Easy Taco Pasta is the best one pan dinner! Healthy, cheesy, and delicious, this recipe for taco pasta is great for a quick 30 minute dinner. This post is sponsored by my friends at ButcherBox.
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This Cheesy Taco Pasta is going to be your new favorite weeknight dinner. It’s made with only 10 basic ingredients that you probably already have on hand AND it’s cooked in one pan!
Ground beef and pasta get cooked together in a rich cheesy sauce to make the perfect cozy one pan beef taco pasta dinner.
This one pot Taco Pasta Recipe is a must try – here’s why we love it:
why we love this Taco Pasta Recipe
There is a lot to love about this easy dinner recipe. Here’s why we love it:
- One Pan: This beef taco pasta is made in one pan. The beef, pasta and sauce all cook together which means easy clean up and only one dish to wash!
- Budget Friendly Ingredients: Taco Pasta is an affordable dinner to make with basic pantry staples!
- Great for meal prep: This dish is great for meal prep, it’s one of the few meals that actually taste even better the next day after the flavors have melded together!
Ingredients for Cheesy Taco Pasta
To make cheesy taco pasta you’ll need:
- ButcherBox Ground Beef
- onion, garlic
- red bell peppers
- taco seasoning
- shells pasta
- tomato paste
- beef broth
- water
- cheddar cheese
You can find substitutions for all of these ingredients below in the green shaded box.
We’ve been ButcherBox customers for many years and absolutely love it. Here’s why we enjoy it so much:
- Convenient: Every month all the meat we need arrives right at our door!
- Affordable: Grocery store meat is expensive. Per pound, I find it’s cheaper to get organic meat from ButcherBox (check out this post where I did a ButcherBox Price Comparison)
- Delicious: You really can taste the difference with ButcherBox meat!
Right now ButcherBox has an exclusive offer for my readers: free ground beef! When you join ButcherBox today you’ll get 2 lbs of grass fed, grass finished ground beef and $10 off.
How to Make Beef Taco Pasta
Making taco pasta is SO easy! Here’s how to do it:
- Brown the ground beef, onion, garlic and peppers in the pan until cooked through- about 10 minutes.
- Add in the taco seasoning, raw pasta, tomato paste, broth, and water. Stir, cover and bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, remove cover and reduce to a simmer, stirring occasionally until pasta is done and liquid is reduced.
- Move the pan off the heat and add in shredded cheese.
- Stir until combined and enjoy!
SUBSTITUTIONS FOR EASY TACO PASTA
Ground Beef: We love using ButcherBox ground beef in this recipe. You can use ground turkey or ground chicken in this recipe as well, but it will not be as flavorful.
Onion/Garlic: Feel free to use more or less onion and garlic. If you don’t have fresh onion/garlic, add 1/2 teaspoon dried onion powder and garlic powder.
Peppers: Peppers are optional, but a great way to add extra veggies. Feel free to add more peppers or add some chopped spinach in at the end to amp up the veggies.
Taco Seasoning: I like to make my own taco seasoning because it’s lower in salt and has less preservatives. Be mindful if making this with store bought taco seasoning and broth as it could be very salty! If you want a more mild flavored dish – try our Hamburger Helper.
Pasta: Shells work the best in this recipe, but you can use rotini or farfalle (cook time is all similar). We don’t recommend gluten free pasta for this recipe. This recipe is a one pan pasta recipe and gluten free pasta can get very mushy. Use at your own risk!
Broth: Any broth or stock (broth and stock are the same) can be used in any soup recipe. Beef Broth, Chicken Broth, or vegetable broth all work interchangeably. I always use low or no salt broth.
Tomato Paste: Tomato paste helps to add flavor to this recipe. You can skip it, but the flavor will not be as rich.
Lower Sodium: Be mindful of store-bought taco seasoning and broth as they can be very high in sodium.
