This cheesy beef taco pasta is a magic trick, perhaps THE magic trick you need to get dinner on the table in a hurry. The dish cooks start to finish in one pot. With no straining. In just 30 minutes. And it includes everything you need for a delicious, well-rounded dinner that’s sure to become a family favorite.
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The Whole Family Will Love this Cheesy One-Pot Beef Taco Pasta
It’s so flavorful! I don’t care if the Italian in you dies a little when you hear “one-pot pasta.” The pasta absorbs the flavor of the chicken broth and tomatoes and your own homemade taco seasoning while it cooks. It also releases starch as it cooks, thickening up the sauce so that it coats the pasta nicely and creates a lovely, luxurious sauce. And hey, when you have a million things to do and cleaning isn’t one of them… this one-pot wonder is here for you (and the entire family).
Taco night just got a little more interesting.
It’s also fuss free. It’s a hearty meal that’s packed with all the good things in life. It’s ready in 30 minutes or less. And you only need one pot!
Ingredients for this Easy Taco Pasta Recipe
- Lean ground beef: You could swap the ground beef for ground turkey or ground chicken in a pinch.
- Onion
- Red bell pepper
- Garlic cloves: You’ll notice I use fresh garlic and dried garlic powder in this recipe. The dried garlic is to really give this that ‘taco seasoning’ flavor boost. Fresh garlic is simply because you can never really have too much garlic, can you?
- Taco seasoning spices: dried oregano, cumin powder, paprika (smoked or not), chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and black pepper
- Tomato paste: I add this 30 seconds prior to adding the tomatoes and the broth to let it start to brown, ensuring maximum flavor!
- Crushed tomatoes
- Low-sodium chicken broth: I love using homemade chicken broth when I’ve got it, but otherwise I always keep boxes of chicken broth in my pantry. I buy low-sodium chicken broth to have more control over the seasoning. You can also use beef broth in this recipe.
- Short-cut pasta: Fusilli, rotini, penne, pasta shells, etc.
- Cheese: I used a mixture of colby jack and sharp cheddar cheese, but you could also use pepperjack. When I have time I grate my own cheese because pre-shredded cheese has additives and preservatives that can affect the texture and meltability of the cheese. But, also, this is a 30-minute recipe and sometimes we don’t have time for that.
- All of your favorite taco toppings: sour cream, cheese, avocado, cilantro, onion, crushed tortilla chips, even salsa or hot sauce. If you can dream it, you can eat it.
Equipment You’ll Need
1 rondeau or other other large pot: This is hands-down my favorite cooking vessel. It’s great for braising, stir frying, simmering, shallow frying, making soups, stews, and sauces, blanching, and poaching. Basically, it’s deep enough to do the things with lots of liquid, but also still shallow enough for liquid to evaporate.
And stainless steel is a no-brainer because you can get the pan hot enough for a great sear and move it from the stove top to the oven.
Otherwise, any large, heavy-based pot will do.
How to Make One-Pot Cheesy Taco Pasta with Beef for Busy Weeknights
- Brown the beef, saute the onions and bell pepper. Don’t forget the spices!
- Pour in tomato-ey goodness and chicken broth.
- Add the pasta. Stir.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, then simmer until the pasta is al-dente. (Approx. 15 minutes)
- Top it all off with heavy cream. Only a couple minutes until dinner is ready!
- Stir in handfuls of cheese and serve!
Cheesey Beef Taco Pasta FAQs
Oh no! The broth is gone and my pasta isn’t done cooking. What should I do?
Don’t panic! As long as you’re stirring your pasta occasionally during the 15 minute cook time, you should see if the liquid has evaporated faster than you anticipated. In this case, lower the burner and add liquid ⅓ cup at a time.
This could happen if your burner is larger or set slightly hotter than my burner when I tested this recipe, or if you like your pasta cooked a little longer than I typically do.
My pasta is cooked but there is still a lot of liquid!
If you follow the recipe quantities and instructions, you shouldn’t have too much cooking liquid. If, for some reason, you do, you can simply drain some of it off. (I personally would save the liquid and use it to sauce some plain noodles.)
What’s the best type of pasta for a one-pot pasta recipe?
I personally think short-cut pasta is the best choice for a one-pot pasta dish. Spaghetti is harder to stir and so it sort of clumps together, which means uneven cooking. You’ll also want to avoid a really small-cut pasta such as orzo because it will likely overcook and leave you with a sad, mushy mess.
Can I use gluten-free pasta in this dish?
If you need to swap gluten pasta for gluten-free pasta, brown rice pasta tends to work the best. On the other hand, bean and lentil-based pasta seem to fall apart and release even more starch, which leads to an almost gummy dish. (Blegh.)
More Easy Meal Inspiration
Try a few of these delicious recipes:
- 4-ingredient pork chops
- Greek chicken thighs and broccoli (sheet-pan dinner)
- 30-Minute Cod in a Ginger Gochujang Broth with Zucchinis and Cherry Tomatoes
- Cuban Sliders
- Creamy Lemon Gnocchi
📖 Recipe
One-Pot Cheesy Beef Taco Pasta
Equipment
- 1 Rondeau or other heavy-bottom pot
Ingredients
- 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon oregano
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika regular paprika is okay, too
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 14.5 ounce can of crushed tomatoes
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth Add ⅓-½ cup more either broth or water while cooking as needed
- 12 ounces fusilli rotini, penne, or other short pasta
- ¾ cup heavy whipping cream Add gradually, starting with ½ cup until you reach desired consistency
- 4 oz colby jack or cheddar cheese
- Optional Garnish: sour cream, cilantro, avocado
Instructions
- Brown the beef over medium high for 3-5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium if needed.
- Add your aromatics and your spices: the diced onion, diced red bell pepper, minced garlic, oregano, cumin, smoked paprika, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and black pepper. Cook for another 5-7 minutes or until the onion goes translucent. Add the tomato paste and stir into the ingredients.
- Add chicken broth, can of tomatoes, and pasta. Stir.
- Bring the liquid to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes or until the pasta is just about cooked through, stirring every couple of minutes so the pasta doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot.
- Stir in cream and then simmer for another 1-2 minutes. Then stir in cheese.
- Please note: at this stage, there may still be quite a bit of liquid left in your pot. It’s perfectly normal. Pasta absorbs excess liquid – and fast! Extra liquid at this stage = extra creamy when you serve this (and go back for seconds… or thirds).
- Top with your favorite taco condiments: avocado, slices of jalapeno, diced onion, cilantro, sour cream, extra cheese. It’s all fair game!
