3-INGREDIENT CROCK POT BEEF TACO MEAT

I want to preface this blog post recipe by saying EVERYONE should own a crock pot! I don’t care what your cooking skill level is; crock pots are one of the single most useful kitchen appliances out there.

Why?

1.      Anyone can use it; if you can put ingredients into a bowl you’re already a crock pot master

2.      You come home to an already-prepared home-cooked meal

3.      There’s only one dish to clean (or there’s no cleaning if you use a crock pot liner)

As of lately, I've been trying to come up with recipes that have five ingredients or less as part of my Bachelor Series (more info on why I started that here). So I had the idea of making ground beef taco meat. Taco meat is great because of its versatility – serve it with tortillas as a taco, over lettuce as a salad, or even with eggs in an omelet. And of course, what better way to make it than in a crock pot – slow-cooked in seasonings for hours until it’s exploding with flavor!

And of course, I stayed true to my goal of five ingredients or less. All you need for this recipe is ground beef, taco seasoning, and salsa. I know most cooking blogs frown upon using pre-packaged taco seasoning, but it serves its purpose well in this recipe (it’s quick, easy, and cheap).

Additionally, you could make this same recipe and substitute chicken, pork or even turkey for the ground beef! 

3-INGREDIENT CROCK POT BEEF TACO MEAT

Yield: Makes about 6 (2.5 ounce) tacos

Calories: 148 calories

Printable Recipe

INGREDIENTS

·      1 pound 95% lean ground beef

·      1 (1.25 ounce) taco seasoning packet

·      2 cups salsa

·      Tortillas, lettuce, cheese, salsa, pico de gallo, guacamole, avocado, or any other additions you may want to serve with the meat

DIRECTIONS

1.     Place ground beef in crock pot

2.     Pour taco seasoning on top of ground beef

3.     Pour salsa on top of ground beef

4.     Mix it up with a spoon, breaking the ground beef up into smaller chunks

5.     Turn the crock pot on low and cook meat for about 4 hours, may need more or less time depending on your crock pot model / amount of ground beef

Mix taco seasoning, salsa, and ground beef together in crock pot - breaking it up into smaller chunks

TIP: If you use a crock pot liner there is literally NO clean up! Just remove the liner and throw it away!

My favorite way to serve the taco meat is on corn tortillas with pico de gallo and avocado.

Serve the meat with guacamole and brown rice! Both are very healthy options and make for a meal rich in whole grains and healthy fats