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The one with Whatever Meat Is in the Freezer
There are recipes you follow.
And then there are recipes that eventually become a way you cook.
Taco Roast is the second kind.
It started with beef roast: meat into the slow cooker with salsa, tomatoes, Taco Seasoning, and tomato paste, then cooked until tender enough to shred.
And then we made it with pork.
And venison.
And chicken.
And duck.
We’ve even made it with rabbit.
Eventually I realized this wasn’t really a beef-roast recipe anymore.
It was a method—a simple, flavorful way to turn whatever suitable meat was in the freezer into dinner.
Better yet, it could become more than one dinner.
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How We Serve Taco Roast
This is where Taco Roast really earns its keep.
Use it for:
Tacos
Taco salads
Burrito bowls
Lettuce wraps
Nachos
Loaded baked potatoes
Meal-prep lunches
Serve it with Spicy Taco Slaw, Cabbage Rice, cauliflower rice, vegetables, beans, rice, potatoes, corn, fruit, or whatever works for the meal you’re building.
The same batch doesn’t even have to become the same dinner for everyone.
One person can make a salad.
Someone else can make tacos.
Someone wants rice.
Someone found yesterday’s baked potato in the refrigerator.
People deserve autonomy, and dinner does not need to be a synchronized performance
Cook Once. Use Many Times.
Sometimes meal prep is simply making enough of something useful that part of tomorrow’s work is already finished.
The useful part is that you’re not starting over.
That’s why I distinguish between ordinary leftovers and intended leftovers.
Sometimes leftovers happen because we made too much.
Intended leftovers happen because we made enough on purpose.
Today’s food already has another job waiting for it.
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Taco Roast
Fuel Flow: Flexible Recipe
Gluten FREEzer Friendly
Serves: 8–12 servings, depending on the meat, serving size, and how it is used
Ingredients:
2½–3 pounds meat of choice
1 medium onion, diced
1 (16-ounce) jar green salsa or 1½ cups prepared Blender Salsa
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
¼ cup Taco Seasoning
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
Water or broth as needed, particularly for lean meats
What Kind of Meat Can I Use?
This recipe began with beef, but we’ve made it with a few different meats.
Beef
Chuck roast
Round roast
Stew meat
Pork
Pork shoulder
Pork roast
Pork loin
Pork Chops
Poultry
Chicken: Breasts, Thighs, or Whole
Turkey: Breast
Duck: Whole is easier because it’s so lean
Wild Game & Other Meats
Venison – Roast, Stew meat, Steaks
Rabbit – Whole is easier
Any other wild game meat you like
The important thing is to adjust the cooking method to the meat instead of assuming every protein behaves like a chuck roast.
Lean Meats Need a Little Different Treatment
This matters particularly with some of the meats we use. Venison, duck, and rabbit are very lean.
When we make Taco Roast with them, we add additional water or broth.
You’re looking for enough flavorful cooking liquid to help the meat cook until tender and leave some sauce for the shredded meat to go back into.
Slow Cooker Directions
1. Place the meat in your slow cooker.
2. Add the diced onion, salsa, diced tomatoes, Taco Seasoning, and tomato paste.
3. Add water or broth as needed, particularly when using a very lean meat such as venison, elk, or rabbit.
4. Cover and cook until the meat is safely cooked and tender enough to shred easily. Cooking time will vary depending on the type and cut of meat.
5. Shred the meat. Stir it back into the cooking liquid.
6. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed.
Oven Directions
1. Place the meat in a covered Dutch oven or roasting pan.
2. Add the onion, salsa, diced tomatoes, Taco Seasoning, and tomato paste.
3. Add water or broth as needed, particularly with lean meats.
4. Cover and roast at an appropriate temperature for your particular type and cut of meat until safely cooked and tender enough to shred.
5. Shred the meat and stir it back into the cooking liquid.
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Fuel Flow: Build the Meal You Need
Taco Roast is a Flexible Fuel Recipe.
The fueling style of this recipe can shift depending on ingredient choices.
The first variable is the meat.
A well-marbled beef roast or pork shoulder naturally brings considerably more fat than chicken breast, turkey breast, pork loin, rabbit, venison, or elk.
Then look at what goes around it.
For a Fat-Forward meal, choose an appropriately fatty meat and pair it primarily with non-starchy foods such as taco salad, lettuce wraps, Spicy Taco Slaw, broccoli, green beans, cauliflower rice, or Cabbage Rice.
For a Carb-Forward meal, begin with a lean protein and add a meaningful carbohydrate source such as potatoes, rice, beans, corn, or fruit while keeping added fats appropriate to the meal.
For a Dual Fuel meal, bring meaningful sources of both fat and carbohydrate to the plate. That could be loaded potatoes with richer toppings, nachos, or a rice-and-bean burrito bowl with cheese or avocado.
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Use the Salsa You Have
Green salsa was part of the original Taco Roast, and you can absolutely keep using it.
But if you already have my Blender Salsa in the refrigerator or freezer, use 1½ cups of that instead.
This is exactly the kind of preparation crossover I like in my kitchen.
Make something useful.
Use it somewhere else.
Let it become part of another meal.
The refrigerator, freezer, and pantry aren’t simply holding ingredients. They can hold parts of future meals.
You Don’t Need Special Tomatoes
I originally used fire-roasted diced tomatoes.
The salsa and Taco Seasoning are the dominant flavor notes here, so use the diced tomatoes you have.
Plain? Use them.
Petite diced? Sure.
Fire-roasted? Great.
This isn’t a recipe I want you abandoning because the can in your pantry doesn’t have the right adjective on the label.
The Treehouse Standard
Safe, not sorry. Always.
My household is gluten-free, so the ingredients and products I choose are selected with our family’s boundaries in mind. Brands, formulations, manufacturing practices, and labels can change. Always verify the specific products you purchase against the food boundaries that matter in your own household.
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Nicole Burch is a Trim Healthy Lifestyle Coach, author, and holistic family life mentor helping women and families rebuild through rooted rhythms, personal governance, and sustainable living. Blending nourishment, discernment, and restoration, she guides others toward resilience, peace, and healing—creating lives that are grounded, aligned, and nurtured at home.
Wellness That Withstands.
Rooted. Resilient. Restored.
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Trim Healthy Coach Disclaimer
Nicole Burch is a Certified Trim Healthy Mama Lifestyle Coach, independently offering services based on the THM plan. This coach is not an employee or agent of Trim Healthy Mama, LLC. Coaching services are independently managed, and THM is not responsible for results, business practices, or claims made by this coach.
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