• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Real Mom Nutrition

A no-judgments zone about feeding a family.

  • About
    • Start Here
    • Work With Me
    • Press
    • Disclosure & Policies
    • Contact
  • New Posts
  • Recipes
    • Most Popular Recipes
    • Breakfast
    • Dinner
    • Snacks
    • Desserts
    • Drinks
  • Feeding Kids
    • Picky Eating
    • Packing Lunches
    • Nutrition Ideas + Advice
    • School Wellness
    • Snacks In Sports
    • Meal Planning + Food Shopping
  • Freebies
    • Free Picky Eating E-Course
    • Free Lunch Packing E-Course

November 5, 2019

How To Make Slow Cooker Taco Meat For The Freezer

Jump to Recipe
  • Share
  • Tweet

This Make Ahead Slow Cooker Taco Meat recipe lets you cook once and have four meals in the freezer for busy nights.

Beef Tacos

Thank you to the Ohio Beef Council for sponsoring this post! 

My teenager’s favorite meal is beef tacos, so we eat them regularly. And I finally got smart this Fall and started batch-cooking taco meat. But not by standing over the stove browning pound after pound.

I cook it all at once in my slow cooker instead.

My slow cooker hasn’t seen much action since the Instant Pot came into my life. But when I was experimenting with batch-cooking taco meat, I liked how I could open the lid of the slow cooker to give it a stir or test the temperature. You could certainly use the Instant Pot to brown taco meat, which is what a lot of recipes call for. But then you might as well be browning it on the stove!

  You might also like: Slow Cooker Beef Lasagna

How to Make Taco Meat in the Crockpot

Place four pounds of ground beef in the slow cooker ceramic insert. Mash with a potato masher or spoon to break it up.

Ground beef in crock pot

Cook on HIGH for 2-3 hours (or on low for 4-6 hours) or until temperature reaches 160 degrees F (it takes my crockpot about 2.5 hours). The edges will cook first, so stir and mash after an hour and then stir a few additional times during cooking, breaking up remaining big pieces (be sure you’ve stirred it well before measuring the temperature).

Pour the cooked meat into a colander set over a bowl or the sink to drain excess moisture. Return ground meat to slow cooker, add enchilada sauce and spices, and stir well to combine. Cook an additional 10 minutes.

Taco meat in crock pot

Remove taco meat and portion into containers to cool slightly. Freeze in containers (this is the Pyrex set I use) or transfer into freezer safe bags. Quart-sized bag works well for one-pound portions, gallon-sized for two-pound portions.

Make Ahead Taco Meat

Need more kid-friendly dinner recipes?

Grab a free copy of my e-cookbook, "No Fuss Family Dinners", featuring 11 easy, family-friendly meals.

You'll also receive my weekly message. Unsubscribe anytime.

Is Beef Healthy For Kids?

Beef is a high-quality source of protein. That means it has all the essential amino acids (building blocks of protein) that we need to get from food. A three-ounce serving has 25 grams of protein, plus nutrients like iron and zinc that are key during growth and development. Protein also provides energy, repairs and builds muscle, and is filling–so it’s a great choice for active kids. 

Tips for Buying Ground Beef

  • Look for bulk packages of ground beef, which might save you money over single-pound portions.
  • Choose ground beef that’s bright red in color and firm to the touch (avoid any packages that have excessive liquid in them).
  • Keep ground beef in the refrigerator for 1-2 days or in the freezer for up to one month.
  You might also like: All About Buying Meat In Bulk

How to Freezer Slow Cooker Taco Meat

This recipe makes four pounds of taco meat. Portion it in a way that makes sense for your family, such as dividing it into one-pound or two-pound quantities. You can use glass Pyrex dishes or freezer bags. If using freezer bags, portion the meat into the bag, push out the excess air, then press it flat. Laying it on a baking sheet to freeze it helps the bag freeze flat so it’s easier to stack.

Taco meat for freezer

What to Serve with Crockpot Taco Meat

Top your crockpot ground beef tacos with shredded cheese, lettuce, tomato or salsa. We also like ours with my No Fuss Guacamole.

