Ground beef is a kitchen staple in many households. It’s affordable, easy to prepare, and versatile enough to use in everything from pasta sauce and chili to burgers and tacos. While stovetop browning is the traditional way to prepare ground beef, using a crock pot is an excellent hands-off alternative.
Cooking ground beef in a crock pot yields tender flavorful meat that’s perfect for meal prepping or whipping up quick weeknight dinners. In this comprehensive guide you’ll learn the benefits of slow cooking ground beef, helpful tips for best results, and how to drain and store the finished product. With a few simple ingredients and steps, you can have hearty, delicious ground beef ready to mix into your favorite recipes.
Benefits of Cooking Ground Beef in a Crock Pot
Here are some of the biggest advantages to using a crock pot instead of a skillet to prepare ground beef:
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Even cooking The steady, low heat of the crock pot cooks the meat evenly all the way through. No more dealing with a browned exterior and undercooked middle.
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Hands-off ease: Simply add the ingredients to the slow cooker, turn it on, and let it simmer away. No need to constantly stir and monitor it.
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Flavor development: The long cooking time allows the spices and seasonings to infuse the beef with more complex flavors.
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Easy batch cooking: Cook up to 3-5 pounds of beef at once to use in meals throughout the week.
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Minimal mess: Without hot grease splattering, there’s less cleanup required afterwards.
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Safety: Keeping the stovetop free means one less burner to worry about around small children.
Tips for Cooking Ground Beef in a Crock Pot
Follow these tips to achieve the best results when making ground beef in your slow cooker:
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Don’t overfill: Only fill the crock about halfway to allow room for the beef to cook evenly and the juices to evaporate.
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Use lean beef: Choose 90-93% lean ground beef so excess fat doesn’t accumulate in the cooking liquid.
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Break it up: Use a spoon to break up large chunks of meat and distribute evenly in the pot.
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Add some liquid: Water, broth, or tomato sauce helps create steam to cook the beef through. Use about 1/4 cup liquid per pound of meat.
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Season well: Flavor the beef with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, Worcestershire sauce, etc.
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Cook on low: Keep the temperature on the low setting for best results. High heat can cause meat to dry out.
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Stir occasionally: Give the beef a stir every hour or so to promote even cooking.
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Check doneness: Beef should reach an internal temperature of 160°F and not show any pink color.
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Drain fat: Remove cooked beef with a slotted spoon, then pour off accumulated fat and liquid.
How to Cook Ground Beef in a Crock Pot
This easy recipe outlines the basic steps for simple slow cooker ground beef. Feel free to adjust cook times and seasoning as desired.
Ingredients:
- 3 lbs ground beef (90% lean)
- 1⁄2 onion, diced (optional)
- 1⁄4 cup water or broth per lb of beef
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 1⁄2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1⁄2 tsp garlic powder
- 1⁄2 tsp onion powder
Instructions:
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Add ground beef and onions to slow cooker. Break up meat with a spoon.
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Pour in water or broth over meat.
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Sprinkle spices and Worcestershire sauce over top and stir to distribute seasonings evenly.
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Cook on LOW for 7-8 hours or HIGH for 4-5 hours.
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Use two forks or tongs to shred beef and check internal temperature. Continue cooking if needed until beef reaches 160°F.
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Drain fat and liquid from slow cooker.
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Use beef immediately or store in airtight container for up to 4 days.
Draining and Storing Slow Cooker Ground Beef
Draining off excess fat is an important final step once the ground beef finishes cooking. Here are some tips for properly draining and storing crock pot ground beef:
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Allow beef to cool slightly before draining to prevent burns.
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Use a colander to drain fat and liquid from beef.
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For less mess, use a ladle or large spoon to transfer beef into colander.
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Rinse beef with hot water to remove more fat residue.
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Wipe out interior of crock insert to remove remaining oil before storing.
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Refrigerate beef within 2 hours of cooking; freeze for longer storage.
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Store cooked beef in airtight containers up to 4 days in refrigerator or up to 4 months in freezer.
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Label containers with contents and dates for easy identification.
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Divide beef into usable portions before freezing for quick thawing and use.
Versatile Recipe Ideas for Crock Pot Ground Beef
The convenience of having pre-cooked ground beef on hand means being able to quickly assemble a wide variety of dishes. Here are just a few ideas:
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Tacos – Season with taco seasoning and add to tortillas with favorite toppings.
