If you follow this recipe to the letter, you will end up with the most tender, flavorful, satisfying carne guisada ever. Hailing from my own family’s recipe vault, this rich stew meat has a host of Mexican flavors, a luscious gravy, and caramelized veggies that build incredible flavor. We love it most in a tortilla with a generous sprinkle of fresh onion!
Table of Contents
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What is Carne Guisada?
If you’re new to carne guisada, know that it’s a slow-cooked Mexican stew meat. While some recipes have more gravy than others, I like mine thick like you see here. This is ideal for spooning over tortillas or enjoying on a plate next to beans and rice.
Slow and low is the name of the game, so don’t be shy about putting it on a few hours before dinner, letting it slowly simmer away (covered), filling the house with the best smells and your family’s bellies with the best meal a little later.
Ingredients
The list may seem long, but it’s actually full of really common pantry items. Here’s everything you’ll need:
- 1 tablespoon of butter
- 1-1¼ pounds of stew meat
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- ¼ black of pepper
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ white onion, finely diced
- 1 tablespoon of mild chili powder
- 1 teaspoon of cumin
- ½ teaspoon of Mexican oregano
- ¼ teaspoon of ancho chili powder
- 3 tablespoons of flour
- 1 cup of chicken or beef broth
- 1 can of Rotel
- Flour tortillas, for serving
- Cilantro, for garnish
- Avocado, sliced, for garnish
- White onion, diced, for garnish
- Refried beans, for serving
Ingredient Modifications and Variations
If you’re looking for modifications and variations for this homemade carne guisada recipe, we’ve got you!
- Make it gluten-free: if you’re looking for a gluten-free option here, you’re in luck! Simply swap the flour in this recipe for a gluten-free flour (THIS one is our favorite!). If you’re serving your carne guisada in or alongside flour tortillas, be sure to snag gluten-free ones too.
- Make it dairy-free: for dairy-free carne guisada, substitute in olive oil for the butter in this recipe. Easy peasy!
- Use regular oregano: can’t find Mexican oregano? No worries – regular oregano will work just fine here!
How to Make Carne Guisada
- Melt the butter and season the meat – melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a 3-quart pot (with a lid) over high heat. While the butter is melting, season the stew meat with salt and pepper.
- Sear the meat – add the stew meat in a single layer to the pot and sear on all sides, then remove from the pot.
- Saute the garlic and onion – reduce the heat to medium and add the garlic and onion to the pot. Saute for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the spices and flour – add the spices and flour to the garlic and onion and toast, stirring constantly, for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the rest of the ingredients to the pot – add the broth, meat, and Rotel to the pot. Stir and bring to a simmer, then cover and cook for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Simmer – after 45 minutes, uncover and simmer on low until the sauce reaches your desired thickness.
- Serve and enjoy – spoon the carne guisada into tortillas and top with cilantro, avocado, and diced white onion. Enjoy alongside refried beans (if you want!).
Can I Make Carne Guisada in a Crock Pot?
You can definitely make your carne guisada in a crock pot, but it isn’t quite as simple as most slow cooker recipes. For the best results, you’ll want to grab a skillet and follow steps 1-4 on the stovetop. Then, transfer everything to the crock pot and set to cook on low for 8-10 hours.
How to Serve
There are a couple of ways that you can serve your carne guisada! You can serve it taco-style in warmed tortillas (like we did here) complete with a cilantro, sliced avocado, and diced white onion garnish, or you can eat the carne guisada with a spoon and use a warm flour tortilla to sop up the goodness – the choice is yours, and truly, you can’t go wrong either way!
Frequently Asked Questions
Carne guisada is spanish for “meat stew” – makes perfect sense!
Carne guisada is made using beef stew meat. When cooked for long enough, it will literally FALL apart – so YUMMY.
Carne guisada (“meat stew”) is made with beef cooked in a sauce loaded with delicious Mexican spices.
Carne guisada (what we’re making here!) is a stewed beef dish typically made with chuck roast stew meat, while carne asada is a grilled beef dish typically made with marinated skirt steak or flank steak.
More Favorite Beef Recipes
Carne Guisada Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1-1¼ pounds stew meat
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ½ white onion finely diced
- 1 tablespoon mild chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon Mexican oregano
- ¼ teaspoon ancho chili powder
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1 cup chicken or beef broth
- 1 can Rotel
- Flour tortillas for serving
- Cilantro for garnish
- Avocado sliced, for garnish
- White onion diced, for garnish
- Refried beans for serving
Instructions
- Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a 3-quart pot (with a lid) over high heat. While the butter is melting, season the stew meat with salt and pepper.
- Add the stew meat in a single layer to the pot and sear on all sides, then remove from the pot.
- Reduce the heat to medium and add the garlic and onion to the pot. Saute for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the spices and flour to the garlic and onion and toast, stirring constantly, for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the broth, meat, and Rotel to the pot. Stir and bring to a simmer, then cover and cook for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- After 45 minutes, uncover and simmer on low until the sauce reaches your desired thickness.
