Crockpot Taco Meat – This taco meat makes dinner super simple! Â Only a handful of ingredients for delicious taco meat made right in the slow cooker and ready to go at supper time!
Be sure to try out our Classic Ground Beef Tacos too if you don’t have time for the slow cooker!
Whew, you guys! Â We just got back from our trip to Chicago really late on Sunday night. Â Ok, fine, it was 10:00.
BUT it felt soooo much later after a busy weekend and a long day of travel. Â Know what I mean?
We had a blast – it was the kiddos first time in Chicago and they absolutely loved everything about it.
Basically, we just did all the touristy stuff possible. Â We also ate A LOT of delicious food.
I was really hoping to take the kids to swim in Lake Michigan, but it was surprisingly cool while we were there!
Of course snap back to reality that it is actually July when we got back to Kansas and 100 degree, humid, sweaty weather.
Back to reality also means a heap and a half of laundry to do after our trip, and just getting caught up on everything work/life related in general.
So, here I was all sad on Monday because I had to cook dinner and I really just wanted one more slice of Chicago deep dish pizza.
No pizza for me.
That’s ok. Â This taco meat is delicious and saves my life when I really am just so busy that cooking is an afterthought.
And everyone in my house loves tacos, so no complaining, woohoo!
Let’s get down to taco meat business (taco meat business, what??) shall we?
I make two pounds of meat at a time. Â This gets the four of us two meals, so we usually do tacos one night, then another night during the week we can do burritos, nachos, taco salad – use your imagination!
I like my taco meat to have a little garlic flavor, hence the garlic powder. Â It’s not a requirement at all for this recipe if you want to leave it out and keep it even more simple.
I use the leanest ground beef I can get my hands on for this recipe. Â But, you’ll notice that the mixture is somewhat liquidy when it’s finished cooking because of the salsa.
That’s ok, just drain it in a colander, put it back in the crockpot on warm until you’re ready to eat. Â Just don’t rinse the meat or you’ll take all that tasty flavor away!
Enjoy!
~Nichole
Crockpot Taco Meat
Ingredients
- 2 Pounds Lean Ground Beef
- 1 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 2 Packages Taco Seasoning, About 4 Tablespoons
- 2 Cups Salsa
Instructions
- Place ground beef into slow cooker. Top with the taco seasoning, garlic powder, and salsa. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3 hours.
- When the meat is finished cooking, drain any liquid from the crockpot and break up the beef as desired with a fork.
- Serve with your favorite taco shells, burrito shells, tortilla chips, and toppings!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This is the best taco meat, I’ve ever had. I made mine with ground turkey-instead of beef. It sure was delicious!!
Can you do this without adding salsa?
If I only do 1lb of meat is it still the same cook time?
what kind of salsa did you use to cook in with the meat?
I made this tonight it was super yummy!! Can I frezze the left overs?
Hi, Kelli! Yes, you can freeze the leftovers! I’d use them within one month after freezing. 🙂
If frozen what cook time do you recommend ?
Hi, Kayla! I’d say to give it an extra hour whether you’re cooking on low or high.
I doubled the recipe and am wondering…do I put in all the meat as a big clump, or do I break the raw meat up with a spatula before it cooks for the next 6 hours?
Hi, Katy! Either way is fine, really. If you want to break the meat up before that works. The meat comes out super tender so if you don’t break it up before cooking it will still come apart easily when it’s finished.
If I were to double this recipe for a party would the cook time remain the same?
Yes 🙂
Frozen or thawes Ground Beef?
I typically use thawed, but either one is fine! 🙂
so you don’t have to brown the meat you can leave it uncooked in the crockpot
Hey, Sarah! Yes, the meat cooks in the crockpot. No need to brown it first.
If frozen will it take longer to cook?
Thanks for this!! Definitely going to have to give it a try.