Cheddar Cheese: You can omit the cheese from this recipe to make it dairy free if you’d like, but it really does add flavor! We haven’t tried this recipe with other types of cheeses but I think pepper jack or Monterey jack cheese would be delicious. Pro Tip: We recommend using a block of cheddar cheese and grating it yourself as pre-shredded cheeses don’t melt as well.
Other Mix Ins: Feel free to add black beans, corn, cream cheese or jalapenos to your dish!
How to Make Your Own Taco Seasoning:
Making your own homemade taco seasoning is so easy! Check out our Taco Seasoning Recipe.
- 3 tablespoon paprika
- 2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoons cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Can you use leftover taco meat?
Yes! You can totally make this recipe with left over taco meat.
Warm your leftover meat in a pan, and skip directly to step 3 . You can skip the extra taco seasoning!
How to Serve Taco Meat Pasta
Taco Pasta is a complete meal in itself and it really doesn’t need anything to go with it. However, if you’re looking for ideas on how to serve it try:
- Adding toppings: Extra cheese, sour cream, chopped cilantro or diced olives are all delicious additions
- Serve with a salad: If you’re looking for a yummy salad to serve with this try Avocado Ranch Salad, Blueberry Salad, Taco Salad, or Easy Kale Salad
- Add Extra Veggies: Feel free to add more peppers, chopped spinach or chopped broccoli into this pasta dish to amp up the veggies
You can use taco meat for so many things! Use it in Taco Casserole, Taco Stuffed Peppers, a taco salad, Baked 7 Layer Dip, or Taco Dip.
How to Store Cheesy Taco Pasta
Storing: This taco pasta will last in the refrigerator for up to 4 days in an airtight container
Freezing: You can freeze this recipe for up to 3 months. We like these containers for freezing – code CLEANEATINGCOUPLE works to save $$ on our favorite silicone molds! The pasta might get a little soggy in the freezer, but it will still be delicious!
Reheating: You can reheat this recipe in the microwave or on the stove. If the pasta feels dry, add a splash of water or broth when reheating.
Other healthy one pan dinner recipes:
If you want more easy dinners, click here to grab our free healthy 30 minute dinners cookbook! Here are some of our favorite one pan dinners:
Don’t forget- right now my friends at ButcherBox are offering 2 lbs of free ground beef and $10 off!
Cheesy Taco Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ButcherBox Ground Beef
- 1/2 cup onion chopped finely
- ½ tablespoon garlic minced (2 cloves)
- 1 cup red bell pepper diced
- 2 tablespoons taco seasoning
- 3 cups medium shells pasta 10 oz
- 1/2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 cups beef broth
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Heat a pan over medium high heat. Spray the pan with olive oil.
- Brown ground beef, onion, garlic and peppers in the pan until cooked through- about 10 minutes.
- Add in the taco seasoning, raw uncooked pasta, tomato paste, broth, and water. Stir, cover and bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, remove cover and reduce to a simmer, stirring occasionally for 12-14 minutes or until pasta is done and liquid is reduced by 3/4.
- Move the pan off the heat and add in shredded cheese.
- Stir until combined, taste for salt and pepper and add more as desired.
Video
Lynne says
Hands down , favorite recipe!! Tasty taco held in creamy pasta shells . Comforting and fun meal that will be a hit with everyone!!
Ashley says
I made this tonight and it was so good! It came together so quickly and was such an easy clean up. And my very picky niece even finished her plate. Definitely recommend this one!
Lisa Gates says
This taco pasta was fabulous! My momma is super picky! She lives ground beef, cheese and pasta! Boom! Win win! I think she licked the bowl clean! Thank you so much for making easy and clean recipes! 💜💜💜
Suzanne says
Very tasty! My husband had several helpings 😀. My bag of pasta was 16 ounces so I increased the amount of liquid and cheese – cheese I pretty much increase in any recipe, because..cheese. Love the ease of the one pot. I will chop veggies earlier in the day and put them in a zip loc bag in the crisper in the fridge so all I have to do at dinner time is cook. So that made it even less of an event on a Sunday night! Pretty certain I will make this again 🤌🏻
Christopher says
Can you make it and serve later
The Clean Eating Couple says
Sure, just reheat it!
