Slow Cooker Ropa Vieja- shredded beef flavored with lots of onions, bell pepper, garlic, and spices plus green olives. It’s a great slow cooker beef recipe for when you want something a little different.
What is Ropa Viejo?
Ropa Vieja is a delicious Cuban recipe. The name means old clothes, I guess because this dish looks like shredded clothes. Strange name indeed. But a truly delicious recipe. Right up there with Picadillo on my list of favorite Cuban recipes.
You won’t find this dish to be spicy hot, but it is full of spice flavor. You can serve it with your favorite hot sauce if you want it hot.
The flavor of this slow cooker beef recipe comes from lots of onion, bell pepper, garlic, cumin, oregano, bay leaves and soy sauce. There’s also 1/3 cup of tomato paste for plenty of tomato flavor.
Leave the olives out if you don’t like them, but they really do add great flavor.
To really build the flavors, you will need to do a little pre-cooking. You’ll saute the onion and bell pepper until soft and then add the garlic followed by the tomato paste, cumin, and oregano.
How Long To Cook
This Slow Cooker Ropa Vieja takes 6 to 7 hours on LOW or 5 to 6 hours on HIGH. The beef should shred easily at the end of cooking time.
How To Serve
I like to serve Ropa Vieja over white rice with a little fresh cilantro. Spicy Black Beans are also good with it.
Storage
Leftovers will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for days or they can be frozen for up to 2 months.
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Slow Cooker Ropa Vieja
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 medium onions, halved and thinly sliced
- 2 red bell peppers, sliced into 1/2-inch wide strips
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- ⅓ cup tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano
- salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ chicken bouillon cube, crumbled
- ½ cup water
- 1 (2-pound) flank steak
- 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
- ¾ cup green olives with pimentos
- cilantro and rice for serving
Instructions
- Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large nonstick skillet. Add onion and peppers and cook for 7 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add garlic and cook one more minute.
- Add tomato paste, cumin, oregano, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Stir the tomato paste into the onion and peppers and cook for 1 minute.Transfer to a 6-quart slow cooker.
- Add soy sauce, bay leaves, chicken bouillon, and water to the slow cooker.
- Season the flank steak with salt and pepper and add it to the slow cooker. Spoon some of the tomato mixture on top of it.Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 7 hours or on HIGH for 5 to 6 hours.
- Discard bay leaves. Shred meat with 2 forks. Stir in vinegar and olives. Check for seasoning and add more salt and pepper if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe source: Cook’s Country
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
This slow cooker ropa vieja looks incredible—I love how the peppers and olives give it that tangy, savory depth, and the name backstory made me smile. I’ve been trying to branch out from my usual weeknight beef recipes, and this Cuban classic feels like a fun, comforting change. The idea of letting everything simmer all day until the beef shreds apart is exactly my kind of cooking. Speaking of digging into food history, I recently started using a YouTube history analyzer to see what cooking videos I’ve been binge-watching, and it’s surprisingly fascinating. It’s a neat way to notice patterns in what inspires me in the kitchen. I can’t wait to try this recipe this weekend!
I love how this recipe turns a tough cut of beef into something so tender and flavorful—the green olives are such a clever touch. It reminds me of the first time I tried ropa vieja at a little Cuban spot, and I’ve been chasing that taste ever since. The slow cooker does all the heavy lifting here, which makes it perfect for a busy weeknight when you want something special without the fuss. If you’re ever in the mood for a different kind of puzzle while dinner simmers, I’ve found that a 3×3 cube solver online can be a fun little brain break. Anyway, I’m definitely bookmarking this to try with some crusty bread and rice. Thanks for sharing such a comforting classic!
I was just trying to read a recipe on spicysouthernkitchen.com and got stopped by that security check—so frustrating when you just want the ingredient list! It made me think about how often we hit little walls online, whether it’s a verification page or a language barrier. For anyone who reads comics or manga in another language, that barrier can feel just as annoying. That’s why I keep coming back to Manga Translator when I need a quick, clear translation of a page. It’s one of those tools that just makes the whole experience smoother. Anyway, once I got past the bot check, the recipe was worth the wait!
I love how this recipe turns a humble cut of beef into something so rich and comforting—the name ‘old clothes’ always makes me smile, but the flavor is anything but shabby. The combination of green olives and spices sounds like exactly the kind of bold, homey dish I want simmering all day. It reminds me of the way a good audio recording can feel messy at first, but with the right tools, it becomes something clear and useful. If you’re like me and often need to turn long conversations or interviews into readable notes, this shownotes generator might be a handy companion. I’ll definitely be trying this ropa vieja next weekend, maybe with a side of rice and plantains.
I love how this slow cooker ropa vieja turns beef into something so tender and flavorful—it really does look like “old clothes” in the best way! The mix of onions, peppers, garlic, and green olives sounds like a party in the pot. I’ve made Cuban dishes before, but never with olives, so I’m curious how that briny pop works with the cumin and oregano. This is definitely going on my weekend menu. And if you’re like me and often snap photos of your cooking to share, you might want to run them through AI metadata remover to keep your kitchen details private.
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Can you use London broil in place of flank steak?
Like to try this in a Instapot,,,,and idea of time ?