 8hrs on low and the meat will be fall apart tender. I find all HBH crockpot roast recipes have much too short of cooking times.
Hi Cheryl,
Thanks for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback! Have a great week! xx
Any possibility of using an instant pot? Is so suggested settings? My family loves your recipes!
Thanks so much, Denice!! Sure, I would do 60 minutes on high pressure. I hope you love this recipe! xx
The recipe itself smelled amazing and was easy enough to put together but I cooked it for 5 hours in my crockpot using all of the outlined quantities and my meat was still completely raw inside. Any tips on what might’ve gone wrong?
Hi Caroline,
Thanks for trying this recipe! Wow, that is shocking…what kind of meat did you use? I hate to ask this, but is it possible your crockpot might be broken? Let me know if this helps! xx
Delicious! I will definitely make this again. I poured the “gravy” over the shredded meat and it added so much to flavor to the cooked meat. The spicy mayo was the final touch!
Hi Cathy,
Wonderful! Thank you so much for making this recipe, love to hear it was a hit! Have the best weekend:)
great take on Korean flavors, easy to make and very accessible ingredient list. Meaty rich flavor of the beef, so I added kimchi to the taco for some sour. Would love to see if you can make an amped up sauce from the crock pot liquids? g
Awesome recipe, thanks
Thanks so much, Christopher! Love to hear this recipe turned out well for you, I appreciate you making it! Sure, I don’t see why not:) xx
Hi! Can this be made with chicken instead of beef?
Your recipes are amazing, thank you!
Thanks so much!! Sure, chicken would also be yummy here:) I hope you love these tacos! xx
Question, could I make this with stew meat? I am not a fan of stew and have some packages I want to use. If so how would I adjust the times??
Hey Carolyn,
I don’t see why not, I would keep everything the same as written. Please let me know if you give this recipe a try! xx
thanks and will do!
Carolyn
I made the recipe with the stew meat and it turned out great! The cook time was 5.5 hours on low. Very tasty!!
So glad to hear this, Carolyn!! Thanks for making the recipe:)
Made this last night for dinner and the whole house smelled delicious.
They also tasted as good as they smelled. Served with a shredded brussel salad as a side.
Thank you
Hey Annette,
Awesome! Thank you so much for making this recipe, so glad to hear it turned out well for you! xx
Question? You say this is a busy day recipe. What time do you think I would I need to get home from work to get this started so its on the table by dinnertime? It says 3hours and 15 minutes, so I’m thinking I’ll have to take a half day off?
Hi Millie,
This is a great recipe to start in the morning before work and then it will be ready when you get home:) No need to take a half day!! xx
These sound amazing! Can’t wait to make them!
Thanks so much, Sarah Jane! I hope you love the recipe!!
This recipe lacked flavor. The sauce was alright, but again, nothing memorable. It was definitely an easy crockpot meal. These tacos don’t come close to anything I’ve had in Los Angeles and beyond.
It sounds amazing and I plan to make next week when my son is in town. One question – it says to put the toppings on the roast (scallions, gojujang, garlic, etc). Then it say to pour water over it. Wouldn’t that just ‘wash off’ all those amazing ingredients?
Hey Jan,
They will be in the pot, so everything will be seasoned nicely:) I hope you love this recipe, let me know how it turns out for you! xx
Hi Tieghan,
It looks like a great time was had here in Austin! You killed it on the panel; I bet your fellow panelist even learned a thing or two from you about building/branding! Your outfit also spoke volumes! I, too, appreciate a tailored uniform when traveling. It also showed off your hard exercise ethic of hiking/running…those legs! You and Kilpat always seem to have a blast together and your dinner last night looked so yummy! Glad you were able to come to Austin and enjoy your fame! Until next year! : )
Thanks so much for your kind message, Inle! I had a great time in Austin and speaking on the panel:) So fun! Hope you are having a great week! xx
Thanks for the recipe! What are buougi-style tacos? Is buougi a spice? I couldn’t find any info online & I want to make sure I have everything before trying this recipe!
Hi Therese,
You will want to make sure you are spelling Bulgogi correctly when you google it. You can follow the recipe and ingredients as written:) I hope you love this recipe! xx
I’m confused and looking for bougie also. That’s definitely how it was spelled in your post. I took a screen shot. Is that not correct? Thanks Teghan!
Hey Marry, It’s bulgogi:) Please let me know if you have any other questions!