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.
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 dinner.
This one pot Taco Pasta Recipe is a must try – here’s why we love it:
why You’ll Love this Recipe
- 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! If you want more one pot meals, check out these Healthy One Pot Meals!
- 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.
Recipe Ingredients:
To make cheesy taco pasta you’ll need:
- ButcherBox Ground Beef – you can use ground turkey or lean ground beef too!
- onion, garlic
- red bell peppers – feel free to double the peppers for more veggies!
- taco seasoning
- shells pasta
- tomato paste
- beef broth
- water
- cheddar cheese – sharp cheddar is best!
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 are a few reasons why I always recommend it!
- 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 to see is Butcher Box worth It where I did a ButcherBox Price Comparison)
- Delicious: You really can taste the difference with ButcherBox meat!
Want free ground beef? Right Now when you join ButcherBox you can get free ground beef for a year and $10 off! That’s up to 24 pounds of ground beef for free!
How To Make Cheesy 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 the pasta, taco seasoning 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!
Here’s a link to our favorite nonstick pan for one pot meals!
SUBSTITUTIONS
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 teaspoon 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 This Recipe
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 Skillet, Taco Casserole, Taco Stuffed Peppers, a taco salad, Baked 7 Layer Dip, or Taco Dip.
Storage, Freezing & Reheating Instructions
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! 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 Healthy Recipes for Dinner, click here to grab our free healthy 30 minute dinners cookbook! Here are some of our favorite one pan dinners:
Taco Pasta Recipe
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 large 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 the raw, uncooked pasta, taco seasoning, tomato paste, broth, and water to the pot. 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
Notes
- Storage: This taco pasta will last in the refrigerator for up to 4 days in an airtight container.
- Use other pasta shapes: Rotini, penne or farfalle all work in this recipe.
Patti says
My family loves this dish! It is a regular on our dinner table.
Liz Marino says
So glad you all enjoy it!
Gail Hissom says
Made this tonight for dinner. This recipe is pretty much a staple for us! My husband’s most requested meal! I use a Mexican blend cheese, in place of the cheddar. My husband likes that it makes enough, so he can have a couple lunches throughout the week! 🙂
Leigh says
Made this again last night! We LOVE it! I had some portobello mushrooms I wanted to use up, so I chopped them up and threw it in. They blended in really nicely with the ground beef and could be a good way to sneak in extra veggies for the kids! We almost didn’t even notice them. Also, last night was the first time I realized the pasta shells look like mini tacos! 🤣 Did anyone else notice this!? How perfect! Ha
Susan Cox says
This was really good and easy!!! My husband even liked it and he’s kind of picky, especially when I try to cook clean & healthy meals. Thanks for all you do.
Brittany says
This came out great! I subbed gluten free fusili noodles (corn and rice) and came out perfect
Genevieve says
I made your taco pasta last night and it was family approved! I was out of tomato paste but subbed a thick salsa which worked out great. Thank you so much for your”relatable” recipes, as in straightforward ingredients and clear simple instructions. You are appreciated!