This easy, Mexican style Taco Casserole with ground beef, chili beans and rice is a quick and easy crockpot dinner that is budget friendly and only takes 15 minutes to prep. The best part about this crockpot taco casserole is that the rice gets cooked in the crockpot too, saving you from having extra dishes! This crockpot taco casserole is best served with shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes and sour cream. To make this recipe dairy free you can omit the sour cream or serve it with a dairy free plain yoghurt or dairy free sour cream.
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Easy Crockpot Taco Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 3/4 cup diced onion white or yellow
- 15.5 oz. canned chili beans drained
- 2 cups chicken or beef broth
- 1/4 cup tomato sauce marinara, pizza or pasta sauce.
- 3/4 package Taco seasoning mix *see note below.
- 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste.
- 3/4 cup fresh tomato chunks or 3/4 cup drained stewed tomatoes
- 1 cup dry white rice *see note
- shredded cheese for topping (optional)
Instructions
- Brown the ground beef and add the diced onions at the last 2-3 minutes of cooking. Place chili beans with juice, beef broth, tomato sauce, tomato chunks, taco seasoning and salt in a 3-4 quart crockpot. Drain the grease from the browned beef and onions, then add the beef mixture to the crock pot and stir everything to combine the seasonings.
- Cook the beef, beans, tomatoes and broth/sauce mixture on low for three hours, then stir in the rice. Cover and turn the heat to high, then cook for 1-2 hours longer until the rice has softened. Be sure to keep an eye on the rice because you do not want to overcook it. The rice can be stirred halfway through cooking to help it to cook more evenly.
- Top with shredded cheese of your choice (optional) and serve with shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, sour cream (or dairy free sour cream or dairy free plain yoghurt) and Sweet onion dressing (optional). See Notes, Substitutions and Photos below.
Notes
Sides you may enjoy with this crockpot taco casserole:
Try serving Garlic Pretzel Knots and Cup Cheese with this meal. I like to serve this taco salad with Easy Homemade Guacamole, tortilla chips, salsa and sour cream. You could also add a Zesty Cucumber Salsa or Crispy Sweet Potato Fries to complete the meal.
Ingredients needed for this Crockpot Taco Casserole: shredded cheese, chicken or beef broth, rice, taco seasoning, mild chili beans, salt, diced onions, ground beef, tomatoes and tomato sauce.
Substitutions:
If you do not have beef/chicken broth on hand you can use 2 3/4 cups water and 3 beef or chicken bouillon cubes. Vegetable broth can also be used.
Can the Taco Seasoning be adjusted for less spice?
Yes, the amount of Taco seasoning is optional because the first time I made this Crock Pot Taco Casserole I used a whole package of Taco seasoning and my husband and I loved it, but it was too spicy for my toddlers. The second time I only used 2/3 of the package and then the kids were able to enjoy it as well.
Can I add drained corn to this taco casserole?
Yes, you can add whole corn kernels to this taco casserole. If adding a can of drained corn to this casserole you can add the drained corn when adding the tomato chunks.
Step 1: Brown the ground beef and add the diced onions at the last 2-3 minutes of cooking. Place chili beans with juice, beef broth, tomato sauce, tomato chunks, taco seasoning and salt in a 2.5-4 quart crockpot. Drain the grease from the browned beef and onions, then add the beef mixture to the crock pot and stir everything to combine the seasonings. *Note cooking onions with the beef helps to sweeten their flavor, but is optional.
Step 2: Cook the beef, beans, tomatoes and broth/sauce mixture on low for three hours, then stir in the rice. Cover and turn the heat to high, then cook for 1-2 hours longer until the rice has softened. If the rice is still crunchy and has soaked up all the liquid you can add another 1/4 cup (or more if needed) of broth and cook for 15-30 minutes longer. Be sure to keep an eye on the rice because you do not want to overcook it. The rice can be stirred halfway through cooking, to help evenly cook the rice on the sides and center.
After three hours I added the rice and gave it all a good stir. It’s literally so easy!
Step 3: Top with shredded cheese of your choice (optional) and serve with shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, sour cream (or dairy free sour cream or dairy free plain yoghurt) and Sweet onion dressing (optional).
Storage options for this slow cooker taco casserole:
Leftovers can be refrigerated for around a week before reheating. The leftovers can also be frozen for up to a month, but rice can become mushy in the freezer if kept frozen too long.
Feel free to pin for later and be sure to tag me on Instagram to show off a photo of your own creation of this recipe. Thank you for your support!
this looks delicious! what time of tomatoes are used for the “tomato chunks”? are they canned tomatoes or fresh and if so what kind? Thanks!
Samantha
I used fresh tomato chunks but you could also use drained, canned tomato chunks.
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Love this recipe!