- Spoon the carne guisada into tortillas and top with cilantro, avocado, and diced white onion. Enjoy alongside refried beans (if you want!).
Recipe Notes
- Make it gluten-free: if you’re looking for a gluten-free option here, you’re in luck! Simply swap the flour in this recipe for a gluten-free flour (THIS one is our favorite!). If you’re serving your carne guisada in or alongside flour tortillas, be sure to snag gluten-free ones too.
- Make it dairy-free: for dairy-free carne guisada, substitute in olive oil for the butter in this recipe. Easy peasy!
- Use regular oregano: can’t find Mexican oregano? No worries – regular oregano will work just fine here!
Nutrition
This was SO delicious! I made it in the slow cooker like the notes said (browned and sautéed veggies first) and, wow, the meat is so tender & flavorful. I served it with tortillas, guacamole, refried black beans, cabbage, cilantro and queso fresco. This will definitely be added into our regular rotation!
Wahooo! We’re so glad to hear that, Joanna! Thank you for taking the time to share this with us!
Thanks for the awesome dinner, now we can eat like kings all week 🙂
We’re so glad you enjoyed this one, Stephanie!! It’s one of my very favorite recipes!
Made this in the IP and it came out delicious! The recipe is more liquid-y due to IP so will add less liquid/cook down next time, but love the depth of flavor and was different from the other typical Mexican recipes I’ve seen. We’ll be saving this as a regular!
Thank you for the feedback, Aileen! We’re so glad you enjoyed it!
We really enjoyed this! It was super easy to throw together and let it simmer. My husband thought it smelled and tasted delicious!!
That’s awesome, Emily! We’re so glad you both enjoyed it!
This was such a delicious recipe. I love a good easy prep, low maintenance meal and this one delivered. I cooked it down so it was a thick sauce and served it over homemade sopes and my family loved it! The flavor profile was very lovely and there was just a bit of heat to make it appeal to everyone in my family.
We’re so glad you enjoyed this recipe, Stephanie! Thank you so much for taking the time to share this with us!
Our family loves this recipe so much!! So easy and delicious, the leftovers are great and my husband gets so excited when I make it! It also works great with different cuts of beef so I’m able to use whatever cut is on sale. Thank you Cassy!
Wahooo! So glad y’all love it, Carly!
My family and I LOVED it! It filled the house with such delicious smells! We served it with homemade tortillas, refried beans from a can, finely diced white onion, cilantro, avocado slices and lime wedges as garnish. My 9 year old daughter says it was the “best taco recipe ever!”
Andrea!! That’s so awesome! Thank you so much for sharing this with us!
Flavor was great and the meat was perfectly tender! I doubled the recipe to have leftovers for other meals and there was plenty! I did find the longer it sat (from the first meal) the thicker the sauce became – which we enjoyed more than the first time we had it! Next time I will try to cook it down longer.
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Megan! Thanks so much for taking the time to share this with us!
This is soooo good. I use homemade chicken or beef bone broth for a deep flavor and homemade (store-bought) tortillas. Melt in your mouth is the best way to describe this beef. Perfection.
I agree! Cassy knocked this recipe out of the park!!
This turned out FABULOUS! Used venison, which typically has a gamey flavor if not seasoned well, but the seasoning in the recipe was perfect and the meet tasted wonderful! Will be making! Thanks for another great recipe
Brilliant to use venison! I’m doing this next time! Great idea.
Agreed! Awesome idea, Dani!
This was yummy and was a big hit with my family who appreciated a taco variation. The meat gets very tender & the sauce is delicious. We gotta smaller pack of meat from our grocery order & wish I made more. I did it in the instant pot page hit the meat/stew button.
We’re so glad this recipe was a hit with your family, Julie! Thanks so much for sharing this with us!
This was yummy and was a big hit with my family who appreciated a taco variation. The meat gets very tender & the sauce is delicious. I did it in the instant pot page hit the meat/stew button.
This was yummy and was a big hit with my family who appreciated a taco variation. The meat gets very tender & the sauce is delicious. I did it in the instant pot page hit the meat/stew button.
I made this recipe when it was first sent out a few weeks ago and served it with homemade refried beans. It was absolutely fantastic! I cooked it a little longer than the recipe called to make it thicker and used arrowroot starch to make it grain free. I would definitely make again!
We’re so glad you loved it, Catherine!!
OMG – This is so good! I doubled it and froze portions for an easy meal to pull out when crunched for time. I had my temp up too high so I did burn some of the gravy to the bottom of my pot, but luckily none of the burnt taste transferred to the rest of the pot. Lesson learned! I can’t wait for the leftovers – I almost had them for breakfast!
Erin!! It’s so good to hear from you! We hope you’re doing well. So glad you loved the carne guisada – it’s one of my very favorite recipes too!