Ann says
This was so easy and so flavorful. I love that it’s a one pot meal. Will be making this regularly. One of my favorites.
Monica Maxwell says
East peasy and yummy! No leftovers. Loved the one pan clean up too.
Lindy says
We made this this week, and it was fantastic! I will say the recipe calls for too little taco seasoning for my taste, so I added a full packet of the thrive taco seasoning. Other than that, it’s a fantastic recipe we will be adding to our rotation!
Jennifer says
Another delicious recipe! Super easy and quick to throw together. Looking forward to making this in the winter as a fun snow day meal.
Thank you for sharing all your recipes.
ElizabethTaylor says
This recipe was so easy to throw together on a busy night and was absolutely delicious! We will definitely be making it again.
Jennifer says
Made it tonight and my boys loved it. I added a bit more cheese and full cup of chopped onions. This recipe is going in the regular dinner rotation! Delish!
Jill says
I’ve made this many times now and it’s delicious. I’m not a great pasta lover but this is amazing and fills you up and makes you feel good. Looking forward to making more very soon. On the plus side my son is type 1 and it’s a great good for him when he’s feeling he needs abit more carbs with added veg. Yum.
Kyle says
So so delicious and easy to make!! Definitely going to be a regular in our rotation!!
Kelly says
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Gail Hissom says
This turned out so good! I was happy that it made a good bit, so hubby has some leftover for lunches! The only tweak I made was I used a 3 cheese Mexican blend cheese. It was definitely quick and easy, so perfect for a weeknight meal!
Angie says
Making tonight has anyone tried this with gluten free pasta? Wondering if the cook time would be a little less! Thanks excited to try!
The Clean Eating Couple says
I would just watch it/check frequently – we don’t recommend GF pasta because it tends to be a little soggy/not cook the same as regular pasta- but if you try it let us know how it goes!
Laura C says
So easy and delicious! This was my second time making it (and reading / following the directions more thoroughly). I chopped veggies ahead of time which made it even easier.
Amanda says
This recipe is amazing!! I made it with gluten-free pasta (fusilli, based on rice) last night and it turned out perfectly! I’d maybe suggest adjusting the cooking time just a little a bit, but I forgot, so mine was a tiny bit overcooked. About to eat leftovers today and it’s still amazing!
Molly Larkman says
Amazing
Jennifer Hoeksema says
Don’t you drain the beef? Didn’t see that anywhere.
The Clean Eating Couple says
You can if you would like but I usually don’t.
Brenda says
Can you swap out Italian seasoning for the taco seasoning?
The Clean Eating Couple says
I haven’t tried that but I think it would be delicious! Maybe use mozzarella instead of cheddar cheese.
Samantha says
We made this recipe for 20 at The Ronald McDonald House foundation and they LOVED it!!! It was easy to make and was delicious!
Stacy McLachlan says
I seen this recipe on the Facebook page and though I’d give it a bash.. so glad I did! It was absolutely delicious and so easy to make, didn’t cost much at all to make it either! Husband absolutely loved it too! We have enjoyed it that much I have made it a good few times and made extra for lunch and everyone was saying how nice it looked and smelt! I would definitely recommend trying this recipe
ElizabethTaylor says
SO absolutely easy to make and very delicious! The cooking process was very similar to the Healthy Hamburger Helper which is a go to for our family, so I knew we would love this recipe too!
Tina says
So tasty! Really loved the flavor and it was a hit with everyone. I put a little too much pasta so needed more liquid and some extra time. Will definitely make it again.
Flo says
This is so so so good and so easy to make.
Thanks so much for sharing. You’ve made two people very very happy 😍