Taco meat is a staple every family should have stored in the freezer for those times you just don’t feel like cooking dinner, you find yourself with extra guests for a meal, or you’re trying to plan ahead for a busy day.

It’s easy to make and freezes beautifully. It’s pretty much a win-win situation!

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Awhile back, I participated in a neighborhood freezer cooking exchange and received some compliments on my taco meat.

So I decided to share that recipe with you today and let you know two ways I’ve used this taco meat.

Ingredients for Taco Meat

2.5 lbs. ground beef

1 onion

3 large tomatoes

2 jalepeños

2 small cans of chopped green chiles

1 can of El Pato Jalepeño Salsa

1 can of El Pato Salsa de Chile Fresco

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

1 Tbsp. cumin

1 Tbsp. ground red pepper

The secret ingredients are these cans here:

Steps to Make Taco Meat

1. Brown ground beef over medium heat. Drain fat. Season it with the spices.

2. While beef is browning, chop onion and jalepeños. For less heat take out the ribs and seeds of the peppers.

The easiest way for me to chop an onion is illustrated below. I learned this from watching Rachael Ray.

I cut the onion in half through the root end and peel away the sides. Then, cutting parallel to the lines and perpendicular to the root end, I slice from one side to the other…keeping the root end in tact. Then, I cut perpendicular to those slices and the onion just chops off and I toss the root end in the trash.

3. After draining some of the fat away and seasoning the meat, push the meat to one side of the skillet. Add the jalepeños and onion to the pan to let them soften.

4. Then add the chopped tomatoes and dump all the remaining ingredients into the skillet and allow everything to warm up.

First Use For Taco Meat

Half of this taco meat can be placed in a plastic freezer food storage bag and labeled for use at a later time.

Let the meat cool completely and lay it flat in your freezer to save space.

I ended up adding this taco meat to our road trip packing list and buying the remaining ingredients for tacos once we were at our destination.

It saved me a night of cooking while on vacation.

Second Use For Taco Meat

Continue on with this mexican lasagna recipe with the remaining taco meat.

1. Gather up a lasagna or deep dish (You would love this deep covered baker by Pampered Chef.)

sour cream (You can substitute sour cream with greek yogurt.)

shredded mexican cheese blend

corn tortillas

fresh cilantro (chopped)

2. You will layer corn tortillas, taco meat, cheese, and cilantro repeatedly until you have filled up your dish or run out of meat.

3. Cook it in the oven at 350° F for 20-25 minutes or until cheese is melted. (Everything is already cooked.)

When it comes out, you can top it with sour cream or greek yogurt and more cilantro!

The idea for this dish came from a Pampered Chef party I attended a few years ago when the consultant made a mexican lasagna with chicken, however, this is my own recipe.

If you like this post, you may also like:

Mexican Casserole

Tex Mex Pizza

Fish Tacos

What is your favorite taco meat recipe?