This easy recipe for Crock-Pot Taco Bake is a great variation on the ground beef & noodle combination and kid friendly too!
Slow Cooker Taco Bake
If you are trying to get away from purchasing store-bought hamburger mixes (AKA Hamburger Helper) then this is a great recipe to give a try. I found this recipe for Crockpot Taco Bake to be easy to make but best of all it comes out rather tasty!
I love that this recipe is one that is rather flexible and that you can add in some diced green bell peppers or some sliced mushrooms to change it up taste wise. This recipe is also very family and kid friendly. My kids all loved this recipe and I am sure yours will too!
Whenever hamburger is on sale at my local grocery store for a good price I always purchase several pounds at once. Because most slow cooker recipes that call for ground beef call for the meat to be pre-cooked before tossing in the slow cooker I get out a big skillet or electric skillet and brown up several pounds at once, drain off the cooked off fat and store in the freezer in labeled freezer bags or freezer containers. That way, when I want to make a recipe I can just quick thaw the hamburger in the microwave for a few minutes and toss the rest of the ingredients in the slowcooker. This method both saves me time and money…and you know we are all about that!
Special Diets
More Beef Crockpot Recipes To Try!
- Crock-Pot Shredded Beef Chimichangas
- Slow Cooker Sloppy Joes
- Crock-Pot Western Beef Casserole + Video
- Slow Cooker Steak & Cherry Chili
- Crock-Pot Pot Roast with Onions
Crock-Pot Taco Bake Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 Pound Extra Lean Ground Beef
- ½ Cup Chopped Yellow Onion
- 1.25 Ounces Low Sodium Taco Seasoning Mix (1 Package Store Bought Or Homemade Taco Seasoning Mix)
- 2 ½ Cups Elbow Macaroni Pasta (Uncooked)
- 14.5 Ounces Canned Diced Tomatoes (Undrained)
- 1 ½ Cup Water
- 8 Ounces Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Instructions
- In a large skillet on the stove top brown and crumble the ground beef with the onions until the ground beef is no longer pink and the onion is starting to turn translucent. Drain off excess fat and add meat and onion mixture to a 3 to 6 quart slow cooker.
- Add the remaining ingredients except the shredded cheese to the slow cooker and stir to combine.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 4 to 5 hours until the pasta is cooked.
- Turn slow cooker off and add the shredded cheese to the slow cooker, stir to combine and allow to sit for 10 minutes to allow the cheese to melt.
Nutrition
I love taco bakes! This looks so simple! I love crockpot meals. They make the house smell so yummy all day long.
First off, I wanted to love this recipe-an option to use ground beef in the crock pot for a dish with ingredients my family likes. After 1 and 1/2 hours in a 6 qt crock pot on low I peeked at what was happening since I was concerned there wasn’t enough liquid to cook the noodles. I gave it a quick stir to find cooked noodles on the bottom with hard, uncooked ones on top. It was pretty dry and food was staring to cook to the sides so I added an additional 1/3 cup of water. I left that cook for another 45 minutes and with this check I found some noodles turning to mush while others were cooked and ready to go. Definitely doesn’t need to cook for 4 hours. Maybe the diced tomato brand I used didn’t have enough “juice” maybe a penne pasta instead if I get brave and try this one again.
I am sorry this recipe did not turn out for you Robyn, there are many variables on why a tested recipe works for some and not others. Like you said it could be the brand of diced tomatoes not having enough juice. Or your particular slow cooker running hotter than other brands. I hope you give this recipe another try and perhaps just add a little extra liquid. Pasta is one of the trickier ingredients to cook in a slow cooker so I understand your frustration.
I normally don’t comment on these posts but this one it needs one. I made this for our after church Sunday lunch today while it has a good flavor but on low for 4-5 hours is WAY to LONG by the time we got home to eat it at 5 hours it was all mush and I added extra water and a whole lot of milk to make it even eatable. So if I ever make this again I would put it on low for 1.5-2 hours not 4-5 hours.
I am sorry it did not come out right for you Mary.
I was just coming on to comment the same thing. Made this for daycare lunch and even after 3 hours it was all mush! We were scrambling for something else for lunch 🙁 I wondered why it would add the macaroni so early but against my better judgement I followed the recipe and it was not good at all. Will try again but adding the pasta way later
I am sorry it did not come out for you Niclan. I will re-cook this recipe and test it out once more just to make sure we didn’t make a mistake in there somewhere.
I agree with Mary. I had everything on for not even two hours and half the pasta is cooked and what is cooked is mushy. Definitely wasted good food materials
Sorry that happened Jessica.
Umm, taco seasoning is called for twice on this list.
It is only listed once, however it does look like it is listed twice because we have included a link to our homemade taco seasoning mix.
The line should read “1.25 ounces taco seasoning mix 1 package store bought or homemade taco seasoning mix”
My husband and I made this tonight, and as others have stated, DEFINITELY lower the cook time, or add noodles later. We added black beans, corn & then a dollop of sour cream when served, and it was SOOOOO GOOD!!!
I made the recipe on the stove, less than an hour, I know counter productive to the whole crock pot ease, but it turned out good. I used crushed tomatoes since my husband is not a fan of tomatoes and also added some blended salsa. It turned out good and is a keeper with my guys.
I highly recommend not putting in the macaroni until there is only 30-40 min left of cooking. I have made macaroni in the crockpot before and it just goes mushy (as others have stated) if in too long. Please revamp your recipe to reflect this.
Making it tonight for supper and I put everything but the macaroni in. I will put it in like stated above (30–min) prior to it being done.
I made this last night and you only need about 1 1/2 hours in the crook pot. Pasta then turns out nice. It was kind of tasteless even with the taco spice. I would not make this again. Maybe garlic? NOT SURE!
This was horrible. I wish I would have read the comments beforehand. It is a tasteless, mushy mess. Don’t waste your money and time
I’m so sorry the recipe didn’t work out for you, Kelly!