I had this ropa vieja simmering away in my slow cooker yesterday and it smelled so good I thought I'd go crazy waiting to eat dinner! Even my all-American hubby loves it! I actually just had a big bowl full for lunch again today and I'll probably have it for dinner tonight. Is that excessive? 🙂
If you're not familiar with Ropa Vieja, it's a Cuban dish (actually the national dish of Cuba!) and it literally means "old clothes". I'm guessing it's called that because the meat is so tender and falls apart so easily! It's made with a large cut of beef that's slow cooked in a tomato based sauce and by the end of the cooking time, the meat is so flavorful and tender and shreds so easily. It's traditionally served with white rice so you can soak up all that extra sauce!
This is one of the things that I definitely order if I see it on a menu. It's not a fancy dish but it's one that is so hearty and flavorful! And by the way, if you drain some of the liquid off, ropa vieja is amazing in tacos!!
We love to serve our ropa vieja over a big bowl of white rice for a hearty meal!
Ropa Vieja - Cuban Shredded Beef
Ingredients
- 2-3 pound flank steak (you could also use chuck)
- 1 tablespoon adobo seasoning (if you don't have adobo, use 1.5 teaspoons of salt and 1.5 teaspoons of garlic powder)
- 1 green bell pepper sliced into strips
- 1 red bell pepper sliced into strips
- 1 large yellow onion sliced into strips
- 6 large garlic cloves peeled and chopped
- ½ cup green spanish olives (optional but highly recommended)
- 1 cup white cooking wine
- 28 ounce can of tomato puree
- 6 ounce can of tomato paste
- 1 tsp each: ground cumin, dried oregano, white sugar, salt
Instructions
- Take your flank steak and rub each side down with the adobo seasoning then add it to the slow cooker.
- Slice your peppers, onion, and garlic and add those to the slow cooker along with the olives.
- In a large bowl, whisk together your white wine, tomato puree, tomato paste, and seasonings and then add that in the slow cooker.
- Cook on low for 8 hours.
- After the 8 hours, remove just the meat and shred with 2 forks. Ropa vieja is traditionally served shredded very finely so I don't leave any large chunks. Add the meat back in the slow cooker and cook for 20 more minutes.
- During that 20 minutes is when I make my rice using my rice cooker.
- I serve my ropa vieja over the white rice with a big extra scoop of the sauce on top!
Deanna says
This sounds so yummy!! 🙂
Coco and Ash says
Thanks Deanna!
Luci's Morsels says
This looks so delicious and full of flavor! Yummy!
Coco and Ash says
Thanks so much Luci!
Kristine says
This looks like such a hearty and yummy dinner and I love that's is made in the Crock-Pot aka my favorite cooking appliance ever! 🙂
Coco and Ash says
Thanks Kristine!! Aren't crockpots THE BEST!? 🙂
Kristina @ Love & Zest says
This looks great!
anneline says
hi! what kind of green & red peppers do you use?
Coco and Ash says
Hi there! Just a regular green and red "Bell" pepper 🙂
Jackie valdes says
Is it possible to make while the meat is still frozen?
Coco and Ash says
I would not recommend doing that.
Kim says
Thanks for the great recipe! I'm planning to make it tomorrow. What liquid can I use in place of the white cooking wine?
Coco and Ash says
Hi Kim! I'm so happy you're making it! You can definitely use chicken broth. The wine does provide a nice balance so along with the chicken broth you could also add either a little bit (a tablespoon) of white vinegar or just some of the brine from the olives. Just a couple options for ya 🙂 You can definitely just use the chicken broth if you'd like though! Let me know how it goes!!
Kim says
OMG! This dish is amazing! It was a huge hit and tastes very much like Ropa Vieja that I've tried in restaurants. Thank you for the substitution ideas....it worked beautifully!!
Coco and Ash says
I'm so so happy that you liked it!😀😀
ENRIQUE says
I have a 4qt round and a 6qt oval slow cooker
which on should I use?
Coco and Ash says
I would use the bigger one 🙂
Susana Alsina says
Hi! I'm making this today but I won't have enough time to cook it for 8 hours. Can I cook it on high for maybe 6 hours?
Coco and Ash says
Hi Susana. I'm so sorry I didn't get to you sooner! I was not able to get to a computer today. You can cook it for 6 hours and it will be safe to eat but it definitely will not be as tender. I hope it turned out well for you!!
Rick Waering says
I love this dish! I also add capers to it which I don't see in any of the recipes, but my Cuban father made it this way and I have his hand-written recipe book. Try it, if you like...
Coco and Ash says
Thank you! Capers sound great for this dish! I’ll try it next time 🙂
Judy says
At what point do I add the olives?
Judy says
Oh! I found it! Sorry and thanks!
Coco and Ash says
🙂
Joy Willinger says
Was recently in Havana and tried this dish. I had eaten it before, here in the US, but it was nothing like what we had in Cuba. I can't wait to try this recipe this weekend!!!
Coco and Ash says
I hope you love it!
Lindsay Garrity says
Hi! Do you know how to adjust cooking time for the Instant Pot?
Coco and Ash says
I have never made it in the Instapot. Sorry!
Teri H says
Could a brisket be used?
Coco and Ash says
I have never made it with a brisket so I can't say for certain but let me know if you try it!
Vanessa says
I made this for dinner yesterday and the flavor was amazing. My only complaint is that the flank steak was way too stringy when I shredded it. It made it hard to eat. I’ll try this with a different cut of meat. Over all a great meal that was ready to serve when I got home from work!
Coco and Ash says
I’m glad you liked it. And yes, it’s traditionally very stringy tender meat. I guess that’s where the term Ropa Vieja or “old clothes” comes from! 🙂
If you’d like to use a cut of meat that less stringy, use a chuck roast and it will still be delicious 🙂
Maggie says
I am throwing a baked potato party and wondering if this recipe would be good to make for people to put on top of the baked potatoes?
Coco and Ash says
I don't see why not!
Amanda says
This is a fantastic recipe - thank you! 😃 Since this turned out so good and authentic, I’m hoping maybe you have a picadillo recipe you would share?? PLEASE? 😁
Coco and Ash says
Thank you...I do! Here’s the link https://www.cocoandash.com/cuban-picadillo/
Amanda says
😃 Thank you! I know what’s for dinner tomorrow!
Melissa says
I’ve made this multiple times and it’s my kids favorite dish! It’s really good! I use red cooking wine because the store was out of white and it still tastes amazing!
Coco and Ash says
Aw yay! Thank you!
Sherry says
I'm making tomorrow...can't wait!
Chef Russell Carter says
We are having Ropa Vieja for lunch this Thursday cant wait to see how the staff taste it. For 1800 people.... but on thing I know your recipe will be my guidline thank you so much!!!!!!
Chef Russell Carter says
We are having Ropa Vieja for lunch this Thursday cant wait to see how the staff taste it. For 1800 people.... but on thing I know your recipe will be my guidline thank you so much!!!!!!
Coco and Ash says
Oh wow!! Thank you!
Christa Moya says
Amazing!!!! Soooo yummy delicious! My house smells amazing, and I know the neighbors are about ready to show up at our door step with a plate. With this pandemic, no one has white cooking wine. I had only about 1/4 cup white cooking wine so I used Chardonnay. I can't wait for dinner.
Coco and Ash says
Thank you Christa!
Ashley says
Hello,
Has anyone doubled the recipe by chance?
Terri says
Good recipe for chuck roast. Only other comment a little tomatoey for me. But I do recommend. I think maybe if I add a little more sugar would help with the tomato taste.