Cuban Ropa Vieja

  4.4 – 525 reviews  • Caribbean

This ropa vieja tastes wonderful over rice or over tortillas. On the side, include cheese, sour cream, and fresh cilantro.

Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 4 hrs
Total Time: 4 hrs 15 mins
Servings: 6

Ingredients

  1. 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  2. 2 pounds beef flank steak
  3. 1 cup beef broth
  4. 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
  5. 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
  6. 1 green bell pepper, seeded and sliced into strips
  7. 1 small onion, sliced
  8. 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  9. 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  10. 1 teaspoon chopped fresh cilantro
  11. 1 tablespoon olive oil
  12. 1 tablespoon white vinegar

Instructions

  1. Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add flank steak and cook until browned, about 4 minutes per side.
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  3. Transfer steak to a slow cooker; pour in beef broth and tomato sauce. Add tomato paste, bell pepper, onion, garlic, cumin, cilantro, olive oil, and vinegar; stir until well blended.
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  5. Cover and cook on Low for up to 10 hours, or on High for 4 hours.
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  7. Shred steak in the slow cooker with two forks.
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Nutrition Facts

Calories 261 kcal
Carbohydrate 10 g
Cholesterol 48 mg
Dietary Fiber 2 g
Protein 21 g
Saturated Fat 5 g
Sodium 599 mg
Sugars 6 g
Fat 16 g
Unsaturated Fat 0 g

Reviews

David Hart
I like it
Karen Miles
Nice.
Joshua Sullivan
Didn’t go well with sour cream to me but otherwise great
Misty Elliott
This recipe needs salt. I would add two teaspoons. Otherwise, cooked very nicely and the meat was very tender.
Lindsey Parker
Good recipe, however it needs about 5 hours on high in a crockpot for the meat to become tender enough to shred; then that transfer it to a skillet pan and add more seasoning to taste, because this recipe lacks in flavor. I added salt, more cumin, garlic, complete seasoning, more tomato paste and also cut more onions/green peppers as in the crockpot they almost disintegrates. I let it cook in the pan with the lid on until almost all the liquid evaporates and WOW what a game changer, it was delicious. I give it 3 stars because it is a good recipe, but you do have to season it to taste…because it is otherwise bland.
Tiffany Jordan
This was a great and delicious recipe. My in laws are Cuban, so I’ll show off my new found Cuban culinary skills with this dish next I see them. I used a chuck roast instead of flank and used kosher salt.
George Holt
I’ve made this several times over the years and gotten all sorts of compliments on this dish; Including that it tasted like a friend’s Cuban grandmother’s recipe. As some reviewers said do long and slow, normally 8-10 hours. The few times I tried 4 hours, it tasted rushed and wasn’t as tender. I also don’t brown the meat prior to cooking. Other than that I cook the whole thing as listed in the crockpot and just serve it over rice.
Donald Collier
I made it exactly as the recipe was written and everyone loved it. Thank you for sharing.
Christian Hudson
This was delicious. I served it with the Cuban rice and black beans recipe.
Kenneth Strong
More garlic. 3lb+ roast so I upped ingredients using what I had. 1 1/2 cups beef broth 1 1/2 cans of tomato sauce only 1 can tomatoe paste Added 1/2 Tbsp sazon. Used a yellow bell. Saucted them and onions in the pan after searing the meat and deglazing the pan. Used 1/2 tsp coriander as I didn’t have cilantro.
Sheri Watts
Delicious! I did make some changes…added salt and pepper to the meat before browning; used red, orange and yellow peppers (not a fan of green peppers); added more garlic; added some bay leafs.Perfect with black beans and white rice and a side of fried plantains.
Michelle Love
Amazing flavor!
Randall Mccormick
This is amazing and my boys ask me to make it over and over. I’ve made it with flank and skirt and both were great. I omit onions because my kids don’t like it so I use onion powder instead… One day I’ll make it for myself with onions…. but thing is you can modify it to your preference and it will still be an amazing dish. Thanks so much Kate for sharing.
Jacob Moore
I made this and added one jalapeño and two packets of Goya Saxon half way through the process. It came out perfect. Tender beef and the sauce was tasty. Will definitely make it again.
Peter Salinas
Wow. Flavor just like I remember that of Cuban ropa vieja from my home in the Keys. Although I don’t like them otherwise, flank or skirt steak is essential in this dish for the rich flavor. I only used 2 T tomato paste, cuts down the sweetness. Delicious!
Mark Bell
Made exactly as specified. Flank steak. Four hours in the slow cooker. Tender and delicious.
Brian Rogers
This was a very easy recipe. It turned out great! I took the advice of others and added a bit more garlic and cumin. It’s FANTASTIC!
Cynthia Brooks
This is pretty good! It’s much better if you increase the quantities of most all of the spices, though. I’m not downgrading it on that because I honestly don’t know what traditional ropa vieja tastes like; perhaps it’s meant to be mildly seasoned. My own tastes, though, lean towards much heavier seasoning.
David Espinoza
Really good but I did make a lot of changes. I ended up increasing the cumin, garlic, and cilantro and using two Sazón packets instead of plain salt. I also used low sodium stock and tri tip. I cooked on the stovetop on low for 1.5 hours and the meat shredded really well. Added some lime juice and served with Black beans and white rice.
Tricia Anderson
This came out amazing!!! My husband loved it!!!
David Clark
So delicious and easy to make. We added extra garlic, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, 1/2 tsp red wine vinegar in addition to the white vinegar, and 1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes and chili powder for a bit of extra heat.

 

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