Spanish for ‘old clothes’ thanks to its shredded appearance, this flavorful Cuban Ropa Vieja dish is made with lean beef and makes for a healthy, hands-off dinner.
Beef.
Beeeeeeeef. It’s so glorious.
In our house, it is very often…what’s for dinner.
When compared to other meats, even for us meatatarians, it seems like beef gets a bad rap. Thoughts immediately turn to a greasy burger or fatty rib eye steak, when in fact, lean beef is completely nutritious and provides a lot of health benefits that might surprise you.
And when it’s perfectly seasoned and cooked low and slow like this juicy, gorgeous, crazy-with-flavor Ropa Vieja…you’re gonna wanna go back for seconds, and all those nasty misconceptions will fade away.
This Cuban Ropa Vieja is a go-to dinner in our house.
My friends often joke that Abe and I should open a restaurant.
We both work for the same company, I as a baker (technically,) and he as a butcher.
We’ve pretty much got an ideal set-up, no? We both love to cook, I love to bake, and he’s not too bad at that himself, either. There’s no reason we couldn’t hack it in the restaurant business, right?
Ehhhh…it’s too bad neither of us has the biz chops to do so. Front end? We got this. Back end of the house? Uhhh. We don’t even like worrying about household bills, much less restaurant bills.
So, we just stick to what we know and save our kitchen skills for our home.
Tell you what, though, being the wife of an experienced butcher totally has its perks.
He brings home perfect cuts of beef. And since he likes to cook quite a bit, I go ahead and let him prepare it, also.
So. Totally. Kidding.
The best Ropa Vieja recipe in the world is cooked low and slow – but you can also make it happen in a slow cooker or electric pressure cooker!
He (almost) always takes care of our dinner protein, with or without my approval. He’s very experimental in the kitchen, and when I see him come home with a juicy steak or over-sized roast, he usually already has a plan for it.
That works really well for me, since my idea of prepping a roast involves onion soup mix and an all-day cooking time, thanks to what I learned from Nana.
And, while there’s no arguing that she made a delicious pot roast, my Dominican husband gets bored of the same old flavors.
I don’t always have my hubby’s brain around when I’m shopping for beef, but the Beef Checkoff website contains one of the niftiest little search engines to help make my decision for me: the Interactive Butcher Counter.
The Butcher Counter lets you explore different cuts of beef, guides you to the perfect cut with a fill-in-the-blank sentence generator (think Mad Libs for beef,) or if you have a general idea of what you’re looking for, a plain ol’ powerful search bar awaits your typey fingers.
In the case of this recipe, you want to look for a lean cut, and Tri-Tip isn’t the only contender! Just look for this icon on the website, which indicates the leanest cuts of beef:
There’s also a kick-ass 52-page grocery store-style pamphlet available in PDF form on the site, chock full of information on cuts and how to cook and store them, tips on picking the perfect package of beef, nutrition facts, and even recipes to help make your meal extra mouthwatering.
This tomato based Ropa Vieja receta is so easy to put together.
Not to brag, but Abe rarely uses recipes, and it’s not often he makes even a partially bad meal.
Of course, that also means he rarely duplicates anything he makes exactly. Which makes getting this exact meal from our table to yours slightly difficult – but have faith that it will be amaaaaazing even if you have to tweak it to your tastes a bit!
Most ropa vieja recipes use flank steak, which is a wonderfully lean cut of beef, but my hubby prefers to use the Tri-Tip Roast for whatever reason. I’m not one to complain because it is incredibly tasty!
Melt-in-your-mouth tender.
Bursting with garlic and spices.
And when it’s served with traditional white rice, I promise you’ll feel like you’re eating at a restaurant in Havana.
And, thanks to the stellar lean beef you just ate like a champ, you won’t feel weighed down after the meal. If you’re not feeling white rice with this shredded beef, pair it with some lime cauliflower rice, and a batch of sweet plantains. So good!
How to make Ropa Vieja in the pressure cooker or slow cooker:
For Instant Pot Ropa Vieja
- 1. Season the beef with salt & pepper. Set the Instant Pot to ‘Saute’ and increase heat to ‘More’. Heat 1/4 cup of olive oil in the pot. When it’s hot, sear the beef on all sides until browned, about 10 minutes. Remove beef to a plate.
- 2. Add the onion and peppers to the pot and cook 3-4 minutes until softened. Add garlic, cumin, oregano, and salt and cook 1 minute until fragrant.
- 3. Mix the bouillon with 1 cup of water. Stir the liquid stock into the pot and simmer, scraping the browned bits off the bottom of the pot. Press ‘Keep Warm/Cancel’.
- 4. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, 1/4 cup water, and cilantro. Return the beef and any juice to the pot. Close the lid, set the valve to ‘Sealing’. Press ‘Manual’ and set the time to 40 minutes on High Pressure.
- 5. When the cooking time is up, press ‘Keep Warm/Cancel’ and allow the pressure to release naturally (15-20 minutes). Carefully remove the lid and transfer the beef to a large bowl.
- 6. Use two forks to shred the beef, then return it to the pot. Press ‘Saute’. Stir in red wine vinegar and allow to cook 8-10 minutes until sauce thickens. Adjust seasoning as desired.
For Slow Cooker Ropa Vieja
- 1. Season the beef with salt & pepper. Head 3 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet and sear the beef on all sides until browned, about 10 minutes total. Remove beef to a plate.
