The Best Taco Meat is Slow Taco Meat
A long simmer in the slow-cooker is the secret to our insanely flavorful, 3-ingredient taco meat. Yes it’s true, you can just quickly sauté ground beef in a skillet with some taco seasoning and call that taco meat. But if you really love ground beef tacos and really want the BEST taco meat, it’s all about a long, slow simmer with tomatoes, spices and aromatics. Luckily, store-bought salsa basically has all of those things, so it is our Crock-Pot taco meat secret weapon. Once the meat is cooked, the sky’s the limit! Obviously you’ve got the makings of a really good taco night dinner, but don’t stop there! One bite of this delicious taco meat, and you’ll be dreaming up a zillion ways to use it.
Taco Meat Seasoning—Shortcut Edition
When we say “taco meat” we mean lean ground beef—we like to use a 90/10 mixture. So, ground beef is one ingredient (and we’re guessing you already knew it was one of the three!). What else is in this taco meat recipe? Just two more things! You’ll need:
- Store-bought salsa. We like to buy the stuff in the refrigerated section of the grocery store. It’s fresher and much, much more flavorful than the jarred stuff.
- A taco seasoning packet. Or, you can use homemade! Have you tried our taco seasoning recipe yet? A spiced-but-not-too-spicy blend of cumin, smoked paprika, garlic powder and other taco seasonings, it’s the very BEST. However, store-bought is fine, too.
How to Cook Taco Meat in a Crock-Pot
Now you know the ‘why’ of cooking taco meat in a Crock-Pot, but now you’ve got to get cooking! Here’s how to make it:
- Dump the ground beef, salsa, and taco seasoning into your slow-cooker.
- Cook! Either on low for four hours, or high for three.
- IF you’ll be close by, every hour or so, stir the meat and then drain off any liquid that accumulated into a heat-proof container. Let the liquid cool before tossing it in the trash. If you won’t be home while the meat cooks, it’s OK to skip this step.
- Eat! That’s it—taco meat is ready!
What To Do With All Of My Delicious Taco Meat?
Eat it straight out of the Crock-Pot? We’re not knocking that option. But why stop there!? Try it:
- On taco salads! Lettuce, taco meat, avocado, more salsa, some cheese, black olives, maybe even a few tortilla chips—oh yesssss.
- In breakfast burritos! It could be a filling as simple as taco meat, scrambled eggs, and a little cheddar cheese.
- Try making a pizza night / taco night hybrid and use it as a pizza topper!
Tools You’ll Need:
- Crock-Pot
- Umm. That’s it. This recipe is really, really easy!
More Easy Mexican Recipes To Try ASAP!
Show Us Your Stuff!
Show us how you used your Crock-Pot taco meat! We’d love to see. Snap a photo of your dinner and tag us on Instagram using @themodernproper and #themodernproper so we can see. Happy eating!
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