When it comes to comfort food, it’s pretty difficult to beat birria. For anyone unfamiliar, this regional Mexican dish from Jalisco features meat that’s been slowly cooked in a consomé of chiles, spices, herbs, aromatics, and a touch of vinegar until the protein is fall-apart tender and the rich, complex broth is unlike anything you’ve ever tasted.

If it sounds like a labor of love, that’s because it is. Developing the flavors of birria takes time and skill; chiles need to be toasted and rehydrated, quality spices sourced, and adobo blended together so it can infuse the meat with flavor.

This process might seem intimidating or time-consuming to some home cooks who haven’t made birria before or don’t have the requisite ingredients on hand. But quite a few TikTok users think they’ve found the answer, with dozens of viral videos highlighting a trending new ingredient that aims to make cooking the dish more convenient: birria bombs. 

These products look identical to a bath bomb, hence their name, and the deep red spheres contain every component (depending on the recipe you use) to make birria, minus the meat. With chiles, spices, tomato, garlic, onion, herbs, and concentrated bouillon, the balls can purportedly turn birria-making into a one-step procedure.

To be clear, a birria bomb is not the traditional way to make this dish, and I doubt it can achieve the true depth and nuance you get from a quality birria recipe, like this one. But if you want to access the seasonings and flavor profile of birria with less effort, then it might be a product worth trying.

How do birria bombs work?

The draw of the birria bomb lies in its simplicity. Just add the sphere to either a slow cooker, stovetop pot, or pressure cooker, along with water and meat. (Most sellers of birria bombs recommend using them with beef, but I’d imagine they work just as well with something more typical like goat, or any protein that lends itself to being slowly braised such as lamb or pork.) 

Heat and simmer the ingredients together according to the instructions given on the birria bomb packaging, and then set it and forget it. If you’re using a slow cooker, then the ease of this product means you might spend a total of five minutes actively cooking. And making birria with both a bomb and a pressure cooker would reduce the overall cook time even further, giving you the quickest possible version of it.

Once the meat and consomé are ready, you can serve this birria just like you would any other. Enjoy the dish with a side of tortillas and toppings like onion, cilantro, and lime, or take it a step further and make tacos with the tender meat, so you can dunk them into the savory broth.

Who invented birria bombs?

People who watch Shark Tank might recognize these balls of spices. California-based Tina Castaneda appeared on the show earlier this year to pitch her company EZ Bombs, which produces exactly what it sounds like. Castaneda started selling birria bombs in November 2023, and after leveraging viral videos on social media to market the product, she quickly sold out of her stock more than once. Today the founder is still using TikTok to highlight her birria bombs, and she’s introduced a second, similar bomb meant for cooking pozole.

But Castaneda isn’t the only individual that’s creating birria bombs for consumers. Donelle Mendoza (known online as @birriaqueen) has been crafting her own seasoning bombs in Austin, Texas since 2019, and her goods are now available in popular Texas grocery chain H-E-B. 

In Colorado, Antonette Camacho started making birria bombs because she needed a more accessible and convenient method for cooking what is one of her son’s few safe foods, before opening her own company, Bombitas, in January 2024. It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly who first “invented” a birria bomb, but the core concept and its execution remain the same across brands.

What is a birria bomb made of?

The easiest way to conceptualize a birria bomb is to think of it as a bouillon cube. This is a compact sphere of dehydrated and concentrated ingredients, which allows it to pack a lot of flavor into a small area. 

To achieve the same taste as traditional birria, the bombs will typically have ground chiles, spices like garlic powder and cumin, herbs such as dried oregano, tomato, and onion powder. I’ve also seen chicken or beef bouillon listed on the ingredient list for most birria bombs, which likely helps the broth develop a more savory, meaty flavor.

Unlike a recipe for making birria at home, the ingredient list for a bomb doesn’t always specify which types of chiles are included. So if you prefer your birria to be crafted with a particular combination of chiles — like guajillo, ancho, and cascabel — check the FAQ for the brand, or email to ask for more details. 

While a birria bomb can’t replace either my monthly takeout orders from Birria Landia in Brooklyn, a recipe from an incredible chef, or the birria that so many families and home cooks are likely making from memory in their kitchens, it is a convenient and accessible option for enjoying the flavor profiles of this delicious dish more often.