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Make-Ahead Mexican Ground Beef

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  • Prep 30 min
  • Total 30 min
  • Servings 16
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Any night can be taco night when you keep your freezer stocked with seasoned and cooked ground beef! This make-ahead ground beef recipe is the easiest way to get ahead of dinner, and we’re not just saying that. It requires only 2 ingredients: ground beef and Old El Paso™ taco seasoning. With those simple ingredients and a clever method from the Betty Crocker Test Kitchens, you can cook up 16 servings or enough meat for about 3 meals in just 30 short minutes. So, whether you’re preparing to send the kids back to school or just making the most of a ground beef sale—this sanity-saving recipe is one you don’t want to miss!
Updated Mar 19, 2020
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Ingredients

  • 3 lb lean (at least 80%) ground beef
  • 2 packets (1 oz) Old El Paso™ Original Taco Seasoning Mix
Make With
Old El Paso

Steps

  • 1
    In 5-quart Dutch oven or 12-inch skillet, cook beef over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until thoroughly cooked; drain.
  • 2
    Reduce heat to medium. Stir in taco seasoning mix. Cook 3 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until flavors are blended. Cool 5 minutes.
  • 3
    Line 15x10x1-inch pan with foil. Spoon beef onto foil and break apart as necessary.
  • 4
    Smooth meat into an even layer across pan.
  • 5
    Freeze about 1 hour, stirring once, until firm.
  • 6
    Divide mixture into quart-sized resealable freezer plastic bags with about 2 cups in each. (One lb ground beef yields about 2 cups, cooked and drained.) Seal bags, label and freeze up to 2 months.

Tips from the Betty Crocker Kitchens

  • tip 1
    To reduce the sodium in this recipe by about 160 milligrams per serving, use Old El Paso® 40% less-sodium taco seasoning mix instead of the regular.
  • tip 2
    Now that you’ve got a freezer full of perfectly seasoned and ready-to-go ground beef, what to do with it? Use it to make Slow-Cooker Salsa Chili and you’ve got a dump-and-go dinner! You can’t go wrong with Impossibly Easy Taco Pie either. It makes both our Cornbread Topped Sloppy Joe Casserole and Chili-Mac Soup quick as can be.

Nutrition

160 Calories, 10g Total Fat, 15g Protein, 2g Total Carbohydrate, 0g Sugars

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 1 Serving
Calories
160
Calories from Fat
90
Total Fat
10g
15%
Saturated Fat
3 1/2g
18%
Trans Fat
1/2g
Cholesterol
55mg
18%
Sodium
290mg
12%
Potassium
200mg
6%
Total Carbohydrate
2g
1%
Dietary Fiber
0g
0%
Sugars
0g
Protein
15g
% Daily Value*:
Vitamin A
4%
4%
Vitamin C
0%
0%
Calcium
4%
4%
Iron
10%
10%
Exchanges:
0 Starch; 0 Fruit; 0 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Skim Milk; 0 Low-Fat Milk; 0 Milk; 0 Vegetable; 0 Very Lean Meat; 0 Lean Meat; 0 High-Fat Meat; 0 Fat;
Carbohydrate Choice
0
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
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