Our favorite spicy dutch oven Mexican Pot Roast with tomatoes, jalapeños, oregano, bay leaves, fajita vegetables, and tons of Mexican-inspired braised beef flavor! We hope you love this dish as much as we do.

This easy spicy dish is great as a main – or served shredded in tacos and burritos. We designed it to be solid in leftovers, too! One of the ways we love to eat this dish is spooned into Air Fryer Baked Potatoeswith shredded cheese and sour cream!

At Avdaye, we add lots of tips in all of our recipes – because we are a home cook without any formal training, and we find we are more confident making dishes when we understand why it works, and what each ingredient means to the flavor of a recipe. Our goal is for even the most beginner home cook to feel empowered in the kitchen.

How to MAke Spicy Fajita Pot Roast

Pot roast is one of our favorite easy weekend meals – it is simple, filling, mostly hands-off, and always a family favorite – the soft, tender meat is always a huge hit! It can get a bit repetitive to have the same standby roast recipe, time after time, so we came up with this spicy version – packed with fajita vegetables, tons of garlic, oregano, cumin, cayenne, and more.

Mexican Pot Roast Ingredients

To make this recipe, you will need the following ingredients:

Pot roast – Pot roast becomes fork-tender and deeply flavorful after slowly braising in the rich Mexican-inspired sauce.
Olive oil – Olive oil helps brown the roast and sauté the vegetables for extra savory flavor.
Bell peppers – Bell peppers add sweetness, color, and fresh flavor to balance the smoky spices.
White onion – White onion melts into the sauce as it cooks, adding savory depth and subtle sweetness.
Garlic – Garlic brings bold aromatic flavor that complements the rich beef and warm spices perfectly.
Bay leaves – Bay leaves add earthy depth and slow-cooked flavor to the roast and sauce.
Jalapeños – Jalapeños add a fresh pop of heat that gives the dish its spicy kick.
Diced tomatoes – Diced tomatoes create a rich, slightly tangy sauce that keeps the beef juicy and flavorful.
Cumin – Cumin adds warm earthy flavor that gives the roast its classic Tex-Mex taste.
Chili powder – Chili powder adds smoky, savory heat and layers of rich seasoning throughout the dish.
Ancho chile powder – Ancho chile powder brings mild smoky sweetness and deep chile flavor without too much spice.
Beef stock – Beef stock helps tenderize the roast while creating a rich and flavorful cooking sauce.
Salt and pepper, to taste – Salt and pepper enhance all the bold savory, smoky, and spicy flavors in the pot roast.

Steps to Make Hispanic Pot Roast

Once you've gathered your ingredients, we will use the following process:

Assemble Ingredients

Assemble the ingredients for this recipe.

Prep

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Season pot roast well with salt and pepper and heat olive oil in dutch oven until light and shimmery, about 30 seconds.

Brown

Sear pot roast on all sides until browned, about 4 minutes per side.

Braise

Add ingredients. Remove dutch oven from heat, and add peppers, onions, garlic, herbs, seasonings, and stock to pot over pot roast. Cover with lid and braise 4-5 hours, until fork tender.

Shred

When pot roast is able to shred with light pressure from a fork, remove from oven and remove roast. Let sit on a cutting board or plate until cool enough to shred. Remove bay leaves and discard. When pot roast is cool, shred using forks, a stand mixer with paddle attachment, or your hand

Serve

Pot roast is great over salad, potatoes, or rice with fajita vegetables from the pot and a bit of the stock as a gravy – or add to tacos, burritos, sandwiches, and more!

Kitchen notes

Make it birria. This pot roast is a good filling for birria tacos!

Add to casseroles. Since the beef cooks slowly in a lovely stock with tons of flavor, this pot roast packs a punch – it is fabulous in casseroles, sandwiches, wraps, tacos, and other recipes that could use a bit of a kick!

Pat dry. For a solid sear, it is essential to pat roasts dry from any liquid that might be on the roast from the packaging.

Control your heat. For even more flavor, add more pepper – try this recipe with Guajillo peppers, chipotle in adobo, cayenne, or aleppo pepper. You can also reduce the heat if you like!

Serve it with

Pot roast is good with lots of our favorite Mexican recipes like Pickled Carrot and Jalapeno Salsa Cous cous Shredded Chicken TacosGrilled Carne Asada, and our One Pot Cheesy Taco Skillet! For more ideas check out some favorites below:

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Mexican Pot Roast FAQs

When is pot roast done?

Pot roast is done when the meat can easily be shredded with a fork and gives in to gentile pressure. The temperature will be above 165 degrees F.

Do we have to brown pot roast before braising?

It is not strictly necessary to brown pot roast before cooking, but it adds more flavor, and a great color!

How can we store this recipe?

Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container for up to four days in the refrigerator or frozen for up to four months.

Ingredients

4 lb pot roast
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 bell peppers, any color, sliced
1 white onion, sliced into strips
6-8 cloves garlic
2-4 bay leaves if fresh, 1 if dried
2-3 jalapeños, sliced
12 oz can diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons ancho chile powder
16 oz beef stock
salt and pepper, to taste

Method

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Season pot roast well with salt and pepper and heat olive oil in dutch oven until light and shimmery, about 30 seconds.
Sear pot roast on all sides until browned, about 4 minutes per side.
Add ingredients. Remove dutch oven from heat, and add peppers, onions, garlic, herbs, seasonings, and stock to pot over pot roast.
Cover with lid and braise in oven at 325 F 4-5 hours, until fork tender.
When pot roast is able to shred with light pressure from a fork, remove from oven and remove roast. Let sit on a cutting board or plate until cool enough to shred.
Remove bay leaves and discard. When pot roast is cool, shred using forks, a stand mixer with paddle attachment, or your hands.
Pot roast is great over salad, potatoes, or rice with fajita vegetables from the pot and a bit of the stock as a gravy – or add to tacos, burritos, sandwiches, and more!