Serve up a satisfying supper with one of these cozy ground beef slow-cooker recipes. With everything from shepherd's pie to meat loaf, you'll never run out of dishes to make.
I have several very specific childhood food memories, including my mom’s annual Super Bowl slow-cooker chili. It was one of many ground beef crockpot recipes that she relied on to feed our large family full of picky eaters (sorry to say I was one of them). She loved how the spices and simmering meat perfumed the kitchen while she went about her day, and I liked the toppings bar she set out. Now that I’m older, I fully appreciate the ease of slow-cooker recipes.
This collection is packed with easy family-friendly recipes that turn a package of ground beef into anything but a boring dinner. There are several chili recipes and saucy dishes, but you can also make a slow-cooked meat loaf that tastes as good as if it were baked or a tortilla-layered enchilada dinner full of Tex-Mex flavors. Some recipes benefit from browning the ground beef first, but there are also slow-cooker dump dinners for days when you have no time.
Since all these recipes feature ground beef, you won’t find vegetarian fare, but if you are willing to experiment with plant-based meat substitutes, you can make something just as cozy for non-meat eaters. Turn to these recipes when you need dinner inspiration, a hands-off recipe or just want to try something new.
Spaghetti Sauce
This hearty sauce made with both ground beef and sausage is great on any pasta shape, not just spaghetti. It freezes well too! Just transfer the cooled sauce to a freezer-proof container, cover and freeze for up to three months. Thaw it in the refrigerator overnight before reheating on the stove.
Slow-Cooker Shepherd’s Pie
This easy recipe does require some cooking on the stovetop, but once it’s layered in a slow cooker, you have the freedom to walk away for the afternoon and come back to a hot, satisfying dinner. To make this dish even more authentic, use ground lamb instead of beef.
Poor Man’s Steak
This ground beef recipe produces flavorful, tender pieces of meat that taste just like steak. You need to refrigerate the ground beef and cracker mixture for at least three hours before browning and adding to a slow cooker, so make sure you give yourself enough time.
Slow-Cooker Sloppy Joes
A classic sloppy joes recipe made with ground beef, onion, green pepper and ketchup is always the right choice for dinner. If you want to make it a little lighter, it’s great with ground turkey too. In addition to soft rolls, have extras like pickles, onions and shredded cheese for topping each sandwich.
Slow-Cooker Enchiladas
This layered slow-cooker enchilada recipe features two different types of beans and shredded cheese. It’s flavored with a quick sauce made from diced tomatoes with green chiles, chili powder and cumin, but you could use canned enchilada sauce instead if you prefer. Once you’ve mastered this, you can make other slow-cooker Mexican foods, like tacos, chicken mole and pozole.
Italian Stuffed Peppers
When you make stuffed peppers in a slow cooker, the tender ground beef filling has more time to come together and the flavors have more time to meld. Cubed mozzarella and Parmesan give this dish a slight Italian twist that makes the classic fun and fresh.
Chili with Corn
Dump everything in the slow cooker in the morning, and come home to a richly flavored beef chili ready for all the best toppings, like cheese, onions, sour cream and jalapenos. Check out some of our other slow-cooker chili recipes for more ideas.
Meat Loaf Burgers
To make these tasty burgers, layer beef patties over onions in a slow cooker and let them cook for hours in a flavorful tomato sauce. Each element—sauce, onions and burger—goes right on the bun. Have another pound of meat waiting in the wings? Use it in one of our other ground beef recipes.
Spicy Goulash
This easy goulash recipe needs nothing more than a few pantry staples and spices, like canned tomatoes, beans, cumin and chili powder. You don’t even cook the macaroni first—it goes in dry and comes out delicious.
Sloppy Joe Casserole
Kids and adults will love this easy slow-cooker casserole. Want to make it a more balanced meal? Serve it with fresh vegetables like carrots and celery sticks or a big leafy salad.
California Tamale Pie
This delicious ground beef and cornmeal combo has the taste and texture of tamales, but it takes a lot less time to make. Top with cheese, sour cream and jalapenos for a full-flavored meal. If you’re going beyond ground beef, we have more slow-cooker beef recipes for soul-warming meals.
Peppered Meat Loaf
By putting big wedges of potatoes on the bottom of a slow cooker before adding the hearty beef and sausage meat loaf, the potatoes absorb so much flavor from the meat and sauce. If you don’t want to use sausage, consider ground pork, or use all beef if that’s what you have.
Cuban Picadillo
There are many variations of picadillo, a Cuban ground beef dish with tomatoes, spices, capers, olives and raisins. But this one is the easiest because it all goes into a slow cooker for a long stew. Serve it with rice, a crisp salad and, if you want to get really traditional, these simple air-fryer plantains.
Spicy Montana Chili
When you need a chili with some kick, add more jalapenos; if you want it mild, use less. This is a thick chili for cold days, especially when served with cornbread still warm from the oven.
Slow-Cooked Enchilada Dinner
Build layers of flour tortillas, a spicy ground beef mixture and cheese in the slow cooker, then let it do its thing for about two hours. Make a criss-crossed foil liner so it’s easier to lift the enchilada dish out of the slow cooker and cut it into servings.
