Slow Cooker Ropa Vieja has tender shredded flank steak simmered in a bright, tomato-based sauce with peppers, olives, and capers. This classic Cuban dish is full of bold flavor and comes together with almost no effort.
You’ll love this dish because it turns a naturally tough cut of beef into something incredibly tender and flavorful with just a little patience. The flank steak shreds beautifully after hours in the slow cooker, soaking up all the rich flavor from the tomatoes, peppers, and warm spices. The briny olives and capers add a punch of flavor that balances out the richness of the beef, giving the whole dish real depth.
Helpful Tips
- Shred the meat while it’s warm: Flank steak is much easier to pull apart with two forks while it’s still hot, so don’t let it cool too long before shredding.
- Taste before adding extra salt: The olives and capers both bring a good amount of saltiness, so hold off on extra seasoning until everything is stirred together.
- Remove the bay leaf before serving: Don’t forget this step, since the leaf itself isn’t meant to be eaten and can be easy to miss once everything is shredded together.
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Slow Cooker Ropa Vieja
Ingredients
- 2 pounds flank steak cut into 6 chunks
- salt and black pepper for seasoning
- 28 ounce diced tomatoes
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 red bell pepper thinly sliced
- 1 green bell pepper thinly sliced
- 1 medium onion thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 jalapeño seeded and thinly sliced
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 cup pitted green olives sliced
- 2 tablespoons capers drained
- 3 tablespoons cilantro coarsely chopped, divided
- 2 cups steamed white rice for serving
Instructions
- Season the flank steak with salt and pepper.
- In a slow cooker, combine the diced tomatoes and their juices, the water, bell peppers, onion, garlic, jalapeño, oregano, cumin, and bay leaf. Add the flank steak, cover, and cook on HIGH for 4-5 hours, until the meat is very tender.
- Transfer the meat to a cutting board and shred. Return it to the slow cooker.
- Discard the bay leaf.
- Add the olives, capers, and 1 tablespoon of the cilantro to the slow cooker. Stir it in.
- Serve the ropa vieja with steamed rice. Garnish with remaining cilantro.
Nutrition
Angela’s passion for discovering and experimenting with new flavors and recipes is at the heart of her culinary philosophy. Residing in a quaint Oregon town, she finds joy and inspiration in her kitchen. Angela has a lot of expertise in cooking and she eagerly shares her discoveries and unique creations with you.