Easiest Ever Ground Beef in a Slow Cooker
One of the best time-saving kitchen tips I’ve found is that you can cook ground beef in a slow cooker. Recipes that call for ground beef usually require you to brown it first (slow cooker or otherwise). Personally, I despise raw meat. Looking at it, touching it, cleaning up afterward… it is high on my eww factor list. And, I have this thing for totally and completely cooking meat. My husband jokes that I like my steak cooked like a piece of cardboard. I disagree with that. Hmph. However, I will admit that I like meat well done, and I probably brown my ground beef longer than most…you know, just to be sure.
The best part about this recipe is that it doesn’t require me to stand over the stovetop at the busy dinnertime hour, and it allows me to cook a big batch of ground beef all at once – simplifying clean up and eliminating the need to touch raw meat. Let’s be honest though, it had me at “no touching raw meat.”
Y’all, I really wanted to take a pin-worthy photo for this post, but if I wait for time to do that I won’t ever post this, so here’s an unedited cell phone snapshot I took before I put the lid on my last batch! Nice, huh? 😉
If you’re really squeamish about raw meat, you might consider buying some disposable food service gloves. I’m not saying I won’t touch raw meat when I’m not wearing these…ok, it’s true 😉
I wasn’t going to post a “recipe” because it’s pretty much just this: get some ground beef, throw it in the crock pot, season it if you want, smash it up when it’s done cooking. But for those of you who might want something to print – here you go!
- Ground Beef
- Seasoning (optional)
- Water or broth (optional)
- Put the ground beef in your slow cooker (as much as will fit - mine holds about 7 pounds), breaking it into smaller pieces (not necessary, but helps fit more )
- Add seasoning (optional)
- Pour a little broth or water over the meat (I've done it without any liquid as well)
- Turn slow cooker to high
- Cook for 3-4 hours (time will vary, depending on your slow cooker)
- Break up meat with a metal potato masher or pastry cutter
- Drain meat (I just use a slotted spoon to take the meat out of the slow cooker)
- Discard or save the fat for use later
- Once cool, place meat in ziploc bags (or freezer container of your preference - I like ziplocs because I can store the meat flat. It takes up less space in my freezer and thaws quicker)
- Label and freeze.
- When you're ready to serve, heat it on the stovetop as you would with whatever recipe you are using. Or, toss it into the slow cooker for crock pot recipes calling for browned beef.
Note: Lately I’ve been adding taco seasoning (I make my own) because that’s the flavor we use most often. You could use italian seasoning or just add the seasoning when you are ready to add the meat to your meal. In the past I just cooked it without seasoning, but we use taco seasoning most often, and adding it at this stage saves me time later.
A while back I upgraded from my old slow cooker to this one: Hamilton Beach 7 Quart Stay Or Go Slow Cooker
Hope this tip saves you time too. Enjoy!
