This easy slow cooker taco meat is packed full of flavor and is effortless to put together. Made with ground beef, homemade taco seasoning, and salsa. Cooks up in 3-4 hours for the best tacos.
Load all the ingredients into the crockpot for an easy dinner recipe that is ready to be loaded into tacos. Serve with our Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice for a complete dinner idea that is easy to make.
In this article, you will learn how easy it is to cook taco meat in a slow cooker. What's the best taco seasoning to use.
Whether you need to brown the ground beef or not. As well as what are some sides that can go with tacos.
How Do You Make Taco Meat In The Crock Pot
Ground beef is our first ingredient. When I make taco meat I normally use 70- 80% lean ground beef.
That way there is some fat to help give the meat added flavor. However, ground turkey or chicken would also work great for tacos.
The next ingredient that is needed for this recipe would be seasoning. Now store-bought seasoning would work but we have a great recipe for homemade taco seasoning. I love that this seasoning is easy to make up in minutes and is full of flavor.
I feel the best seasoning for this recipe would be homemade seasoning. Which is what I used and what the recipe will call for.
That leaves us with the last ingredient and that would be salsa. Salsa can bring more heat to the meat depending on the heat level of the salsa. Since my family is more on the mild side I use mild salsa.
To make the taco meat all you have to do is add the three ingredients into the crock pot. I like to use a meat chopper to chop the meat while also mixing everything together.
There is no need to brown the ground beef. The raw ground beef will cook up nicely in the slow cooker.
Another way to kick up the heat volume would be by adding jalapenos to cook in with the meat. You could also add onions to cook in with the meat if you don't like raw onions.
Place the lid on the slow cooker and set it to high for 3-4 hours. Cook until the meat is no longer pink.
Once the cooking time is up mix all the cooked ingredients again. I like to go back in again with my meat chopper and break up the meat a little more.
Making Tacos
I will break the meat up about 15-20 minutes before serving. This way all the chopped-up meat has time to soak up the flavors from the juices.
Before serving or as you scoop out the taco meat you should drain the extra fat from the meat. I like to have a can under my kitchen sink to drain fat drippings into.
With the crock pot taco meat all cooked up, it's time to talk toppings and shells. This recipe is great to fill either soft or hard shells.
But you could also use it for wet burritos, chips, cheese deluxe, or taco salad.
Taco toppings in our house are the traditional staples. Shredded cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, and sour cream. Go ahead and topped with traditional toppings or get creative with your topping.
What Side To Serve With Tacos
When we have tacos I'm always looking for great side dishes to try. My guacamole or pico de gallo recipe is always a hit. Rice is also a good fit with tacos.
The last time we had tacos I made white rice that I added black beans and cilantro to. It was simple and delicious.
However, if you want something a little on the cheesy side you should try Monday Is Meatloaf's recipe for Instant Pot Cheesy Ranch Potatoes. These potatoes are made with few ingredients and are sure to be a hit with the family.
If you are looking for a corn and black bean side dish recipe. Head over to Berly's Kitchen for their Corn and Black Bean Salsa recipe.
Made with fresh ingredients like cilantro, jalapenos, queso fresco, red onion, and tomatoes. All blended with corn and black beans for a colorful salsa. We hope that you find our easy slow cooker taco meat great to take along to potlucks or to have ready on a busy week night.
- Crock Pot Chicken Tacos
- Doritos Taco Salad
- Seven Layer Taco Dip
- Slow Cooker Beef Roast
- Bean And Ham Soups In Crock Pot
- Taco Soup ~ Instant Pot
- Instant Pot Lasagna Soup
Head over to My Creative Manner's Youtube channel to see videos on how to make our delicious recipes.
Easy Slow Cooker Taco Meat
Learn how to make this delicious recipe for Crock-Pot Taco Meat to fill your favorite shells with.
Ingredients
- 2 Pounds Meat
- 1 Cup Salsa I used Mild
- 4 Tablespoons Homemade Taco Seasoning See link in notes for recipe
Instructions
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Inside the crock pot add the raw ground beef.
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Pour on top of the ground beef the salsa and sprinkle in the taco seasoning. Using a spatula or meat chopper to break up the meat and mix the ingrdeinets together.
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Place lid on crock pot and cook on high for 3-4 hours. Or until there is no pink in the meat.
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Once cook time is done. Use a meat chopper or a spatula to break up the taco meat and sever in your preferred type of shells.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
Recipe for homemade taco seasoning
The nutritional value may vary depending on the ingredients used.
Thank you for visiting My Creative Manner. We hope that you enjoy this and many more of our recipes. My Creative Manner is not responsible for the outcome of any of our recipes found on our website. Or that may be linked from or to other websites. The desired outcome of these recipes may not be achieved due to several factors, including ingredients, equipment, errors/typos, or the reader's individual cooking skills.
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