Beef tacos

Continue to Content
Make Ahead Taco Meat

Make Ahead Slow Cooker Taco Meat

Yield: 20
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 3 hours
Total Time: 3 hours 15 minutes

This Make Ahead Slow Cooker Taco Meat lets you cook once and have four meals on hand for busy nights!

Ingredients

  • 4 pounds 93-95% lean ground beef
  • 1 1/4 cups enchilada sauce , (homemade or store-bought)
  • 4 teaspoons chili powder
  • 2 teaspoons cumin
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 2 teaspoons onion powder
  • 2 teaspoons paprika
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

  1. Place ground beef in the slow cooker ceramic insert. Mash with a potato masher or spoon to break it up.
  2. Cook on HIGH for 2-3 hours (or on low for 4-6 hours) or until temperature reaches 160 degrees F (it takes my crockpot about 2.5 hours). The edges will cook first, so stir and mash after an hour and then stir a few additional times during cooking, breaking up remaining big pieces (be sure you’ve stirred it well before measuring the temperature).
  3. Pour the cooked meat into a colander set over a bowl or the sink to drain excess moisture. Return ground meat to slow cooker, add enchilada sauce and spices, and stir well to combine. Cook an additional 10 minutes.
  4. Portion meat into containers to cool slightly. Freeze in containers or transfer into freezer safe bags. Quart-sized bag works well for one-pound portions, gallon-sized for two-pound portions.
  5. To prepare: Defrost the taco meat overnight in the refrigerator (or defrost in the microwave), then empty into a skillet and reheat until bubbly and steaming (at least 160 degrees). 

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

  • Hamilton Beach Portable 6-Quart Set & Forget Digital Programmable Slow Cooker 
    Hamilton Beach Portable 6-Quart Set & Forget Digital Programmable Slow Cooker 
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 20 Serving Size: 1/20 of recipe
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 186Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 81mgSodium: 329mgCarbohydrates: 2gFiber: 1gSugar: 1gProtein: 27g
© Sally
Cuisine: Mexican
Thanks to the sponsor of this post, the Ohio Beef Council, which represents the 17,000 beef farming families in Ohio.

I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Hi! I'm Sally, a dietitian-mom.

I believe that EVERY mom can feel successful and confident about feeding her kids, lose the stress, and finally enjoy mealtime again.

Sign up for my weekly emails for support and inspiration (plus dinner ideas!) and I'll send you 16 game-changing tips for feeding your kids--even the super-duper picky ones.

  • Share
  • Tweet

Filed Under: Dinner, Recipes Tagged With: beef, crock pot, crockpot, recipes, slow cooker, tacos

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Shari says

    February 6, 2020 at 8:27 pm

    This recipe sounds yummy! I’m really big on making a lot of things in bulk and portioning them out into single-serving sizes, and this recipe will be perfect for that! Thanks for the ideas!

    Reply
    • Sally says

      February 7, 2020 at 7:52 am

      Hope your family enjoys it!

      Reply
  2. Alisa says

    September 14, 2020 at 8:27 pm

    I don’t have any ground beef in the freezer right now so do you think I could substitute 93% lean ground turkey?

    Reply
    • Sally says

      September 15, 2020 at 3:37 am

      Hi Alisa–I actually have a recipe here for slow cooker turkey that you could double or triple: https://www.realmomnutrition.com/slow-cooker-turkey-taco-meat/

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Slow Cooker Lasagna - Real Mom Nutrition says:
    November 13, 2019 at 4:20 pm

    […] You might also like: Make Ahead Slow Cooker Taco Meat […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Get it!

How To See Seven UT & AZ National Parks In Six Days

How to Make An Epic ALDI Cheese Board

Veggie Nuggets

Healthy Veggie Nuggets Recipe That Kids LOVE!

Copyright © 2021 Real Mom Nutrition · Site Design by Rita Barry. Banner images by Michelle Daniel Photography
Disclosure & Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2021 · Brunch Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

End mealtime battles TONIGHT!

Get this free bonus download.

You'll also get my weekly message. Unsubscribe anytime.

x