Happy Wednesday, friends!
Okay, today’s post isn’t even a recipe, it’s just a really solid idea that I wanted to make sure you were doing too.
We LOVE tacos at our house and on busy nights when we have several activities in many different directions, I make us EASY WEEKNIGHT SLOW COOKER TACOS.
What does that mean?
I’m not really “making” my tacos in the slow cooker, but I’m certainly letting the taco meat hang out there a bit and stay warm until we can get home to assemble.
I love this method for many reasons:
1: If my family can’t all sit down together at one time, it’s really easy for people to take the lid off and make their tacos when they need to eat.
2: If you have picky eaters in the house or people who are trying to add more protein, more veggies or let’s be real, more cheese, they can make their tacos to fit them. It’s an easy supper to mix and match and make everyone happy.
3: I love that my taco meat can stay warm as little or as long as I need it to in my slow cooker. Some days, I put it in there early while I’m sipping my coffee and other days, I add it in right before we leave and then an hour later, we come home and dig in. It’s very versatile!
4: You can feed a crowd with this one! This is one of those glorious meals you can easily double or triple if you have extra mouths to feed.
So, whip up some taco meat, pull out your tortillas, add your toppings, and easily make a meal everyone will love.
Enjoy! xx
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Easy Weeknight Slow Cooker Tacos
Description
This isn’t really a recipe, but more an idea for busy weeks. My Slow Cooker Tacos are a family favorite around here! I’m not really “making” my tacos in the slow cooker, but I’m certainly letting the taco meat hang out there a bit and stay warm until we can get home to assemble.
Ingredients
Make your tacos anyway you like, but this is how I typically make ours:
- 2 pounds ground beef
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons chili powder (one tablespoon for every pound of beef you use)
- 1 can of corn (drained, we love Trader Joe’s)
- 1 (4 oz) can of chopped green chiles
- 1 (8 oz) can of tomato sauce
- flour tortillas, crunchy shells, chips, rice…whatever you want the “bed” of the meal to be
- chopped green onions to garnish
- Guacamole (we love this one!)
- any extra toppings like salsa, sour cream and/or cheese
Instructions
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown up your ground beef in a drizzle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Once browned and crumbly, add in a pinch of salt and pepper as well as your chili powder.
- Transfer this ground beef mixture to your slow cooker and add in your corn, chopped green chiles, and tomato sauce. Cover and either keep on the “warm” setting or cook on low.
- When you’re ready to enjoy, remove the lid and add your taco mixture over your favorite tortillas, rice, chips or even greens, top with garnishes and serve.
Jami Romano says
I love this idea! That way it stays on the counter ready for whoever needs it on a busy night ◡̈
Alison says
I am excited to try this method! Thank you for sharing the breakdown of how you feed everyone at different times. I get overwhelmed on the busy nights and find myself heating up frozen nuggets for everyone more often than I maybe should 🙈
Sandra Roberts says
I love this hack. We do it also and to me, the meat is always more flavorful just from simmering in the crock pot. It’s the perfect meal for busy school nights. Side note – I’ll be adding corn to the next batch I make. We add it to sloppy joes, but I’ve never put it in tacos!
MelanieL says
Love this recipe/idea!! I feel like there’s something about taco meat that’s been in the slow cooker that really takes it up a notch, it’s so good and saucy!!
Kacey says
Yumm! I don’t know why I’ve never thought to use my slow cooker for taco meat- genius! My mouth is watering. Is it weird I now want tacos for breakfast?? LOL
Michelle says
I’ve done this at the lake but WITHOUT browning the meat first. Just put the raw hamburger meat in the crockpot and cook on high for a few hours (at least 3). I know, sounds gross, but it works! I also add drained black beans for even more protein! We also sometimes just use individual frito or dorito bags for “walking tacos” – open the bag long-wise, fill with meat and toppings an eat with a plastic fork…then everything just goes into the trash when you’re done! Easy-peasy!
Stephanie says
I’ve started mixing in a can of refried beans with my taco meat and it makes it extra delicious! Bonus tip: any leftover meat mixture can be frozen and used for a yummy topping for nachos later !
Jen says
We’ve got kids on different schedules so I’ve been doing your crockpot enchilada beef (the ground beef cooked, enchilada sauce and beans) in there for afterschool/practice evenings and it works great.