Tacos are great for any day of the week regardless of if it is Tuesday or not. Tacos are a way life. I even have shirts that proclaim my love of tacos!
Instant Pot Taco Meat is the perfect and fast way to make tender ground beef for tacos. Serve it immediately or freeze it!
Mexican food has got to be one of my favorites cuisines to eat and tacos are pretty high up on the list. But this instant pot taco meat recipe can be used for so much more that just tacos like taco salads, nachos and burritos!
Many of the other taco meat recipes out there use a long list of ingredients. Mine is simple and uses only 3 ingredients, but still tastes great.
The secret? Salsa. Bottled salsas (or homemade if you prefer) have all of the veggies most people like to put in taco meat already chopped up and cooked down. The flavor is there just waiting to be added to something delicious!
And the next is taco seasoning mix. I keep a canister of my homemade taco seasoning in the pantry, but you can also use a little packet. You’ll need about 2 tablespoons.
Use taco meat on:
- Nachos
- Burritos
- Tostadas
- Enchiladas
- On top of queso dip
- Eggs for breakfast
- Walking tacos
Soft tacos or hard tacos, this is a basic mix for taco filling. Classic recipes use ground beef, but feel free to substitute ground chicken or ground turkey. Sometimes I even use a blend!
I prefer to use a lean ground beef so draining isn’t necessary at the end. You do need some fat to prevent sticking and keep the mix juicy, but you don’t want grease pooling on the top either.
Why make taco meat in the instant pot?
It is true that this recipe can just as easily be made on the stove top in the same amount of the time, but it will also be more likely to dry out.
Making anything in a pressure cooker ensures that the liquids don’t evaporate and instead stay in the cooking vessel and with the food. In some cases, like a sauce, you don’t want this to happen, but for taco meat it is perfect!
You’ll swear you won’t make it any other way after you’ve tried it.
Can I freeze instant pot taco meat?
You sure can! Cook it and allow it to cool. Then place it in an airtight container or plastic bag. Free for up to 6 months.
Check out our other tips for freezing food properly.
How to make a taco bar:
ONE. Cook your taco meat and either serve it in the Instant Pot pot on “keep warm” or in another serving bowl.
TWO. Chop up all of your other taco toppings and fixings. Some of our favorites for a taco bar include:
- Sour cream
- Shredded lettuce
- Diced fresh tomato
- Mexican Pinto Beans
- Cilantro
- Hot Sauce
- Guacamole
- Salsa
- Mexican Yum Yum Sauce
- Ranchero Sauce
Personalize your taco meat:
If you are looking to make your taco meat special, just add one of these and watch everyone swoon!
- 2 tablespoons chopped chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
- 1 tablespoon fresh jalapenos, minced
- 1/2 cup frozen corn
- 1/2 cup diced bell peppers
- 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
- 1/2 cup cooked bacon, crumbed
How much is in a taco seasoning packet?
You might notice I don’t tell you to use a taco seasoning packet. It isn’t that they aren’t convenient or tasty, I just bet that you have all the ingredients already in your pantry.
- chili powder
- garlic powder
- onion powder
- dried oregano
- paprika
- ground cumin
- fine sea salt
- ground black pepper
If not and your prefer to buy a little packet, go for it and use just one.
How to make taco meat in the Instant Pot?
- Add ground beef to instant pot or other pressure cooker and set to the “saute” function. Brown for 4-5 minutes.
- Sprinkle meat with taco seasoning and add salsa, stir to coat.
- Set to manual high pressure for 10 minutes.
- Release pressure valve and you are ready to serve!
- Drain, if necessary or use a slotted spoon to remove meat.
Questions you might have about how to make taco meat in the Instant Pot:
Do I have to use an Instant Pot?
No, any electric pressure cooker will work.
Do I need to add extra liquid?
No, it is true that you need liquid to build pressure in a pressure cooker, but the salsa and liquid from the ground meat will provide plenty.
Do I have to brown the meat?
This is one of those steps that you can skip if you want, but it will add more flavor in the long run. The process is called the Maillard reaction and not only cooks food, but adds flavor. You can skip it, but then I recommend adding another pinch of salt.
Here are even more fabulous taco recipes!
- Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos
- Tropical Beef Tacos
- Korean Beef Tacos
- BEST Fish Tacos
- Jalapeno Lime Steak Tacos
- Ground Turkey Instant Pot
- Instant Pot Salsa Chicken
- Even more delicious Taco Recipes!
Smothered Beef Burritos
Loaded Chicken Nachos
Chicken Enchilada Casserole Recipe
Taco Bake Casserole Recipe
Instant Pot Taco Meat
Ingredients
- 2 pounds lean ground beef
- 16 ounces chunky salsa
- 2 tablespoons taco seasoning
Instructions
- Add ground beef to instant pot or other pressure cooker and set to the “saute” function. Brown for 4-5 minutes.
- Sprinkle meat with taco seasoning and add salsa, stir to coat.
- Set to manual high pressure for 10 minutes.
- Release pressure valve and you are ready to serve!
- Drain, if necessary or use a slotted spoon to remove meat.
- Let us know if you’ve tried this recipe and how it was!
Notes
You can use ground chicken or ground turkey instead of ground beef. Instructions for taco meat in the slow cooker.
So convenien, easy and delicious.
This recipe sounds great and I can’t wait to try it tonight! One question though, how would you change this if you were to try with frozen beef? Obviously Sautéing it before hand would not really work. There are just some days you forget to put the meat in the fridge and don’t have time to thaw it!
Hi Nick, you can skip the browning part and just go to cooking, add 1-2 minutes to the cook time to account for frozen beef.
598going to try this recipe for ground beef for tacos using an Instant Pot. Never thought about making taco stuffing using this item. Thanks for posting it. Then I saw your post about stuffed cabbage = will try that one day this week.
Awesome! Let me know how it goes!
My instant pot kept giving me the burn notice. I drained the my ground turkey after. Is that why ? I added 1 1/2 16 oz jars of salsa to my 3 lbs of meat.
Hmmm… it might be the type of salsa- was it a super thick and chunky? It needs a little water/liquid to work.
How long would you cook if it was 3lbs?
I’d increase cooking time by 2-3 minutes- doesn’t take much longer.
we loved the ease of this recipe and will always make this taco meat for our TACO TUESDAY meals! Great recipe!
Wow! So easy, and very tasty!
Big hit on Taco Tuesday!