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Spaghetti sauce – Simmer beef in a tomato basil sauce and toss with pasta.
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Chili – Make a hearty batch loaded with beans, onions, peppers and Southwestern spices.
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Sloppy Joes – Mix beef with a sweet tomato-based sauce and serve on buns.
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Stuffed peppers – Fill halved bell peppers with seasoned ground beef and rice.
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Beef stroganoff – Combine tender chunks of beef with mushrooms, onions and egg noodles.
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Shepherd’s pie – Top meat mixture with mashed potatoes and bake until golden.
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Taco salads – Load beef, lettuce, tomato, beans, cheese, etc. into crunchy taco bowls.
With some simple preparation, you can have delicious, ready-to-use ground beef for all your favorite dishes. Cooking in a crock pot yields amazing results with little hands-on effort required. Give this easy method a try for your next ground beef recipe!
How cooking ground beef in the Crockpot saves time
Cook once and eliminate a step later on in the week when you’re making meals. If you can eliminate one of the more time-consuming steps like this, your dinner prep moves a lot faster, which gets dinner on the table faster and leaves more time for you to cross other things off that never-ending mommy list.
All you do is add up to 3 pounds of ground beef to your crock-pot (I have done as many as 5 lbs. at one time). Break up the beef and add ¼ cup water (per pound of beef). Turn your crock-pot on and cook on HIGH for 2-3 hours or LOW for 4-6 hours. Cooking time will vary depending on how many pounds of beef you are cooking.
During the cooking process, I stir the meat mixture occasionally to help the meat cook evenly. Once your meat has fully cooked, drain off the grease. I then divide the meat out and store it in plastic bags in the refrigerator.
Then later on in the week, when I need to add it to a casserole, sauce, etc., I just pull it out of the refrigerator and add it along with the other ingredients. It is a huge time saver. Not to mention, it means dirtying one less pan that night!
How to Drain Ground Beef
Draining the fat from ground beef is simple when you are talking about a small pan, but when it comes to a crockpot full of 5 pounds of meat it’s a little bit more daunting.
Pour out the liquid from the top of your crockpot , and if needed you can use a slotted spoon to remove the meat from the crockpot without getting any excess grease in your freezer containers.
How To Cook Ground Beef In A Crock Pot Slow Cooker
FAQ
Can you cook raw ground beef in a crock pot?
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YouTube · MOMables – Laura Fuenteshttps://www.youtube.comHow to Meal Prep Ground Beef in the Slow Cooker – YouTubeMay 9, 2020 — or three or five of ground beef inside of your slow cooker. and with a large slotted spoon you’re going to break up your meat into smaller pieces. i’
Do you have to brown ground meat before putting in a crock pot?
Yes. It is absolutely necessary to brown ground beef in a skillet before adding it to the slow cooker / crockpot. It just takes a few minutes and pays off big time in producing a texture that is tender while still holding its shape.
Do you need to put liquid in a slow cooker with beef?
Whenever you use a slow cooker to cook big pieces of meat, you should always include liquid halfway up the meat to enable the heat to transfer from the cooking element to the object you’re cooking. Not doing this could result in damaging your slow cooker.
Is it better to cook beef on high or low in a crock pot?
Cooking on low works the best for this recipe and produces a tender and juicy roast but if time doesn’t allow for it to be cooked on low, you can cook on high for about 4-5 hours, but I strongly reccomend cooking low and slow.
Can you cook ground beef in a crockpot?
It’s the best crockpot chili! Cook ground beef with diced onion and minced garlic in a large skillet over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Drain any excess grease. Add cooked ground beef to the bottom of a 6-quart slow cooker. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cover and cook for 6-8 hours on low or 4-5 hours on high.
How much ground beef do you cook in a crockpot?
Cook up to 5 pounds at a time, adjust cooking time as necessary. I divide in half and freeze in 1 pound (pre-cook weight) portions, as that is the most common amount in the recipes I use. I cook 2 pounds in a 2 quart crockpot. If you are cooking super lean ground beef such as 93%, you will want to add 1/2 cup water so that it doesn’t dry out.
How do you cook ground beef in a slow cooker?
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the ground beef and sausage until no longer pink, breaking it up with a spatula as it cooks, then drain as much grease as possible. In a 6-quart slow cooker, pour one jar of sauce. Add the cooked ground beef and sausage on top of the sauce. Pour the remaining sauce and water into the slow cooker.