This is by far the easiest meal I’ve ever made. All the ingredients are placed into the slow cooker, turned to low for 8 hours, and that’s it. Also, the whole house smells amazing as it’s cooking. In fact, it’s almost better not to be home at all while it’s cooking. The second time I made this, I was home the entire day and the delicious smells were driving me crazy all day long. The first time we had this salsa beef over sweet potatoes, and the second time we tried it over rice. Neither one of us can decide which is the better flavor choice. But we do know for sure that the more toppings, the better! We’ve been making this super simple dinner for almost 8 years now and it’s still a go-to favorite. I’ve even taken to adding some different spices to the mix, so I knew it was time for an update to share my new tips. The absolute simplest way to make salsa beef is with just 2 ingredients – salsa + ground beef. But I’ve found with a few extra ingredients, it’s even better. So below you’ll find a bit of onion and pepper along with some spices in the recipe that just add so much flavor. This recipe is also great for meal prepping too. We like making taco bowls with this recipe. And having the salsa beef already done makes dinner a cinch.
Ingredients for this Slow Cooker Salsa Beef
Ground beef – is my go-to choice here because it’s so simple and affordable. I know a lot of recipes use a tough cut of beef and allow it to slow cook. But by using ground beef it cuts down the prep time which was my main goal to make this as easy as possible. Onions, garlic & peppers – These 3 add so much flavor to the finished salsa beef. But since I know so many have trouble with peppers, rest assured you can easily leave them out. The onions and garlic will carry you in the flavor department with no problem. Spices – I used to put just a bit of ground cumin in my original salsa beef recipe. But over time I’ve taken to adding the ground chipotle and the smoked paprika you see listed in the recipe. They add a great smokey chili flavor that definitely levels up this recipe. Salsa – use any kind of salsa you’d like to eat with chips. Salsa is the main flavoring ingredient in this recipe, so you definitely need to love the flavor of what you’re using. Also, I listed mild salsa in the recipe because the chipotle adds just the smallest amount of heat. So the finished salsa beef is quite mild, what I would call ‘kid-friendly’. But feel free to use a medium to hot salsa or even add more chipotle if you like some spice.
Let’s make this slow cooker salsa beef recipe step by step
Step 1: First, we’ll prep all the ingredients. Measure out the spices, mince the garlic, and dice up the bell pepper and onion. Step 2: Add the ground beef to the slow cooker along with the onions and bell pepper. Using a wooden spoon or something appropriate for your slow cooker, break up the ground beef together with the onions and peppers. Step 3: Mix the spices and minced garlic into the salsa and pour it over the ground beef. Steps 4 & 5: Mix the salsa mixture into the beef mixture. And finally, turn the slow cooker on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours. I hope you enjoy this slow cooker salsa beef as much as we have! I never used to be a huge slow cooker fan. But this recipe was the beginning of a different way of thinking for me. There’s nothing quite like coming home to dinner already done, and the whole house smelling amazing. So if you’re looking for some more easy slow cooker dinners, definitely let me know below what you’d like to see. If you do make this, I hope you’ll leave me a comment/rating below, I always love hearing from you here. This recipe was originally published in 2013 but has been updated in 2021 with new tips, nutritional information, and new photos.
