Slow Cooker Taco Meat (Ground Beef)

This slow cooker taco meat is a dump-and-go ground beef recipe with no pre-cooking, ready for taco night, burrito bowls, or easy meal prep.

Course dinner, Main Course

Cuisine American, Mexican

Diet Gluten Free

Keyword Crockpot, easy, ground beef, one pot, Slow Cooker, taco meat, tacos

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 2

Total Time 2 5

Servings

Calories 308

Add the ground beef, salsa, garlic powder, cumin, paprika, chili powder and salt to a 6-quart slow cooker.
Break the meat apart into small pieces and stir to combine with the other ingredients.
Cook on high for 2-3 hours, or low for 4-5 hours, or until the beef is cooked through. Do not remove the lid during the cooking process.
When done cooking, stir to recombine. Serve as-is for taco meat, or drain some or all of the liquid for a drier meat.
Serve in with taco shells or warm tortillas and toppings of choice.

Optional Serving Suggestions: 4-ingredient guacamole is a must in my option, and then the sky is the limit. Hard taco shells, small flour or corn tortillas, or large tortillas for burritos. I love it in a taco bowl, too, with a side of my taco slaw.
Grease: If you're worried about the grease, you have a couple of options. Using lean ground beef will make is so there is not excess grease to deal with. If using a higher fat ratio ground beef, you can leave it as is (fat equals flavor after all), or drain the liquid after cooking. Just don't put the liquid down the drain as it contains fat. You can always add more salsa at the end of the meat ends up too dry.
Spice-Level: The heat level of this taco meat will depend on the type of salsa and chili powder you use. For mild taco meat, use mild salsa and mild chili powder. For spicy taco meat, use spicy salsa and hot chili powder.
Salsa: I tested this recipe with a number of different salsas, all of which worked well. However, overall we preferred a "thick and chunky" style jarred salsa (Trader Joe's and Muir Glen both make good organic options), or look for a store brand that doesn't contain added sugar.