Easy Instant Pot Taco Meat Recipe

Let there be tacos! This Quick & Easy Instant Pot Taco Meat is ready in under 20 minutes and pairs great with all your Mexican favorites.

Tacos are a favorite in our house, along with my pressure cooker. This super simple taco meat is made in the Instant Pot and ready in under 20 minutes. I love adding extras like lime juice, Rotel and taco sauce to my taco meat to bump up the flavor.

This meat pairs great with all the Mexican classic recipes like tacos, burritos, and nachos and is great for a game day taco bar. This recipe also stores great and can be frozen for up to 3 months, meaning Taco Tuesday can come any day of the week.

Ingredient Notes

Taco Seasoning: I like to use my homemade taco seasoning in all of my Mexican recipes, but you could use one store bought packet of taco seasoning from your favorite brand as well.

Diced Tomatoes: I like the flavor a can of Rotel brings to the table. You can use any flavor variety you wish, or if Rotel isn't your thing your favorite salsa or just plain diced tomatoes could be substituted in. Alternatively, you could leave them out all together for a more traditional taco meat.

Ground Meat: My family are big ground pork fans, which is why I like to use half ground beef and half ground pork. Like a lot of my other recipes, I enjoy this 50/50 combination and think the flavor comes through better. You could of course just use all ground beef, but the flavor will be slightly different.

Why You'll LOVE It!
Quick & Easy: Ready in Under 20 Minutes!
Versatile: Works Great with Tacos, Burritos, Nachos & More.
Crowd Pleaser: Loaded with Flavor Everyone Will Enjoy

Instructions

Sautéing the Meat

Begin by adding half of your butter, diced onion, ground beef, ground pork, salt and pepper to your instant pot. Turn saute mode to high and use a large spoon to mash and stir the meat into small pieces.

Cook for about 5 minutes, until no pink remains, then drain the grease from the cooked meat.

Pressure Cooking

Once the meat is cooked and drained, return it to the Instant Pot along with all of the remaining ingredients. Give everything a good stir to combine then secure the lid and turn the nozzle to SEAL.

Pressure cook on HIGH PRESSURE for 5 minutes then quick release the nozzle. Be careful a lot of stem will come out. I like to use a large spoon to let the pressure out in little bursts to start then hold it to fully release.

Once the pressure is release remove the lid and stir. If an excess amount of liquid remains turn back on sauté mode and boil off some of the excess liquid. Once ready serve warm with recipe of choice.

Leftover Storage Instructions
Store leftover ground taco meat in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat when ready to serve with Mexican recipe of choice.

Pro Tips

Skip the Water: I find that the ground beef and pork naturally release liquid while cooking, therefor no extra water needs to be added. If you ad water, or find the meat has released an excess amount of liquid, you can boil it off. After pressure cooking switch to sauté mode on HIGH for about 5 minutes, or no more excess liquid remains.

Sauce it Up: The taco sauce adds so much flavor and keeps the taco meat from drying out while cooking in the Instant Pot. I like to add a mild sauce, because that is what my family enjoys, but you could spice it up with a medium or even hot taco sauce for a bolder flavor.

Serving Ideas

This pressure cooker taco meat can be used in way more than just your standard taco. I like to serve this meat over top of nachos, mixed into a cheese dip, added to a burrito or even a quesadilla. Other ideas include burrito bowls, using with in a walking taco bar with chips, or even in a Mexican style salad.

FAQS

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Happy Eating!