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.
Do I add water like the packet of taco seasoning says to?
I usually add chili beans for our taco meat for burritos, would you suggest throwing them in with the raw meat for the whole cook time or throwing them in later on?
I think that I would add them at the end. Maybe about 20 minutes or so before serving so that the beans can warm through.
Going to do this with 1 lb of hamburger meat, what would you suggest for the time?
Can I do this with frozen but already cooked hamburger?
Yes, should be fine. I’d just cook it on low and watch it if you can so that it doesn’t burn.
Hello,
I tried this recipe today and not only did it burn but it wasn’t thoroughly cooked on low, it completely burned. What did I do wrong? I used 1/2 pound ground beef, it did not cook all the way and burned.
Hello! I’m sorry to hear that the meat burnt. I haven’t ever had that issue, especially cooked on low. However, I haven’t only cooked 1/2 pound of ground beef, I’ve always done more. If you are only going to do 1/2 pound, maybe try giving it a good stir halfway through cooking and watch your cook time carefully. I hope that helps 🙂
What kind of salsa did you use? Or anyone that has tried this?
I typically use Pace mild salsa, but any kind will work!
Awesome! Ok I have Julio’s on hand so that’s what I will use. Do you think yours has a spicy kick to it…. my kids don’t like a lot of spice and I’m wondering if I need to scale back on the salsa or taco seasoning ?.?
Just finished cooking the taco meat and it is awesome! Can’t wait to fix my tacos.
Hi! Around how many tacos per person does this make?
What kind of salsa did you use
How many pounds do you think can fit into one crockpot? If I wanted to make 6 pounds how many crockpots do you think I’d need?
I’ve made three pounds in my 6 quart Crockpot before. So, I would plan on using two. 🙂