Taco Pasta Casserole is beefy, cheesy, and flavorful as can be! This protein-packed dinner feeds a small army and takes just a few minutes to toss together. After that, the oven does all of the work for you!
Reasons To Love This Taco Pasta Casserole Recipe
- Flavor Fusion: Combines cheesy beef tacos with the comfort of pasta!
- Easy Prep: Ready to go into the oven in 15 minutes.
- Hidden Veggies: Loaded with tomatoes, corn, peppers, and two kinds of beans.
- Budget-Conscious: Uses affordable, everyday ingredients.
- Comfort Food: A hearty meal that keeps you full!
- Make-Ahead Friendly: Prepare up to 24 hours in advance.
Ellen’s Notes
My husband has requested this casserole recipe more times than I can count! He says it’s the ultimate dinner since it’s basically a combo of his two favorites—taco pasta and taco casserole. When I want to have even less dishes to wash, I make this casserole in an oven-safe skillet (like a large cast iron skillet). Then you can add the cheese on top and bake it right in the skillet—making clean up a breeze!
Key Ingredient Notes
Below you will find helpful notes for a few key ingredients used to make this taco pasta casserole recipe. See recipe card below for full measurements!
- Pasta Shells: You want to use a smaller bite-size noodle, something like elbow noodles would also work well.
- Ground Beef: Feel free to swap this with ground turkey or ground chicken if preferred.
- Beans: I like to use both black and pinto beans, but you can feel free to just double up on one type of beans if you’d like. Make sure to drain and rinse them well before adding to your casserole.
- Onion: A yellow or white onion will both work just fine.
- Jalapeños: We like to remove the seeds to keep this casserole milder for the kids to enjoy. Leave the seeds in for extra spice, or swap them for a Serrano pepper for even more heat. Not a jalapeño fan? Swap them for a bell pepper!
- Rotel Diced Tomatoes: You can use mild, original (medium heat), or hot depending on your spice preferences.
- Cheeses: For the ultimate cheesy goodness, we use BOTH Velveeta and shredded cheddar cheese. Shredded Mexican cheese blend, Monterey jack, or pepper jack would all also be tasty instead of cheddar cheese. We tested this recipe with cheese queso as well, but it made the filling soupy.
- Taco Seasoning: I love using our homemade taco seasoning whenever I can!
How to Make Taco Pasta Casserole
I like to prep everything before I start cooking. That way I don’t have to worry about stopping to drain the beans or chop the onion and peppers—it’s all ready to go when I need it! Below is a quick recipe overview, but please scroll down to the recipe card for full instructions.
How to Serve Taco Pasta Casserole
Let the casserole rest for a few minutes after baking to set-up before serving. You can serve it exactly as is, but we love to add some toppings like fresh pico de gallo, a drizzle of sour cream (or Mexican crema), and a scoop of guacamole (or fresh diced avocado) are always great ideas! For an added crunch, my husband always crushes some tortilla chips to sprinkle on top of his.
While it’s a full meal all on its own, you can always add a few sides to round out your meal. This fresh Mexican corn salad is always a hit, plus you can’t go wrong with a side of cheesy jiffy cornbread!
Prepare Casserole In Advance
Assemble the casserole, cover tightly with plastic wrap or foil, and then refrigerate it for up to 24 hours. When ready to bake, set the casserole on the counter at room temperature for about 30 minutes before baking. Then bake as directed!
Taco Pasta Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3-4 jalapeños, seeded and diced (or one medium bell pepper)
- 2 tablespoons taco seasoning
- 1 can (10 oz) Rotel diced tomatoes
- 1 can (15.5 oz) pinto beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 can (15.5 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 bag (10 oz) frozen corn, or fresh corn
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup medium-size pasta shells
- 8 oz Velveeta cheese, cubed
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Coat a 9×13 casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray and set aside. (Or use a large oven-safe skillet and skip the 9×13.)
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown the ground beef with the onion and jalapeños for 5 minutes. Break up and crumble the meat as it cooks. If using regular ground beef, we recommend draining any excess grease before continuing.
- Add the taco seasoning, pinto beans, black beans, corn, pasta shells, and Velveeta cheese. Stir and simmer until the cheese melts, about 5 minutes.
- Carefully spoon the meat mixture into the prepared casserole dish (or leave in the oven-safe skillet). Top with the shredded cheddar cheese and loosely cover with foil. I recommend misting the foil with non-stick cooking spray and tenting it loosely to keep the cheese from sticking to the foil.
- Bake for 30 minutes, removing the foil for the last 10 minutes of bake time. Let the casserole rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving!
