Check out this recipe for how to make a large batch of ground beef in your slow cooker and freeze for later use! Our Crock Pot Make Ahead Ground Beef is perfect for everything from tacos to pizza to casseroles and makes dinner prep super easy in the evenings!
I just love this recipe and I use it ALL. THE. TIME.
Mikey even made a video to show how easy it is to throw together!
For years I have thrown prepared ground beef in my freezer for quick dinner prep, but I first got the idea for making my ground beef up in my slow cooker from my bloggy (and real life) pal Leah.
And since learning how, I have never turned back! You guys will have to check out Leah’s version too– she even makes hers with sausage in it. My version is different from Leah’s, but we love it just the same.
I LOVE that you can throw frozen or fresh ground beef in the slow cooker and let it cook up while you are away, then drain, cool, scoop into bags and freeze!
Crock Pot Make Ahead Ground Beef Recipe
Note: Scroll to the bottom of this post for a printable version of this recipe.
Ingredients for Crock Pot Make-Ahead Ground Beef
4 lbs Lean Ground Beef
2-3 Small Onions Chopped
4 Cloves Garlic Minced
Salt and Pepper to Taste
10 3/4 oz Can Beef Consume
How to Cook Make-Ahead Ground Beef in a Slow Cooker
- Place beef in slow cooker and top with remaining ingredients.
- Cook for 2 hours(on high if frozen, low if fresh) and then chop to crumble.
- Cook for 2-3 more hours until meat is fully cooked.
- Drain and sprinkle on cookie sheets to cool.
- Divide into four freezer bags and push all air out before freezing
Notes on Crock Pot Make Ahead Ground Beef
- We loved using our 6 Qt Crock Pot for this recipe as it gave us enough room for everything.
- We also used our Chopstir Nylon Chopper halfway through to break up the beef very easily.
- At the end, we sprinkled our beef out on a couple Nordic Ware Natural Aluminum Commercial Baker’s Half Sheets to cool.
- If you don’t like clean up with the crock pot, you can also consider using this slow cooker with a non-stick surface OR the very popular Slow Cooker Liners
.
- As with any of our recipes, calorie counts and nutritional information varies greatly depending on which products you choose to use when cooking this dish.
- All slow cookers cook differently, so cooking times are always a basic guideline and should always be tested first in your own slow cooker and time adjusted as needed.
Printable Recipe for Crock Pot Make Ahead Ground Beef
Crock Pot Make Ahead Ground Beef
Ingredients
- 4 lbs Lean Ground Beef
- 2-3 Small Onions Chopped
- 4 Cloves Garlic Minced
- Salt and Pepper to Taste
- 10.5 oz Can Beef Consume
Instructions
- Place beef in slow cooker and top with remaining ingredients.
- Cook for 2 hours(on high if frozen, low if fresh) and then chop to crumble.
- Cook for 2-3 more hours until meat is fully cooked.
- Drain and sprinkle on cookie sheets to cool.
- Divide into four freezer bags and push all air out before freezing
Notes
- We loved using our 6 Qt Crock Pot for this recipe as it gave us enough room for everything.
- We also used our Chopstir Nylon Chopper halfway through to break up the beef very easily.
- At the end, we sprinkled our beef out on a couple Nordic Ware Natural Aluminum Commercial Baker's Half Sheets to cool.
- If you don't like clean up with the crock pot, you can also consider using this slow cooker with a non-stick surface OR the very popular Slow Cooker Liners
- As with any of our recipes, calorie counts and nutritional information varies greatly depending on which products you choose to use when cooking this dish.
- All slow cookers cook differently, so cooking times are always a basic guideline and should always be tested first in your own slow cooker and time adjusted as needed.
Peggy J says
May 27, 2015 at 11:35 amThis idea is going to help me out tremendously!! Won’t have to constantly stir, so much easier!! I am cooking my hamburger meat as we speak! Thanks a bunch!
