Crock Pot Taco Casserole
This Crock Pot Taco Casserole is an easy, cheesy, creamy slow cooker dinner made with taco seasoned beef, shredded hash browns and Rotel!
A Simple, Filling Crock Pot Casserole
This Crock Pot Taco Casserole was inspired by my Crock Pot Taco Hash Brown Casserole that ended up being a huge hit and went viral on social media. It’s similar to this dish, but I tweaked it and made a few changes some of y’all had suggested. It is another easy recipe that you can just toss in the Slow Cooker and it’s full of flavors that the whole family will gobble up!
Frequently Asked Questions:
Well, I do have a similar version of this recipe that is made on the stove, Taco Potato Skillet, but to make it more like that, you’ll have to add the sour cream, cheddar cheese and Rotel that we use in this recipe because I didn’t use them in the skillet version.
The nice thing about this one is it actually makes a really good scoopable serving on tortilla chips! You could serve this as a casserole all by itself, or stuff it inside a burrito or use it as a topping on a Taco Salad on a big tortilla shell.
I feel like this casserole really is a whole meal in one, but, if you want to add a few sides to round it out more, you add a nice, green side salad or some steamed veggies. I like to keep it super simple and quick by using a bagged salad or a bag of those frozen veggies that you can pop in the microwave to bring in some healthy veggies for your family.
If you want to add a little heat, get the Rotel with medium to hot heat. You could also add a diced jalapeno with or without seeds to the entire mix before cooking.
Once any leftover casserole cools, transfer it to an airtight container and place in the fridge for up to 4 days. Leftovers heat well in the microwave or oven. You can keep them longer by using a freezer safe container or bag and removeingany excess air before freezing. They should last about 3 months in the freezer. Be sure to thaw in the fridge overnight and reheat before serving again.
Ingredients Needed: (See Recipe Card Below For The Full Recipe)
- ground beef– you can swap out the beef for ground chicken or ground turkey for this casserole. Feel free to cook your beef with onions and garlic and season with salt and pepper instead of taco seasoning if you prefer.
- frozen shredded hash browns– You can grab the store brand version if your store makes its own version. It doesn’t matter if it’s name brand or store brands. If you want to use diced potatoes, you can use them, in fact, that’s what I use in my Slow Cooker Taco Hash Brown Casserole.
- taco seasoning packet– I think it’s a good idea to use low sodium where possible if you are sensitive to salt. You can always add salt later if you feel it needs itYou can keep a better control on all of the ingredients by using a Homemade Taco Seasoning too.
- sour cream– if you need other options if you aren’t a sour cream fan, try to use a 1:1 ratio of Greek yogurt, cream cheese, Mexican Crema or crème fraiche.
- condensed white cheddar soup– if you can’t find this option, you can use a can of the regular cheddar soup.
- shredded Colby Jack cheese– Feel free to use your preferred shredded cheese for tacos. I used Colby Jack, but shredded cheddar would be great too.
- Rotel – or you could use your favorite salsa. Just use about the same amount.
How To Make Crock Pot Taco Casserole:
In a large skillet, cook and crumble ground beef until no longer pink and fully cooked. Drain excess grease and put back into skillet. Add 2 Tablespoons taco seasoning to the meat and stir to combine. Turn off heat.
Add the shredded hashbrowns to the bottom of the crockpot and spread evenly. Add the cooked ground beef evenly over the top of the hashbrowns. Add remaining taco seasoning, sour cream, cheddar soup, Rotel and 1 ½ cups Colby Jack shredded cheese. Reserve the ½ cup shredded cheese to add at the end.
Stir to fully combine. Cover and cook on low for 4 hours or 2 hours on high, or until the hash browns are fully cooked and looking a little brown around the edges. When you have 15 minutes remaining to cook, sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top and replace the lid to let it melt.
Serve immediately topped with your favorite taco toppings (diced tomatoes, jalapenos, sliced black olives, sliced green onions, shredded lettuce, salsa, etc.). This is great to scoop up with tortilla chips too!
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Crock Pot Taco Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 packet taco seasoning (divided use)
- 30 ounce bag frozen shredded hashbrowns
- ½ cup sour cream
- 10.5 ounce can condensed white cheddar soup
- 2 cups shredded Colby Jack cheese
- 10 ounce can Rotel, undrained (can use your favorite salsa)
Instructions
- In a large skillet, cook and crumble 1 pound ground beef until no longer pink and fully cooked. Drain excess grease and put back into skillet.
- Add 2 Tablespoons taco seasoning to the meat and stir to combine. Turn off heat.
- Add 30 ounce bag frozen shredded hashbrowns to the bottom of the crockpot and spread evenly.
- Add the cooked ground beef evenly over the top of the hashbrowns.
- Add remaining taco seasoning, ½ cup sour cream, 10.5 ounce can condensed white cheddar soup, 1 ½ cups Colby Jack shredded cheese and 10 ounce can Rotel, undrained.
- Stir to fully combine.
- Cover and cook on low for 4 hours or 2 hours on high, or until the hashbrowns are fully cooked and looking a little brown around the edges.
- When you have about 15 minutes remaining to cook, sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup Colby Jack shredded cheese over the top and replace the lid to let it melt.
- Serve immediately topped with your favorite taco toppings (diced tomatoes, jalapenos, sliced black olives, sliced green onions, shredded lettuce, salsa, etc.). This is great to scoop up with tortilla chips too!
Video
Notes
- Please refer to my FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
- This cooks around 4 hours on low and 2 hours on high in the Slow Cooker. Cooking times will vary.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
would like to buy hard cover book with casserole and crock.pot recipe where can I buy.
Hi Angie! Thanks so much for your interest! I don’t have a hardcover cookbook. I’m sorry! I have only self published a little soft cover short cookbook. Maybe one day! Thank you!
I’m so glad you suggested we can use cheddar cheese soup instead because I have never noticed white cheddar in the stores. I hope to try this tonight and will add a small can of chopped black olives and a bit of diced onions.
It’s brand new! They just came out with it so you might see it now but the regular cheddar cheese soup works just fine. I definitely suggest low or no sodium option though if you find things can be too salty to your tastes though. Some folks think canned soups are too salty for them 🙂
This is on for tonight, for Taco Tuesday! I added sautéed onions and diced colored pepper mix. I also used 2 whole packs of taco seasoning mix….guess we’ll see just how salty this will be, but I like a good seasoned taco. Hope to let you know how it tasted and want over with the family. Plan on serving with corn bread and tortilla chips. Ole`
dang didn’t think to add peppers & onions. Will do next time. thanks for the addition!
I really appreciate it when you make suggestions on substitutions in your recipes. My first thought when I read this was that the sodium content would be high but obviously there are ways of reducing it, as you mentioned. Also, I live in Canada so some of the products you use are not available here but your suggestions for replacements are easy to do. I will be trying this recipe out, as it has my husband’s name written all over it!!!