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The Best Instant Pot Taco Meat you’ll ever taste, this recipe is loaded with hidden veggies, comes together in under 30 minutes, and tastes just like classic fast food taco meat!
Not only is this recipe perfectly spiced and versatile, but it’s also naturally gluten-free, dairy-free, low-carb, egg-free, nut-free, Paleo, and Whole30-friendly!
The BEST Instant Pot Taco Meat
Growing up, I LOVED Taco Bell. Yes, you read that right. Their tacos were always my favorite!
Now that I’m an adult, I’ve given up my love for Taco Bell, but my love for classic beef tacos remains. Luckily, this homemade taco meat recipe tastes just like the kinds you grew up eating, but it’s made healthy and delicious.
From one taco lover to another, I promise you’ll love this recipe! It’s savory, mildly spicy, and unbelievably easy to make. Even better, your picky eaters won’t realize it’s secretly full of vegetables!
Plus, leftovers store well. So, you can prepare a big batch, and use it in a variety of recipes throughout the week. You’ll never go back to fast-food tacos again!
Ingredients Needed and Substitutions
*Scroll down to the recipe card for the full recipe and ingredient list!
- Seasonings: Chili powder, paprika, cumin, salt, and pepper add warmth, savoriness, and a touch of heat that takes this recipe over the top. If preferred, you can substitute taco seasoning instead.
- Oil: Use olive oil or avocado oil to sauté the veggies.
- Aromatics: Garlic cloves and yellow or white onion create a savory flavor base with just a touch of sweetness.
- Veggies: Carrots, bell pepper, mushrooms, zucchini, celery, and spinach add lots of bulk and nutrients to the dish. When chopped finely you don’t even realize they’re there!
- Beef: You’ll need one pound of ground meat for this recipe. I recommend using lean ground beef! Or, if preferred, ground turkey or ground chicken will also work.
- Salsa: Use any kind of store-bought or homemade salsa you like best such as restaurant-style salsa.
Where I Buy My Meat
- 100% Grass-Fed, Grass-Finished Beef
- Free-Range Organic Chicken
- Humanely Raised Pork
- Wild-Caught Seafood
Delivered to your door! The latest ButcherBox deal can be found right here!
How to Make Instant Pot Taco Meat
- Sauté. Heat the oil in the Instant Pot, and sauté all the veggies except the spinach just until they begin to soften.
- Brown the meat. Add the ground beef, and cook for a few minutes or until browned, breaking it up with a spatula as needed. If your meat is fatty, you may want to drain it before adding the rest of the ingredients.
- Season. Add in the spices, and mix to combine. Then, stir in the salsa, making sure to coat all the beef.
- Cook. Seal the lid of the Instant Pot. Then, cook on high pressure.
- Add the spinach. Turn the knob to quick release the pressure. Then, add the spinach, and gently stir to combine and wilt.
- Serve. Add your taco meat to your favorite recipes along with all the fixin’s, and enjoy!
Slow Cooker Option
No Instant Pot? No problem! Feel free to make slow cooker taco meat instead.
To do so:
- Sauté the veggies in a skillet.
- Then, brown the beef.
- Add everything to the slow cooker.
- Cover, and cook on low for 8 hours.
How to Store and Reheat
- Store leftover Instant Pot taco meat in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- Freeze leftovers for up to 3 months, and thaw in the fridge overnight when you’re ready to serve.
- Reheat the meat in the microwave or in a skillet over medium heat, adding a splash of water as needed to freshen it back up. It’ll taste as good as new!
Ways to Use Instant Pot Taco Meat
Of course, my favorite way to use this recipe is with traditional tacos on taco night. I love to serve it in grain-free tortillas with a variety of toppings like lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, jalapeños, scallions, avocado, cilantro, lime juice, and sour cream!
However, it’s also great with recipes like:
- Burrito Bowls
- Nachos
- Quesadillas
- Taco Salad
- 7 Layer Taco Dip
- Air Fryer Baked Potatoes
- Freezer Burritos
FAQs
I highly recommend taking the time to brown the meat! It helps lock in flavor and creates a crispier, more crumbly consistency.
You should only need about one cup of liquid to cook with an Instant Pot!
A 6-quart Instant Pot is plenty big enough for this taco meat recipe.
