Slow Cooker Healthy Taco Casserole
If you are ready to get your family to eat a veggie packed meal without complaint, then I’ve got the recipe for you! This Slow Cooker Healthy Taco Casserole is deliciously healthy and perfect for weeknight family meals.
Raise your hand if you struggle to get your family to eat a respectable amount of veggies.
Wow, that’s a lot of you, but I’m not surprised. I’m with you. My daughter sees anything green and she pushes away her plate and sticks her nose in the air while asking for a hotdog. But get those veggies incorporated into a delicious casserole that they won’t even realize is healthy because it’s so tasty? Everyone will snarf it down.
The rest of my house eats veggies pretty well, but I’ve got to admit I was a little nervous serving up a taco casserole that was stuffed full of collard greens. But as it turns out not only did they eat it… they loved it!
Add to that peppers, onions and tomatoes and you’ve got a totally veggie packed meal!
But let’s not forget about the tons of protein! Lean ground beef and wholesome black beans (my favorite bean!) makes this a nice complete meal! Top it off with avocado or sour cream or leave it plain. All up to you!
Slow Cooker Healthy Taco Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 pound 96/4 Extra Lean Ground Beef
- 1 small Yellow Onion diced
- 1 Red Bell Pepper diced
- 1 Yellow or Orange Bell Pepper diced
- 5 cups Shredded Collard Greens
- 1 cup Beef Broth
- 1 pint Sugar Plum Grape Tomatoes halved
- 15 oz can Black Beans
- 18 oz Tomato Sauce with Roasted Garlic
- 3 tablespoons Homemade Taco Seasoning
- 10 Corn Tortillas (I used extra thin)
- 6 oz Sharp Cheddar Cheese
Instructions
- Brown ground beef in skillet over medium high heat until fully cooked, drain any excess grease
- Add onions and peppers and let saute for 2-3 minutes until slightly softened
- Add collard greens and stir well to combine and wilt greens
- Add broth and cover and let simmer for 5 minutes or until greens are wilted
- Remove cover and let simmer until broth fully reduced
- Remove from heat and stir in tomatoes, beans, sauce, and taco seasoning
- Stack half of the tortillas and cut them into thin strips and then into bit sized pieces
- Stir them into beef mixture
- Spray slow cooker with non-stick spray and add casserole mixture
- Top with cheese
- Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 until veggies and beans are fully cooked and tender
Notes
Nutrition
Hi, is there a vegetarian ground beef substitute I am able to use in this recipe? This is a delicious recipe but I just recently became vegetarian and don’t want to give up this dish. Thanks!
Hmmm, I’m not to familiar with them so I can’t recommend a specific one although I’m sure it would work well. Another option might be to double the beans?
I made this today. Pretty darn good. It was rather soupy but I used spicy rotel instead of fresh pint of cherry tomatoes and half the tortillas (trying to reduce carbs for diabetic spouse). I doubled the meat, beans and taco seasoning (thinking that would add enough bulk to make up for the missing tortillas). Definately a make again. I am amazed how you don’t taste the greens! I will use a bit less tomato sauce next time and drain the rotel.
Is the tomato sauce 1-8oz can??
I have no idea what the internal temp of the meat was when I turned off the crockpot….I didn’t test with anything. I have a feeling I am going To pitch This batch and start fresh….
Cooked the taco casserole for 6 hours on low with an additional 45 unplugged….too short a time? Am thinking I need to pitch and start over???
Hi Bonnie! Ground turkey is safe to eat one it reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees. I always keep a food thermometer on hand to check my meats.
I used a crockpot and put in raw turkey meat…it ended up cooking on low for right at 6 hours with abt 45 minutes on off still hot…..wondering if I let it cook long enough or shd have gone longer….concerned I didn’t let it cook long enough and am concerned I shd start over…..I don’t want to get food poisoning from undercooked meat…..
Drain beans?
yes
Great recipe! Slow cooking is great but it can be made a lot healthier. Instead of a crockpot, I used MEC pure clay pot for this recipe. It cooked a lot faster and the flavor was all natural and enhanced. You should try that and I promise you’d never cook in a crockpot again.
What are the nutritional values in particular smart points. Thanks
Hi Kim! We are working on calculating the nutritional value of all recipes, but as you can imagine, it is a very big undertaking. In the meantime, you can plug any recipe in at My Fitness Pal or in the Weight Watchers app and customize for any changes or brands used to get the nutrition values.
I baked this in oven in long rectangle casserole dish. Would you say that 1/8 of the recipe is about a cup? My husband is diabetic and I need to be specific
With the serving size
I’m so sorry, I don’t have the exact measurements (and they can vary a bit) so I would weigh it out and divide equally for most accurate results.
I am planning on making this tomorrow while I’m at work. Can I just cook the beef and through the rest in the crock pot instead of prepping it all in a pan? I plan on cooking it on low for 8 hours and have a timed crock pot so it will shut off.
Thanks in advance!
Throw* not through ?
Yes, I would probably reduce the broth by 1/4 cup or so and plan on the veggies being a little more crisp (not a bad thing!). Let me know how it turns out!
Made this today, and loved it! I never would have thought of collard greens for this, thanks for a great idea.
So glad you loved it!!