When the kids were all at home, I needed dinner to be fast, hearty (for the 3 guys in the house) and budget friendly! Cowboy Beans was one of the boys’ favorite ground beef recipes. And I loved it because the ground beef recipe comes together quickly. So if you need something fast to make with ground beef you will love simple Crockpot Cowboy Beans with beef!
Before we started raising cattle, ground beef was one of the main stables at our dinner table. Learning to turn a pound of ground beef into a meal to satisfy 5 is a key talent for any mom (or meal maker:). And simple Crockpot Cowboy Beans with beef fits the bill.
When I shared this recipe on our Facebook page, Hickory Hollow Farm Freezer Beef, it received rave reviews. I think one of the things that our customers love so much about this recipe is that it uses stable ingredients that most of us have in our kitchen. And if there is one thing you want, to stay on the food budget, is to have quick meals that use up some of the items in the cupboard, without running to the store or to the local take-out.
Key Ingredients for Crockpot Cowboy Beans with Beef
In this delicious ground beef crockpot recipe, I use red beans instead of kidney beans. Red beans are a smaller bean than the kidney beans. I find them at Kroger. Typically, I prefer to purchase all my canned goods at Aldi, but you can’t find red beans at Aldi. Kidney beans are too big of a bean for my taste so I really like the smaller red beans.
Cowboy Beans also has chopped onions. You can use slightly less if your kids hate onions. When the kids were young, I cooked with onions so mine never knew the difference. When adding onions to any meal, I prefer to cook them before adding them to the crockpot.
Simple Crockpot Cowboy Beans with Beef
Cowboy Beans is a crockpot meal that does not need to stay in the crockpot long so you have a couple options. You can put it together later afternoon and let the meal cook for 2 hours.
Or you can put the Cowboy Beans with Beef in the crockpot in the morning, cook on low for 2 hours and then switch to warm on the crockpot settings. A perfect meal for evenings when you have a lot to coordinate or everyone is eating at a slightly different time!
.Enjoy! And let me know if you think your family will love Crockpot Cowboy Beans with Beef! And check out the handy recipe below!
Crockpot Cowboy Beans with Beef
Crockpot Cowboy Beans with Beef
Equipment
- Crock pot
- skillet
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 16 oz baked beans
- 16 oz red beans
- 1 1/2 cups onions chopped
- 1 cup ketchup
- 2 tbsp Dijon-style mustard
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tsp cider vinegar
Instructions
- Brown and break up ground beef over medium heat in a skillet on stove top.
- Drain beef and add onions. Sauté for 3-4 minutes in skillet.
- Add cooked beef and onions to crockpot.
- Add all the other ingredients.
- Cover and cook on low for 1-2 hours.
