Pelleting concentrate is one of the predominant grain processing methods in Mediterranean beef feeding systems. A good pellet quality is related to improvements in performance and feed efficiency, but it involves an extra cost at manufacturing. One hundred twelve bulls (272 ± 4.4 kg of BW and 216 ± 1.0 d of age) were randomly allocated in 6 pens provided with a concentrate single feeder with lateral protections, a straw feeder, and a water bowl. Pens were assigned to 1 of 2 dietary treatments according to the physical form of concentrate: pellet (PF), and crumble (CF) to simulate a worse pellet quality. The experimental design was 3 Latin Squares with periods of 28 d replicated twice. Concentrate intake and eating pattern were recorded daily, and concentrate wastage and animal BW every 14 d. Behavior was registered on d 20 of each period by scan sampling to analyze the general activity and social behavior. Data were analyzed using a mixed-effects model. The PF bulls consumed more concentrate (P < 0.01), but had lesser (P < 0.01) waste and day-to-day CV of concentrate intake compared with CF (7.0 and 6.7 ± 0.08 kg of DM/d, 0.06 and 0.11 ± 0.004 kg of DM/d, 16.7 and 21.3 ± 0.99%, respectively). However, ADG (P = 0.11) and feed efficiency were not affected by physical form. The eating pattern of PF bulls was characterized (P < 0.01) by a lesser meal size and meal duration, but a greater meal frequency and eating rate than CF bulls (630.9 and 668.4 ± 17.32 g/meal, 3.6 and 4.2 ± 0.18 min/meal, 11.8 and 10.9 ± 0.32 meals/d, 193.0 and 174.4 ± 11.79 g/min, respectively). Social behavior was not influenced by physical form. In conclusion, the decrease of pellet quality modified eating behavior increasing meal duration and decreasing concentrate intake, may be bulls fed crumbles were sorting avoiding fines. A long-term study is necessary, as it could be hypothesized that the effects of decreased pellet quality on decreased concentrate intake could impair performance.