- 2. Combine all of the ingredients (except only 1 cup of water vs. 10) in the slow cooker pot. Toss to coat the beef in the tomato & veggies mixture.
- 3. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours.
- 4. Uncover and skim off excess fat. Use two forks to shred the beef, and stir in into the saucy mix. Serve.
Looking to pair this Ropa Vieja with something delish? Try these recipes with a bit of Spanish flair:
Authentic Cuban Ropa Vieja
Ingredients
- 3 pounds beef roast trimmed and cut into 1/2 lb. chunks
- 10 cups water
- ¼ cup white vinegar
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 1 red bell pepper sliced, seeds included
- 1 poblano pepper sliced, seeds included
- ½ large onion sliced
- ¼ cup cilantro plus more for garnish
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 tablespoon salt or more to taste
- 1 pork or beef bouillon packet
- 15 ounces can diced tomatoes and chiles
- 2 teaspoons tomato paste
- white rice steamed
- 1 lime quartered
Instructions
- Set a large stockpot over medium heat, adding the water, vinegars, peppers, onion, garlic, cilantro, and seasonings. Bring to a boil.
- Trim any visible fat from the roast, and cut it into ½ pound chunks. When broth is boiling, add meat. Allow it to boil uncovered until the liquid is reduced by half, 80-90 minutes.
- Removed beef from pot and allow to cool slightly. Using 2 forks or your fingers (careful!), pull the beef into thin strips. Return to pot.
- Reduce heat to low. Add the bouillon, tomatoes and chiles, and tomato paste, stirring to combine.
- Allow to cook another 50-60 minutes, reducing the liquid by half once more.
- Serve over white rice, garnish with cilantro leaves and freshly squeezed lime juice.
Notes
Pork bouillon can be found in the ethnic food/Hispanic food aisles at most grocery stores. We use Goya Concentrated Ham Flavoring. (<--affiliate link)
Nutrition
Take a look at these 19 other healthy recipes made with beef by my fellow bloggers!
- Beef Bulgogi from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
- Beef Multigrain Pilaf from Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
- Beef Tenderloin Tips with Brown Rice and Asparagus from Recipes Food and Cooking
- Beef with Broccoli from Palatable Pastime
- Bistro Steak Salad from Casa de Crews
- Cheesesteak Sandwich from Grumpy’s Honeybunch
- Easy Cuban-Style Beef Picadillo from Renee’s Kitchen Adventures
- Flavorful Asian Style Beef Curry Stir-Fry from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
- Hungarian Goulash {Slow Cooker} from Curious Cuisiniere
- Korean Beef Soondubu Jigae (Beef and Soft Tofu Stew) from kimchi MOM
- Korean BBQ Pepper Nachos from Flavor Mosaic
- Portuguese Style Beef Lettuce Wraps from Family Foodie
- Ropa Vieja from The Crumby Cupcake
- Sauerkraut Brisket from Magnolia Days
- Skinny Beef Stroganoff Stuffed Spaghetti Squash from Cupcakes & Kale Chips
- Slow Cooker Classic American Chili from Meal Planning Magic
- Slow Cooker Porcupine Meatballs Over Whipped Cauliflower from Bobbi’s Kozy Kitchen
- Steak and Cabbage Stir-Fry from Cooking Chat
- Sweet & Spicy Asian Beef Tacos from Peanut Butter and Peppers
- Thai Beef with Vegetable Ribbons from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
- Plus: Delicious Lean Beef Recipes for #SundaySupper from Sunday Supper Movement
Shelby says
Wow! Amazing photos! They make me want to dig right into this dish!
Nichole says
It’s probably a good thing I live a few hours from you, or I’d invite myself over all the time! This looks SO SO good!
Liz says
Oh, my gosh, this looks amazing!!! Perfect, delicious comfort food for this cold stretch of winter weather!!
Cindy Kerschner says
This beef looks so tender and juicy!
Hezzi-D says
This looks amazing and the recipe sounds like it is bursting with flavor!
David @ Cooking Chat says
what a delicious version of this dish! I need to try it for sure.
Yum Girl says
Welcome to Yum Goggle! We are following you on all your social media and we hope you will follow us back. We will try to tag you each time we promote your posts – and for Sunday Supper – if you get your post submitted by Noon on Sunday, we will put it with the group on Sunday evening! Thanks, Kelli at YG
Renee says
OMG – I just want to lick the screen.
Christie says
I LOVE ropa vieja. It’s like comfort food to me. Looks amazing.
Sarah | Curious Cuisiniere says
I have been dreaming about this since I first saw it. It looks amazing, and will be happening in our kitchen soon!
Brianne @ Cupcakes & Kale Chips says
That looks soooo good! It might have to appear on my big game menu!
Sue Lau says
This looks so amazing!
Renee@Renee's Kitchen Adventures says
Cuban food is just so wonderfully flavorful! Perfect choice for a lean beef dish!
Bobbi from Bobbi's Kozy Kitchen says
WOWZERS! That is one gorgeous dish! I have got to give this recipe a whirl!
Vanessa says
Delicious!!! And easy to follow and make! Thank you!
Erica says
It’s one of my all-time favorite meals from my hubby, Vanessa! I hope you loved it – thanks for stopping by!
Liz says
I love the flavor combination you created for this sauce! the seasonings are perfect!
Amanda Finks says
Love how easy and flavorful this beef recipe is! So good over rice!
Ruthie says
It was amazing. I added a few twist to it. But it was delicious.