This simple one-pot Taco Pasta recipe is the perfect comfort food with a little Mexican flare. It has hearty ground beef, cheesy pasta, and is seasoned with taco seasoning. Plus, it’s ready in 30 minutes!
Why I Love This Cheesy Taco Pasta Recipe
Don’t you love when you come across a recipe like this one? It’s easy, quick, delicious, kid-friendly, and you only need one pot to make it! It’s safe to say that it checks all the right boxes, and then some. Even the most notorious of picky eaters love this cheesy, beefy pasta, and it’s not hard to see why. After all, with ingredients like cheddar cheese, taco seasoning and Rotel, what’s not to love? Check out all of the reasons I can’t get enough of this Mexican pasta recipe:
- Simple ingredients: This recipe is one way that we love to use up any ground beef that we have in the refrigerator. And the rest of the ingredients are probably laying around the kitchen already. Chicken broth, canned tomatoes, taco seasoning, and pasta shells are all shelf-stable ingredients that you can easily stock up on.
- Copycat recipe: You might look at this dish and think that it looks like Hamburger Helper. And you’re right! But this is our DIY and taco-flavored version of the popular family-friendly meal. (I think you’ll like this one better, too!)
- One pot meal: No need to dirty up several different pots and pans. Clean-up is a breeze when taco pasta is for dinner!
- 30 minutes: Need a last minute dinner idea that you can throw together in no time? You found it!
Featured Reader Review
Delicious! My husband doesn’t love pasta but thoroughly enjoyed this meal. Will be making again!
Key Ingredients
Below you will find helpful notes for key ingredients used to make this taco pasta recipe. Scroll down to the recipe card below for the full ingredient list and exact amounts!
- Olive Oil: Avocado oil also works.
- Onion: I like to use white or yellow onion for this recipe.
- Ground Beef: Alternatively, you can also use ground turkey for this recipe.
- Taco Seasoning: I highly recommend making your own taco seasoning!
- Diced Tomatoes: I used mild Rotel Diced Tomatoes so that it’s kid friendly. If you want it to be spicy you can use HOT Rotel tomatoes.
- Chicken Broth: You can also use beef or vegetable broth.
- Pasta Shells: You could use another small pasta shape like Rotini or Fusilli.
- Shredded Cheddar Cheese: Mexican-blend cheese would also be delicious!
How to Make Easy Taco Pasta
30 minutes and one pan? Yes, please! Below is a quick recipe overview, but please scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post for full instructions.
- First, cook the onion and the garlic. You’ll want to cook them until they start to become tender and fragrant.
- Then add the ground meat. Cook the ground meat for about 10 minutes or until it’s no longer pink.
- Add the broth, tomatoes, and taco seasoning. Stir to combine everything.
- Next, add the dried pasta. Stir and then let the skillet come to a low boil. Loosely cover the pot and let the pasta cook for about 12-15 minutes.
- Finally, add the cheese. Mix everything again and then divide into portions. And don’t forget to add your favorite toppings!
Cook’s Tips & Variations
- Change the meat: I’ve made this with both ground beef and with ground turkey. It was great either way!
- You can make it dairy-free: You simply just need to omit the cheese or use a plant-based cheese. The rest of the ingredients are dairy-free.
- Add some beans or vegetables: You can add black beans, pinto beans, or corn, for added vegetables!
- Be sure to cover your skillet: Cover the skillet after you add the pasta to help the pasta cook quickly. We leave the lid on slightly offset.
What to Serve with Taco Pasta
- Chips and Salsa: We love to serve a side of chips and salsa with this Taco Pasta. Pulled pork nachos also work well and you can also use the topping for the pasta on the nachos!
- Veggie Tacos: Because there’s already meat in the pasta dish, you can pair it with some veggie-focused tacos like our air fried avocado tacos.
- Cornbread: Because this recipe is so simple to put together, you shouldn’t have trouble finding the time to put together a quick batch of cornbread. We love dressing up a box of cheesy jiffy cornbread or go for homemade cornbread!
- Crescent Rolls: This air fryer crescent rolls recipe is seriously good!
Toppings to Try:
- Sour Cream: Plain Greek yogurt will also work.
- Green Onions: Or you can use fresh sliced chives.
- Shredded Cheese: You can use more cheddar, pepper jack, or Mexican blend.
- Cilantro: If cilantro isn’t your thing, stick with green onions or chives. You can also try parsley.
Yield: 4 servings
Taco Pasta
This Taco Pasta is comfort food made with cheesy pasta, hearty ground beef, and seasoned with taco seasoning. It's a one-pot meal that's ready in 30 minutes.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 pound ground beef, or ground turkey
- 2 tablespoons taco seasoning
- 1 can, 10 oz Rotel diced tomatoes
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 8 oz pasta shells
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, more for serving
Optional Toppings
- Shredded Cheese
- Sour Cream
- Green Onions
- Cilantro
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and sauté for 3 minutes. Then add the garlic and sauté 1 more minute.
- Add the ground meat, breaking apart the meat as it cooks, for 10 minutes.
- Stir in the taco seasoning, Rotel and chicken broth, stirring until combined. Add the pasta shells and stir to combine.
- Turn the heat to HIGH and bring everything to a boil. Then lower the heat to medium-low, loosely cover the pot, and simmer until the pasta is cooked through (about 12-15 minutes). Stir frequently to keep the pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pan. If needed, add a little extra broth till pasta is cooked.
- Stir in shredded cheese and serve immediately!
Notes
Storage:
- Best served fresh! However, you can store leftovers, in an airtight contianer, in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Nutrition
Serving: 1, Calories: 789kcal, Carbohydrates: 28g, Protein: 56g, Fat: 50g, Saturated Fat: 21g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 22g, Trans Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 191mg, Sodium: 1364mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 4g
This dish was good. It was a nice dish to try for something different. I like the taste of cilantro so that made for a nice garnish. Added a little extra cheese and sour cream as a garnish as well. Would I cook this again? Most likely, no.
Good easy recipe. Will make again.
This turned out great!! I added some black beans with corn. Used gluten free pasta shells which worked out great!! Thanks for the recipe!
Delicious! My husband doesn’t love pasta but thoroughly enjoyed this meal. Will be making again!
Do you drain the meat?
Hi Frank! If you have a lot of grease, yes we’d recommend draining it off. We used lean ground beef and didn’t need to drain it. It really is up to your personal preference though!
Made this for dinner the whole family loved it! So good! I used macaroni noodles because it’s what I had on hand.
Pasta does not cook in 12-15 minutes on medium low. Currently working on 20 minutes in medium-high. If I make it again, I’ll cook the pasta separately and then mix…will go a lot faster.
Hi Jennifer! Did you bring it to a boil to start when you added the pasta? If you brought it to a boil and then lowered the heat, the noodles (if using the small or medium sized pasta shells) should definitely cook in 15 minutes or less. They cook at a rolling boil in 8 minutes. I’m sorry you had issues, but glad you still enjoyed it!