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Serve up juicy, flavorful beef tacos easier than ever before with my Crockpot Taco Meat Recipe! This set-and-forget recipe for taco meat in the crock pot, with homemade taco seasoning, is the meal planner's dream!
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Taco Meat in Crockpot
There's no meal-plan hero quite like taco meat! Tacos, burritos, Mexican lasagna, dips, and taco salads- there's no limit to what taco meat can do! It's the ultimate protein for use in more delicious dishes than you can count.
And it all starts here: an easy, no-effort recipe for taco meat in the slow cooker! This incredibly tender, flavor-packed taco meat recipe makes a big batch with 12 hearty servings and is practically hands-free. Once you've got it started, you can set and forget, and let the smell of taco spices fill the house!
Ready to make meals easy day after day, or just have the best Taco Tuesday ever? Then try out my crockpot taco meat recipe! When it's this easy to make, you'll never go back to making it in a pan. And it tastes even better than ever.
Leftover Taco Meat Recipes
Transform your taco leftovers with my list of leftover taco meat recipes!
Slow Cooker Taco Meat Ingredients
- 90/10 Lean ground beef (ground turkey may also be used)
- Water
- Chili powder
- Garlic powder
- Dried onion
- Black pepper
- Paprika
- Salt
You can also use my homemade taco seasoning mix!
Crockpot Taco Recipe
- Place the hamburger meat in the crockpot. Using a wooden spoon, break it up into chunks.
- Combine the seasonings in a small bowl and mix, then pour them over the beef and mix them in.
- Pour the water over top.
- Cover, then set the crock pot to HIGH and cook for 3 hours, or LOW for 6 hours. Stir once or twice during cooking. Adjust seasonings as necessary, serve, and enjoy!
Slow Cooked Taco Meat Tips
- If using less lean ground beef: Cook the beef by itself for two hours, then drain the fat and add the rest of the ingredients. Stir to break up the meat and cook one more hour.
- You can also use three packets of taco seasoning of choice. Choose your favorite!
- Make sure to add the water! It helps keep the meat moist and lets the seasonings seep into it to flavor it fully.
- Give the meat a good stir a few times as it cooks. This will help keep it from cooking into a giant disk!
- For sweeter taco meat, add a tablespoon of brown sugar. Add two teaspoons of crushed red pepper or a dash of hot sauce for spicier taco meat!
- If your ground beef is frozen, make sure to take it out of the freezer and place it in the refrigerator overnight to thaw before cooking. Do not cook it from frozen.
Crockpot Taco Meat FAQs
You sure can! Raw ground meat will cook quickly enough in a slow cooker to avoid any risk of contamination and will reach high enough temperatures to cook thoroughly. The slow cooker is a great way to reliably cook a large amount of ground meat all at once.
Taco meat can dry out if you don't add extra water to the slow cooker. I suggest adding water before turning on the heat. This will keep the meat nice and moist, and serves the double purpose of helping the seasoning melt into the meat!
If you're using ground meat with a higher than 10% fat percentage, I would suggest draining the meat before adding the seasoning. For lean meat, however, you can add the seasonings directly to the meat before cooking it, as the low fat content will keep it from needing to be drained!
Taco Recipes
- Birria Tacos: Slow-cooked and spice-stewed beef, melty cheese, and tortillas fried in spiced beef fat. They're a dream come true!
- Mushroom Tacos: Eating vegan doesn't mean giving up on delicious tacos! These vegan-friendly mushroom tacos are full flavored and juicy!
- Tilapia Tacos: Use up leftover tilapia in a new, delicious way with my incredible tilapia tacos! Topped with fresh peach salsa for even more flavor.
- Carne Picada Tacos: Chunks of hearty beef and tomatoes stew together in the slow cooker for this incredibly flavorful taco filling.
- Air Fryer Shrimp Tacos: One of the easiest tacos you'll ever make, and by far one of the best! These refreshing and ultra-easy tacos are filled with shrimp and fresh, crunchy coleslaw.
- Chicken Tinga Tacos
- Taco Soup: An easy taco soup perfect for cold nights!
- Taco Salad Bowl
- Easy Taco Casserole: For an easy taco night dinner the whole family will love!
Try using ground beef to make Homemade Sloppy Joes!
If you enjoyed the recipe, leave a comment and a rating below!
Crockpot Taco Meat
Equipment
- Slow Cooker 6 qt.
Ingredients
- 3 lbs Ground beef - 90/10 lean
- 1 cup Water
- 3 Tablespoons Chili powder
- 2 Tablespoons Garlic powder
- 2 Tablespoons Dried chopped onion
- 1 Tablespoon Black pepper
- 1 Tablespoon Paprika
- Salt - to taste
Instructions
- Place the hamburger meat in the crockpot. Using a wooden spoon, break it up into chunks.
- Combine the seasonings in a small bowl and mix, then pour them over the beef and mix them in.
- Pour the water over top.
- Cover, then set the crock pot to HIGH and cook for 3 hours, or LOW for 6 hours. Stir once or twice during cooking. Adjust seasonings as necessary, serve, and enjoy!
Notes
- If using less lean ground beef: Cook the beef by itself for two hours, then drain the fat and add the rest of the ingredients. Stir to break up the meat and cook one more hour.
- You can also use 3 packets of taco seasoning of choice. Choose your favorite!
- Make sure to add the water! It helps keep the meat moist and lets the seasonings seep into the meat to fully flavor it.
- Give the meat a good stir a few times as it cooks. This will help keep it from cooking into a big disk.
- For sweeter taco meat, add a tablespoon of brown sugar. For spicier taco meat, add 2 teaspoons of crushed red pepper or a dash of hot sauce!
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