Meatball Sub
Skip the spaghetti altogether and make meatballs for subs and sandwiches. These meatballs are made with ground beef and sausage, plus a variety of seasonings, and they make a superb stuffing for Italian rolls or crusty bread.
Slow-Cooker Quinoa Chili
Quinoa adds extra protein and nutrients to this ground beef and bean chili. Amp up the spice if you like things even hotter, and keep cooling sour cream along with other toppings close by.
Easy Chow Mein
This easy version of chow mein takes only a few ingredients, most probably already stocked in your pantry, and just a few hours in a slow cooker. It freezes well, so you can get a few meals done in one fell swoop.
Slow-Cooker Spanish Rice
This one-pot meal has everything: rice, ground beef, tomatoes and lots of Tex-Mex flavor. Serve it with tortillas or lettuce cups for filling and folding.
Meatball Cabbage Rolls
These savory meat-filled cabbage rolls cook low and slow in a lightly spiced tomato sauce. All you need are some delicious mashed potatoes and fresh green beans on the side for a perfect comfort food meal.
Cowboy Beans
This slow-cooker ground beef recipe with four different kinds of beans and a tangy sauce is the perfect party staple. After a few hours in the slow cooker, ketchup, cider vinegar, mustard and brown sugar really help amp up the flavor.
Slow-Cooker Spaghetti and Meatballs
The best meatballs are held together by bread crumbs and a little bit of egg. When you put these beefy meatballs in the slow cooker, they become even more flavorful and tender. Serve with penne, ziti or any pasta shape.
Cincinnati Chili Dogs
You don’t just cook the chili in the slow cooker, but the hot dogs too! Add them toward the end of cooking so they become infused with the sweet Cincinnati chili flavors. Then, ladle a lot more chili over the dogs in buns, top with onion and cheese, and watch them disappear.
Spicy Stuffed Banana Peppers
If you can’t find banana peppers or aren’t willing to test your luck finding the not-so-spicy ones, use bell peppers instead. The ground beef, sausage and quinoa filling tastes great in either!
Chili Mac
If you want to make this more of a chili mac and cheese, stir in some cream cheese or diced American cheese with the cooked pasta. Want to turn it into soup? Simply add a can of beef broth.
Moo Shu Lettuce Cups
A riff on the classic Chinese takeout dish, this super easy dinner has all the flavors of moo shu pork but with ground beef. To serve, use crisp lettuce leaves, traditional Chinese pancakes or even flour tortillas.
Slow-Cooker Meat Loaf
Variations in meat loaf generally come down to the binder (in this case saltines and egg), the seasonings and the sauce. The sauce for this one has a touch of nutmeg. Make sure to use the foil “cross” in the bottom of the pot to lift the loaf out with ease.
Enchilada Meatballs
Use taco seasoning and enchilada sauce for these easy, flavorful meatballs. They’re particularly great for potlucks. Have a stack of corn or flour tortillas on the side so guests can make their own meatball tacos.
Slow-Cooker Pizza Pasta
This isn’t exactly pizza (there’s no crust), but it is a clever way to enjoy pizza flavors—from the sauce to the cheese and pepperoni—in a slow-cooker noodle casserole. Just as with pizza, add any of your favorite toppings, such as crumbled sausage, olives and green peppers.
Zippy Spaghetti Sauce
Leftovers? Simply ladle the thick and hearty ground beef sauce over garlic bread the next day, top with a little cheese, and pop it in the oven or toaster oven. Or, freeze it: This sauce will keep up to three months in an airtight freezer-safe container.
Ground Beef Slow-Cooker Recipes FAQ
Can I put raw ground beef in my slow cooker?
You can put raw ground beef in your slow cooker, and many recipes in this collection do, but depending on the type of recipe, it may taste and look better if it’s browned first in a skillet. Sauteing the ground beef gives it a rich browned color, allows some of the water to evaporate and lets the grease render, so layered recipes will be sliceable, not soggy, once cooked. Dishes like stuffed peppers use the moisture in raw beef to their advantage, resulting in a juicy filling.
What crockpot soups use ground beef?
Most soups with ground beef, from creamy cheeseburger soup to a hearty veggie and bean soup like this slow-cooked beef vegetable soup, are easily adaptable to the slow cooker. To prevent a greasy broth or gray meat, you’ll want to brown the ground beef in a skillet before adding it to your slow cooker. If the soup is finished with sour cream or yogurt, wait until the broth stops boiling before stirring it in to prevent curdling. Though it’s not technically soup, chili is also an excellent soup-like crockpot recipe idea.
How do I meal prep easy slow-cooker dinners?
There are a few handy strategies for making easy slow-cooker meal prep recipes, from combining raw ingredients in a food storage bag to smartly storing single portions that are easy to grab. If you want to plan more than a few days ahead, you can pack freezer meals by adding all the ingredients of your favorite slow-cooker recipe to a freezer-proof storage bag and freezing it flat. Then, just defrost and dump into your slow cooker.
If you want to cook on Sunday to set yourself up for the week, invest in some good food-storage containers and portion the finished recipe into the correct serving size for your lunches or dinners. If the recipe calls for fresh herbs stirred in at the end or a crunchy topping, wait to add it until the meal is reheated for the best texture and flavor.