More Delicious Instant Pot Recipes
- Paleo Chicken and Broccoli
- Hard Boiled Eggs
- Beef Barbacoa
- Award Winning Chili
- Instant Pot Balsamic Chicken
- Chicken Cacciatore
- Pho
Looking for even more? Find all my Instant Pot recipes!
The BEST Instant Pot Taco Meat
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon olive oil or avocado oil
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 onion finely diced
- 2 large carrots finely diced
- 1 bell pepper diced
- 1 cup mushrooms diced
- Optional: 1 zucchini diced
- Optional: 2 celery sticks minced
- 1 pound grass-fed ground beef or ground turkey
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 cup salsa of choice
- At the end add spinach
Instructions
- Heat oil and sauté veggies for about 4 minutes, until they begin to soften.1 teaspoon olive oil or avocado oil, 2 garlic cloves, 1 onion, 2 large carrots, 1 bell pepper, 1 cup mushrooms, Optional: 1 zucchini, Optional: 2 celery sticks
- Add in the meat and cook for 2-3 minutes until browned.1 pound grass-fed ground beef or ground turkey
- Add in spices and mix to combine. Add in the salsa.1 teaspoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, 1 cup salsa of choice
- Seal the lid and then cook under high pressure for 15 minutes.
- Turn the knob to quick release. Add in spinach while hot and mix until wilted.At the end
- Serve with your favorite taco fixins' and enjoy!
Notes
- Store leftover Instant Pot taco meat in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- Freeze leftovers for up to 3 months, and thaw in the fridge overnight when you’re ready to serve.
- Reheat the meat in the microwave or in a skillet over medium heat, adding a splash of water as needed to freshen it back up. It’ll taste as good as new!
Made this tonight and it was the best taco meat ever. I shredded the zucchini and carrots and they weren’t detectable by the kids. I used a salsa without sugar but I think the carrots gave t a little sweetness cause my husband said it tasted a little like sloppy joe meat with a Mexican flair. I will never make taco meat any other way!
A weekly staple in our house; I’ll never go back to taco meat any other way! I kick it up with extra heat/spice for my own taste. Love all the loads of veggies in it.
This IS by far the best turkey taco meat I’ve ever had/made. I’m always on the fence with ground turkey but this recipe was perfect. I love that it had a ton of veggies in it and we doctored it up with some chipotle peppers in adobo and it was so good! We also doubled the recipe so we could have it throughout the week for work lunches with some Mexican quinoa. This will be a staple for dinner now! Thanks for the recipe. 🙂
Felt so sneaky getting all of these vegetables into taco meat. Great recipe that the whole family enjoys.
Love this recipe but was wondering if you have nutritional/ calorie counts?
Can I make it with frozen ground turkey? It does it need to be thawed?
Thanks!!,
Chelsea
I haven’t tried it with frozen. Let us know if you do!
What kind of grain free tortillas do you use? Couldn’t catch the name during your video. I’m going to buy your cookbook soon, love your recipes.
Thanks Lexi
Siete foods!
This was amazing! So easy and so fast. I also had a ton of liquid though. My beef wasn’t super fatty so I’m not sure what it was! I followed the recipe as written. Maybe the mushrooms released a lot of liquid? I’ll try adding less salsa next time. Still a great recipe!
This was AWESOME. Thank you!
I am always looking for quick recipe on the weekdays and this one was so simple and delicious! Thank you for such a quick and tasty recipe Lexi! It was perfect for our taco Tuesday traditions 🙂
Mine came out really runny. I didn’t instant release will that cause the extra liquid? Newbie cooker here. The flavor was bomb!
Was your beef very fatty? If so, may want to drain out some of the fat before adding salsa.
Just in time for Taco Tuesday!!
Love the hidden veggies in this taco meat! Super easy too in the IP!
The recipe was so quick, super easy, and filled with added vegetables. We enjoyed it over a bed of spegetti squash, but it would also be amazing with cauliflower rice. It was our first instapot time using the instapot and we couldn’t be more excited to make it again.
YAY!!!!!!
Can you make this recipe in the slow cooker?
Yes – directions added to the notes. Let us know how it goes 🙂
My boys will love this for Taco Tuesday!
Hooray for the extra veg!
That’s the best taco meat I have EVER seen!!
THis looks so good! Just in time for taco night in our family!
Love all the veggies in here! Give the perfect little boost of vitamins and fiber! I’m all set for taco Tuesday now! 🙂