This wonderful kid-friendly taco meat filling is essential to have on hand in the freezer for last-minute dinners and taco night cravings. Use it in tacos, burritos, quesadillas, enchiladas, or a quick protein snack with chips.

The recipe is intentionally large so that you will have leftovers to freeze. Keeping extra taco meat on hand is always a good way to rescue a messy evening — batch cooking has saved us on many nights.

Making the Wonderful Kid-Friendly Taco Meat Filling

You can use either ground beef or ground turkey. It is important to brown the meat well and drain it to get off any excess fat. My favorite tool for quick and efficient ground turkey is this meat smasher. It is the quickest and easiest way to get uniform pieces of meat.

After draining your ground meat, simply add it to the crockpot with the remaining ingredients except for the beans. Cook on low for 4-6 hours.

Add the beans during the last hour of cooking if desired. They will help soak up any remaining liquid and help stretch your budget a little further.

When you have finished eating on the day you prepare the taco meat, simply freeze the remaining portions in your preferred size. We like to have portions that are about 200 g or 7 oz each for adults. That makes for a hearty meal. If you find you prefer a smaller size, just freeze in your preferred quantity.

We like to use our vacuum sealer to help keep the food fresh for longer. Whether or not you vacuum seal, always remember to write on the package what it contains and the date it was frozen.

If you are looking for additional meals to add to your batch cooking menu, Broccoli Cheddar Soup, Chicken and Bean Soup, Spaghetti Sauce, Hearty Chili, Kansas City Ribs, and Korean Turkey are recipes that are easily made in larger batches to help stock your freezer for busy nights.

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Wonderful Kid-Friendly Taco Meat Filling

Course Main Course

Cuisine Mexican

Keyword batch cooking, meal prep, meat

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 4 hours hours

Servings 16

Ingredients

• 3 pounds ground turkey or beef
• 1 teaspoon worchestershire sauce
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 2 teaspoons parsley flakes
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• 2 teaspoons beef base
• 1 pepper, diced (any color)
• 1 8 oz. can tomato paste
• ½ cup water
• 1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed(optional)

Instructions

• Brown meat, seasoning it with Worcestershire sauce. Drain.
• Add meat to crock pot. Add remaining ingredients, except pinto beans.
• Cook on low for 4-6 hours or high for 2-3 hours.
• Add pinto beans for the last 30 minutes of cooking if using. They will soak up any remaining liquid.
• Use as desired and freeze remaining meat for future use.

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