Easy Mexican Beef Tips

The perfect rice companion, Easy Mexican Beef Tips features tender chunks of garlicky beef swimming in an earthy tomato sauce. The perfect hearty meal that comes together quickly and easily.

Who doesn’t love a hearty - yet flavorful! - a one-pot easy beef recipe that you can just spoon over rice (like this Instant Pot Basmati Rice)? Easy Mexican Beef Tips is very much that recipe. We’re talking tender chunks of beef simmered in an earthy and acidic tomato sauce, laid to rest atop a lovely bed of rice that’s perfect for soaking up every juicy drop. 

If you are unfamiliar with beef tips, check out “What are beef tips?” below before you venture out to the grocery store. Otherwise, you’ll waste a lot of time in the meat section looking for a package of meat that doesn’t exist under the label of “beef tips.” 

Craving more easy beef recipes for dinner? Try this Instant Pot Arm Roast or my Beef Taco Soup.

What are beef tips?

Beef tips or steak tips are “cubes” of beef most often cut from sirloin. Technically beef tips can be made from any part of the cow, BUT you definitely want to use a tender cut for this recipe. I usually opt for sirloin and then cut them into cubes myself, but you can also use ribeye, flank steak, and tenderloin. How much you’re willing to pay might also be a factor as prices for various cuts vary.

My advice? Splurge a few extra bucks on a nicer cut of beef so you get tender results if you can swing it. But if you're on a budget, I included directions for a slow cooker recipe variation that allows for the use of less tender cuts of beef. Cooking tougher cuts in the slow cooker gives the best of both worlds - tender results with cost savings and minimal effort. For more grocery budget tips, check out Easy Ways to Save Money on Groceries.

Ingredients

I recommend giving the beef tips at least 1-2 hours to marinade before cooking. Okay to prepare the night before if you’re really on top of your dinner game (up to 24 hours in advance).

For this easy Mexican Beef Tips recipe you will need the following ingredients.

Ingredients for the Marinade

• beef tips - Some grocery stores carry pre-cut beef tips, or you can cut a sirloin or similar tender cut into approximately 1-inch cubes.
• olive or vegetable oil - Either one works just fine. So does canola oil.
• garlic cloves - I love how garlicky the beef gets! Two to three cloves of garlic is perfect.

Ingredients for the Beef Tips & Sauce

• can of chili-ready tomatoes - specifically the chili-ready ones because they are more saucelike in consistency than diced tomatoes and I like it for this dish for that reason. You could also blend diced tomatoes if that's what you have on hand.
• garlic cloves - Oh yeah! Garlic two ways! In the meat marinade and in the sauce.
• yellow onion - I add peppers and onion to everything. Just ask my husband, LOL
• green bell pepper (or jalapeno if you want it spicier) - see above, but peppers and onions in this sauce contributes to the earthiness and heartiness of the resulting dish.
• seasonings, including cumin and paprika - Keeping the seasonings simple here keeps this dish nice and cozy, letting the garlic, vegetables, and tomatoes stand out.
• cooked rice - Basmati rice is a favorite of mine, and you can easily make the perfect rice in the instant pot.

Substitutions

• Chili-ready tomatoes - Chili-ready tomatoes are a thick tomato sauce with a little crushed tomato texture. You can use a canned smooth tomato sauce or diced tomatoes if you prefer. When subbing in crushed tomatoes, I prefer to hit them with a stick blender before adding to get a smoother consistency. 
• Yellow onion - white onion is perfectly fine to use as well. 
• Green bell pepper - you can use other colors if you’d prefer, red, yellow, orange, all are welcome! Or if you want it spicy, skip the bell pepper and use a jalapeno or other spicy pepper.

Variations

Give this Zesty Beef recipe some heat with the following suggested additions:

• Add in a diced jalapeno, serrano, or other hot pepper
• Add in a few dashes of your favorite hot sauce, like Tabasco
• Add in a few dashes of cayenne pepper 
• Replace the paprika with hot Hungarian paprika
• Stir in a spoonful of jarred Calabrian chili or Harissa

How to Make Mexican Beef Tips

For the Marinade

1. Add the olive or vegetable oil, minced garlic cloves, and salt and pepper to a quart-sized Ziploc bag. Add in the beef tips next and seal the bag, removing as much air as possible. Massage the beef tips through the bag to ensure the marinade evenly coats each chunk of beef. Refrigerate for at least 1-2 hours, up to 24 hours.

For Cooking

1. Heat a deep-sided pan, like a brasier, over medium heat. Once hot, add the marinaded beef tips.

2. Cook over medium heat for around 8 minutes, turning the beef tips every few minutes to cook all of the sides. You don’t necessarily need to cook them through at this point as they will finish cooking in the sauce.

3. Once all the sides of the beef tips have been browned, remove from pan. Leave the beef juice in the pan. Add the diced yellow onion and green bell pepper, cooking over medium heat for 3-4 minutes stirring occasionally.

4. Next, add the minced garlic and cook for an additional 45 seconds.

5. Add the chili ready tomatoes, cumin, and paprika and stir to combine. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat, then add the beef tips back in.

6. Stir to coat the beef tips in the tomato sauce, then put a lid on it. Simmer for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

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7. Serve over a bed of rice!

Serving Suggestions

I love these savory beef tips with basmati rice, but use what you like! Jasmine, arborio, and any short grain or brown rice would work well here. Try adding a drizzle of this Creamy Salsa Dressing to add another layer of flavor. If you prefer a rice with more flavor, try this Instant Pot Spanish Rice.

If rice isn't your thing, you could also use pasta - orzo would be great here since it looks similar to rice. You could also just pair it with a carb of choice, using bread to sop up the tomato sauce. Or experiment with different grains like quinoa or farro, or try it atop lentils.

Enjoy it with other sides like these Chipotle Mashed Sweet Potatoes, this Jalapeno Creamed Corn, or this Creamed Kale.

Alternate Preparation - Slow Cooker Beef Tips Recipe

If you want to make this recipe even easier, you can prepare it in a slow cooker instead! I recommend marinating the meat at least 1-2 hours in advance, then searing the beef tips coated in cumin and paprika for 2-3 minutes each side for 8 to 12 minutes total. I like to add the minced garlic right at the end as I shut off the heat, stirring vigorously for 30-35 seconds, then removing the pan from the heat. The rest of the ingredients - onion, bell pepper, and tomato sauce - can be added to the slow cooker with the seared meat. Cook on low for around 8 hours - this is a surefire way to get tender, fall-apart meat.

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