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Slow Cooker Ground Beef Hobo Dinner Recipe

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8 hours 50 minutes
16 Comments
3.67 from 6 votes
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Slow Cooker Ground Beef Hobo Dinner is an easy family dinner recipe you can put together in minutes. Full of ground beef, potatoes, carrots, and more vegetables with a BBQ sauce.
Slow Cooker Ground Beef Hobo Dinner Recipe

Slow Cooker Ground Beef Hobo Dinner is the best crock pot recipe!

This recipe was inspired by our Easy Hobo Tin Foil Dinner Recipe – but this one is even better because you can make it in slow cooker!

It has all pieces of a delicious dinner: meat, potatoes, and even vegetables cooked perfectly.

This dish also is easily stored in the fridge and reheated the next day as leftovers.

slow cooker hobo dinner on a white plate with bbq sauce on top

What to serve with Hobo Dinner?

ingredients for slow cooker hobo dinner

Ingredients Needed For Slow Cooker Ground Beef Hobo Dinner:

  • Salt
  • Ground pepper
  • Onion powder
  • Garlic powder
  • Paprika
  • Parsley
  • Russet potatoes, thinly sliced
  • Yellow onion
  • Sliced carrots
  • Fresh green beans
  • Lean ground beef
  • Condensed cream of mushroom soup
  • BBQ sauce
  • Shredded sharp cheddar cheese
slow cooker hobo dinner all finished cooking

How To Make Slow Cooker Ground Beef Hobo Dinner:

Begin by spraying your slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. 

Then in a small bowl mix together the salt, ground pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, and parsley. 

Once that is done set the bowl aside until later. 

bbq sauce mixture for slow cooker hobo dinner

In a medium-sized mixing bowl mix together the can of condensed mushroom soup and the BBQ sauce. 

vegetables stacked in the bottom of the slow cooker

Now, take half of the thinly sliced russet potatoes, half of the onions, half of the carrots, and half of the green beans and layer them into the bottom of the greased slow cooker. 

Next, sprinkle half of the seasonings over top of the vegetable layer in the slow cooker. 

vegetables in the bottom of the slow cooker

Then, take the uncooked beef and break it up into bite-sized pieces and place half of the uncooked meat over the top of the vegetables. 

Once that is done, spoon half of the sauce mixture over top of the meat. 

meat with sauce on top of vegetables in the slow cooker

When that is done, repeat all the layers again starting with the russet potatoes, and create each layer. 

After you have repeated the layers, place the lid on top of the slow cooker and cook everything on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 3 ½ – 4 hours. 

slow cooker ground beef hobo dinner topped with bbq sauce and cheese

Once it is done cooking, scoop out your desired serving size and top it with the shredded cheddar cheese, and some BBQ sauce or ketchup if you’d like!

To Make This Slow Cooker Ground Beef Recipe You Will Need:

  1. Slow cooker (I love THIS programmable one!)
  2. Nonstick cooking spray
  3. Knife
  4. Cutting board
  5. Small bowl
  6. Medium bowl

You Can Make Your Own Condensed Soup

Not everyone loves canned soup, so here is a recipe that you can make from scratch.

Take a look at the homemade consensed cream of mushroom soup recipe from the Pioneer Woman!

Have you checked out our YouTube channel? We show you how to make our favorite recipes right in our own kitchens!

slow cooker ground beef hobo dinner topped with cheese and bbq sauce

More Easy Slow Cooker Recipes: 

Love cooking as much as we do? Join our FREE private Facebook Group: Six Sisters’ Dinner Club!

slow cooker hobo dinner with bbq sauce on top

Slow Cooker Ground Beef Hobo Dinner Recipe

3.67 from 6 votes
Ground beef, potatoes, carrots, and green beans all cooked together and topped with a delicious BBQ sauce.
Serving8
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 8 hours 30 minutes
Total Time 8 hours 50 minutes
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Ingredients

  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • ½ teaspoon onion powder
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ¼ teaspoon paprika
  • ¼ teaspoon parsley
  • 6 russet potatoes, scrubbed and thinly sliced
  • 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 pound carrots, sliced
  • ½ pound fresh green beans, ends trimmed
  • 1 ½ pounds lean ground beef, uncooked
  • 10 ¾ ounces condensed cream of mushroom soup
  • ½ cup bbq sauce
  • ½ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Equipment

Instructions

  1. Spray slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray.
  2. In a small bowl, mix together the salt, ground pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, and parsley. Set aside.
  3. In another medium-sized bowl, mix together cream of mushroom soup and BBQ sauce.
  4. Layer half of the potatoes, half of the onions, half of the carrots, and half of the green beans in the bottom of the slow cooker. Sprinkle half of the seasonings over the vegetables.
  5. Break the ground beef in small bite-sized pieces (uncooked) and place half over the vegetables.
  6. Spoon half of the sauce mixture over the meat.
  7. Repeat the entire process all over again, layering it on top of each other.
  8. Place the lid on top of the slow cooker and cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 3.5-4 hours.
  9. Scoop servings into bowls and top with shredded cheddar cheese (and more BBQ sauce or even ketchup, it desired).

