How to Cook Ground Beef in Crockpot

The other day I was wondering if I could cook ground beef from raw to perfectly tender without a stove. Instead I made it as a Crockpot recipe in the afternoon and a few hours later it was ready to enjoy! I couldn’t believe how helpful this kitchen hack was that I had to share it with all of you.

This is quite easy, you just break it up and in a few hours it is ready to add into a casserole or wrap inside a tortilla with cheese for tacos. This and our air fryer ground beef is a great alternative without a skillet necessary.

We love sharing what to cook with ground beef because we too have had super busy days when we need dinner done without a lot of prep. After an exhausting day of kids and sports it is nice to walk into your house and smell all the goodness.

How Long to Cook Ground Beef in Crockpot

This is going to take about 2 hours on how. You need to break it up and spread it out on the bottom like you see here for best results. Makes sense right, because you want it to cook evenly. You don’t need water or broth is that when cooking there will be grease released which will allow steam to form and heat the meat to browned.

A great way to cook the meat first to make Crockpot hamburger casserole with it for a fun dinner.

Will a Crockpot brown ground beef?

Not really. It will cook it to a safe consumable temperature but you’d need to get some color on it in a pan over medium high heat like our ground beef in the oven. I do still from time to time depending on what I am making. If I have a busy day though it isn’t necessary and you can add taco seasoning right into the pot to essentially marinate the meat for a few hours in with your onions.

How Long to Cook Frozen Ground Beef in Crockpot

You could do this but it wouldn’t be ideal because you would need to consistently break off the thawed outside pieces to reveal the iced middle in order for it to brown all the way thru. It could be done but I would open the lid every 15 minutes to scrape off the outside until done. Instead I would follow one of our How to Cook Frozen Ground Beef using other methods.

Typically if this is all I have I will choose to cook Instant Pot frozen ground beef instead which is a quick and effective method. For these steps below, make sure meat is defrosted beforehand.

Tips

Hamburger and ground beef essentially mean the same thing to most of us. The biggest difference in the outcome will depend on the amount of fat left at the bottom. To be honest, it needs some. Grease and fat means flavor y’all so don’t go super lean on me. 80/20 is best if you ask me. Ground venison, bison or ground turkey doesn’t have much and will need a bit more seasonings to amp it.

How long is cooked ground beef able to sit in a Crockpot?

Most machines have a “Warm” setting designed to keep food at a safe temperature above 140°F or 60°C for quite some time. You can safely leave the cooked hamburger on this setting for 2 to 4 hours and then you should really turn it off and allow it to cool off so you can store in the fridge for later.

Normally the answer is yes but not if you are cooking it all by itself, that is the exception to this rule. If you’re adding other ingredients like our Crockpot hamburger casserole then it needs to be browned on your stovetop first. If it’s alone like this, you don’t.

What are some good Crock pot recipes using ground beef?

Here is a long list of easy hamburger Crock pot recipes you can try once you’re ready to go too. This is great if you are batch cooking and having a get together, especially to use for a taco bar. If you love adding diced tomatoes and tomato sauce so then you can make a few trays full of lasagna!

What can ground beef be used for?

I could add into some homemade spaghetti sauce and have Crockpot spaghetti and meatballs ready super quick. Another hands off approach is our Sloppy Joes Recipe that is super quick to do and always a win with kids of all ages (and adults).

We will share a few of our family favorite comfort food meals below. Add cheddar cheese to this slow cooker breakfast casserole and you’re set. Sausage works too, whichever you prefer. Instant Pot lasagna casserole is a winner with parmesan cheese on top and a really short cooking time. Way easier than the “old fashioned” method.

Other ideas are air fryer stuffed peppers, this method is great. We love ground beef egg rolls for a fun meal idea too. There are tons of family friendly meals you can make once this is pre cooked and ready to go like our one pot spaghetti.