Cris says
May 25, 2015 at 7:27 pmHi Angel-
You can leave it out if you’d like or I would just add as much onion powder you normally add when cooking up a pound of beef x4. So if I normally use 1/2 tsp, I would add 2 teaspoons when batch cooking. Make sense?
Enjoy!
~C
Angel S. says
May 24, 2015 at 10:59 pmMy family doesn’t like onions BUT, I can put onion powder in things and they don’t complain. How much onion powder would be equivalent?
Cathy says
May 23, 2015 at 6:24 pmthis is going to be great. Doing it tomorrow.
Kacy says
May 23, 2015 at 8:17 amSo it’s ok to refreeze ground beef, I have always heard you can’t refreeze
Cris says
May 23, 2015 at 8:31 amHi Kacy-
I would never refreeze raw ground beef, but I always have once it is cooked. Hope that helps. Cris
Kristin says
May 23, 2015 at 6:46 amDo you know how long it would be good in the freezer for?
Cris says
May 23, 2015 at 8:29 amKristin- I usually use mine up within a month or a little more. Enjoy!
pegell says
May 21, 2015 at 9:33 amGreat idea! Why wasn’t it mine? And ground beef is on sale this week!
Cris says
May 21, 2015 at 1:00 pmOh I love a good sale! Enjoy!
Karen Dawson says
May 21, 2015 at 2:25 amBeef Consume contains too much salt – I use homemade beef stock instead. Made the beef stock in my slow cooker too!
Cris says
May 21, 2015 at 1:02 pmHi Karen- Glad you found what works for you. We love the consume and don’t find the beef to be too salty, especially since it is drained off with the fat at the end. However, we totally understand folks have different tastes. Either way, hope you enjoy!
Marsha Baker says
May 20, 2015 at 11:55 pmSuch a great idea to add the consume. I’ve done this before, and LOVE the technique…now I must try it using the consume. Thanks for sharing.
Cris says
May 21, 2015 at 1:03 pmMarsha-
It adds such a great depth of flavor! Enjoy!!
WANDA says
May 20, 2015 at 9:04 pmTHIS IS SO CLEVER. GREAT IDEA.
I LOVE MY CROCK POT. USE IT ALL THE TIME.
WILL MAKE THIS RIGHT AWAY. SAVES USING THE
STOVE IN THE HEAT
THANK YOU , SO MUCH
Cris says
May 21, 2015 at 1:04 pmDo try it Wanda– you will love it!!
Pam says
May 20, 2015 at 7:41 pmWE ALL HAVE SUCH A BUSY LIFE, IT SEEMS, THAT
THIS IS WHAT WE NEED…PERFECT IDEA.THANKS FOR
SHARING IT.
WISH I HAD SOME TONIGHT, AS I HAD SURGERY YESTERDAY.
HUBBY COULD MAKE WHATEVER HE WANTED. 🙂
PAM IN KC, MO.
Cris says
May 21, 2015 at 1:05 pmPam- We just love having it on hand! Hope you recover quickly!
Joyce says
May 20, 2015 at 6:31 pmThanks so much for this idea. I will definitely do this right away. Don’t know why I hadn’t already tried it, have always done it on the stove but, this will be much easier for me. Thanks again.
Cris says
May 21, 2015 at 1:06 pmJoyce-
It is TOTALLY my favorite way. We have made it up in big batches for years, but this is by far the easiest way to do it. Enjoy!
Joanne says
May 20, 2015 at 6:15 pmThis will be perfect for different recipes!
Cris says
May 21, 2015 at 1:07 pmYes! I use it all the time. Just this week I made some quick sloppy joes and a deep dish pizza with it. Enjoy!!
Karen says
May 20, 2015 at 6:10 pmExcellent idea. Pinned it on my Good Recipes. I will definitely try this very soon.
Cris says
May 21, 2015 at 1:07 pmKaren-
Thank you SO much for pinning our stuff! We really appreciate it. Enjoy!!