Notes

Feel free to add more vegetables! Some of our favorites to add:
  • chopped zucchini
  • green peas
  • sweet potatoes
  • corn
  • any color of bell pepper
  • celery
  • broccoli
  • cauliflower
How to turn this into a freezer meal:
Brown ground beef and let it cool. Once cooled, place in the bottom of gallon-sized resealable freezer bag. Add in potatoes, onion, carrots, green beans, salt, ground black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, and parsley. Squeeze out as much air as possible and seal bag closed. Place freezer bag into freezer and it will last 60-90 days.
When ready to use, dump ingredients from bag into slow cooker and place lid on top. Cook on LOW heat for 6-8 hours (or HIGH heat for 3-4 hours – just make sure that the food is cooked through).
In a mixing bowl, mix together cream of mushroom soup and BBQ sauce. Add to food in slow cooker and gently mix until all food is coated in sauce.
Scoop into bowls and top with shredded cheddar cheese, if desired.

Nutrition

Calories: 364 kcal · Carbohydrates: 47 g · Protein: 27 g · Fat: 8 g · Saturated Fat: 4 g · Trans Fat: 1 g · Cholesterol: 62 mg · Sodium: 749 mg · Potassium: 1324 mg · Fiber: 5 g · Sugar: 11 g · Vitamin A: 9786 IU · Vitamin C: 17 mg · Calcium: 120 mg · Iron: 4 mg
Cuisine: American
Course: Main Course
Did You Make This Recipe?We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave a review or a question in the comment section below the post.
Published: July 19, 2023Updated: July 3, 2024

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Questions & Reviews

  1. Krista Nielson says:
    This Sounds delicious! I think I'll try it this weekend!

    5 stars

  2. Joy M says:
    Can this be made ahead and frozen like your freezer bag meals?
  3. Momma Cyd says:
    We have not yet tried these as a freezer meal. But looking over the ingredients, everything should work great when converting this over to a freezer meal.
  4. Patricia Bontrager says:
    I made this in the slow cooker exactly as instructed and boy I had problems. I initially cooked it on low for 7 hours and when I tested it, the vegetables were all still completely crunchy. So I turned it up to high and after cooking an additional 3 hours, the vegetables on the top layer were still crunchy (including the potatoes which I'd cut on the mandolin, so those were sliced THIN). Needless to say, dinner was pretty much ruined. Won't be making this again.

    1 star

  5. Momma Cyd says:
    I'm sorry you had problems with this recipe. We checked our slow cooker beef stew which has the same veggies and it cooks for about the same time - 7-9 hours on low. We have never had a problem with crunchy veggies after cooking all day in the slow cooker when the veggies and potatoes are sliced thin. Anything cooking all day in the slow cooker would definitely be cooked through.
  6. April Lynn says:
    Ya, I think they may just have a broken slow cooker. I haven’t tried this exact recipe yet, But I have made stuff similar to this in my crock pot and as long as the lid is sealed.. it all cooks. Anyway, Im definitely gonna have try this recipe out very soon! When I do, If I have any issues with things not cooking or unevenly cooking.. I will definitely reply back on here!
  7. Momma Cyd says:
    The good thing is if your slow cooker is broken, black Friday sales have started and the next few weeks is a fantastic time to get a good deal on a slow cooker. Best of luck!!
  8. Beverley Pentecost says:
    I have a question How many cans of cream of mushroom soup do you need? In the list of ingredients its says 10 3/4oz can but in the instructions it say " In a medium-sized mixing bowl mix together the can of condensed mushroom soup and the BBQ sauce." In Canada we have 284ml cans @ $1.49 a can. Which would make this a very expensive Hobo dinner. Many thanks in advance for your help and clarification and thank you for the wonderful recipes. Cheers, Beverley
  9. Momma Cyd says:
    You just need one can of cream of mushroom soup (that is 10 3/4 ounces in weight).
  10. Michelle says:
    Made this on a cold, snowy day and it was SO good! This recipe is a hidden gem! I am not sure why the other commenter struggled with her vegetables - mine were perfect after 7.5 hours. This was so good and filling and all my teenage sons LOVED it. Thanks for another great recipe!

    5 stars

  11. Rachel says:
    This didn’t look great, but it was SO GOOD! Easy to make. It cooked in my crockpot for about 8 hours and was perfect- the vegetables were even a little soft, I could have turned it off at 7 hours.

    5 stars

  12. Dee says:
    THIS WAS SO GOOD! And so easy. My husband and I loved it.

    5 stars

  13. Sanné says:
    Can this be made in the instant pot?
  14. Momma Cyd says:
    You would need to alter the recipe quite a bit for the instant pot.
  15. Bonnie says:
    I did this as a freezer meal as part of the monthly freezer meal plans and it had so much potential but the potatoes turned black -- like actually black!! We didn't even dare eat it, so to Taco Bell we go! Maybe this would work as a fresh meal but something happened either during freezing or crock-potting that destroyed those poor potatoes!

    1 star

  16. Bobbi @ Six Sisters says:
    I'm so sorry that happened! When potatoes are exposed to oxygen they can sometimes turn black. They are safe to eat but I understand why that wouldn't be appetizing for you. If you want to try this recipe again, try using frozen hashbrowns in place of fresh potatoes.
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