Crock Pot Fritos Taco Bowls

I’ve said it several times before on this blog but most of my food & recipe inspiration comes when I am grocery shopping. I love grocery shopping. It’s like my me time ♥. Lately though I have been doing Walmart’s grocery pick up. Which by the way is the best thing to ever happen to me. It is amazing. I was always hesitant to do it because I do love grocery shopping so much that I thought I would miss it.

As I was filling my grocery cart (virtually online 🙂 ) one of the items they were highlighting were Fritos chips. But at the same time I was filling my cart for ingredients needed to make these turkey taco burrito bowls (aka- the most pinned recipe from my blog) and then it hit me!

Fritos taco bowls. Like the “walking tacos” where you put some taco meat inside a small bag of Fritos, except this recipe today is for taco bowls but with a Fritos base. Heaven in a bowl I tell you. 

Because the ground beef is already cooked you may not think that you need to leave it in the crock pot for 6 hours. But cooked ground beef in the slow cooker is one of my favorite things ever. Why? Because the meat gets so tender and the flavor is just out of this world when it cooks for hours with the other ingredients. 

Yes you could just let it simmer on the stove top for a bit but I promise you that if you let it simmer in the crock pot for several hours, the flavor will be so deep and rich. Try it!

How to make Crock Pot Fritos Taco Bowls

Start by browning some ground beef with an onion and some seasonings.

Drain the grease and then add it into the slow cooker.

Add in all the other ingredients (except the Fritos and toppings, of course!) and give it a good stir. Cover with the lid and let it simmer all day.

Layer Fritos in the bottom of your bowl, scoop some meat from the slow cooker, and then add your toppings. I love to serve this rice, shredded lettuce, salsa or diced tomatoes, avocado slices, green onions, and shredded cheese. 

I always use very lean ground beef and I still drain it for this recipe. If you don’t drain the ground beef then you will end up with a layer of oil.

Once you stir it, it will go away, but I don’t care for lots of oil so I always drain it no matter how lean the beef is. 

Tips for making Fritos Taco Bowl

• If you want a spicier taco filling then add in a can of diced green chilies 
• Don’t like pinto beans? No problem. Substitute with a can of black beans or ranchero beans. 
• If you want to add a veggie then add in a can of corn or a cup or so of frozen corn into the crock pot.
• Use regular Fritos or the Fritos scoops. We love using the scoops. We layer chips on the bottom of a bowl, then some cilantro lime rice, then the crock pot taco filling, and pile it high with all our favorite toppings. 
• You don’t have to use rice in these bowls. That is just what my family prefers.
• Use tortilla chips if you don’t have or don’t like Fritos.
• Our favorite toppings are : avocado slices, sour cream, shredded cheese, and chopped tomatoes. You could also add some jalapeno slices, olives, shredded lettuce, pico de gallo, salsa, guacamole. The options are endless. 

The leftovers of this are fabulous as well. The taco meat mixture tends to thicken up quite a bit once refrigerated so just add some water or chicken or beef broth to it when you heat it up. Or don’t add anything and just have it be a thicker taco filling on leftovers. We’ve done both ways and you can’t go wrong with either. 

Thank you so much for visiting and for being here. I hope you love these and as always, let me know if you try them. I love to hear from you all!

Crock Pot Fritos Taco Bowls

Author Jessica - Together as Family

Course Main Course

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 6 hours hours

Total Time 6 hours hours 15 minutes minutes

Servings 8 taco bowls

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Crock Pot Fritos Taco Bowls are a family favorite! A beefy taco mixture simmers in the crock pot all day and then gets piled on top of Fritos, rice, and all your favorite taco toppings. This is a dinner that everyone will be begging for more of. 

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Ingredients

  

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• ▢ 2 lbs lean ground beef
• ▢ 1 small onion, finely chopped
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
• ▢ 2 garlic cloves
• ▢ 2 cans chili beans, undrained
• ▢ 1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
• ▢ 1 can (14.5 oz) petite diced tomatoes, undrained
• ▢ 1 packet taco seasoning
• ▢ 1 teaspoon chili powder
• ▢ 1 teaspoon cumin
• ▢ 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ▢ 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder

Fritos Taco Bowls

• ▢ Fritos chips
• ▢ sour cream, shredded cheese, avocado, pico de gallo, guacamole, shredded lettuce, etc
• ▢ rice of choice (see notes)

Instructions

• Brown ground beef, onion, salt and pepper in a skillet pan over medium-high heat until cooked through and no longer pink. After the meat is halfway cooked, add the garlic and finish cooking. 
• Add the ground beef mixture into the crock pot along with all the other ingredients. Stir together and look on low heat for 6-7 hours. 
• Serve over Fritos chips and add toppings of your choice. We also love adding rice to our bowls too. 

Notes

We love adding rice to our Fritos taco bowls. You don't have to but it's a nice addition. We love this cilantro lime rice but you can also use microwave rice, leftover rice, Mexican rice, etc. 

 

Use any onion you like. I used a sweet onion but you can also use a yellow onion or a white onion as well. 

 

If you don't have cocoa powder then don't go out and buy it just for 1/2 teaspoon, just leave it out. It adds a depth of richness and color. 

 

I use garlic paste. You can also use the minced garlic that comes in the jar or just use the 2 garlic cloves. Either way works. 

 

This recipe has been updated republished with text & new Pinterest image October 2018. Original recipe is the same. 

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