Make dinner easy tonight with this One Pot Cheesy Taco Pasta! It comes together in a single pot (even the pasta cooks right in the sauce!) for super speedy cleanup.
I love one pot pastas, because they are SO easy to make and cleanup is a breeze. There are nights I simply do NOT want to handle more than one pot. You know, when the kids are running riot and the baby is being extra fussy.
This One Pot Cheesy Taco Pasta is a favorite around here – filled with protein-rich lean ground beef, healthy vegetables and lots of flavor!
Ingredients you’ll need
Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for quantities!
Ingredient notes
- Beef: I use extra-lean ground beef, because I don’t like this pasta when it is overly greasy and with extra-lean I don’t need to drain it (which is great on a busy night!). Feel free to use a higher fat ground beef, but I highly recommend draining off the extra fat after browning it. You can also use ground turkey in place of the ground beef, if you prefer.
- Taco seasoning: Any taco seasoning you like is fine here; I often make my homemade Taco Seasoning to make it extra mild for my children.
- Pasta: I make this with spirals because they’re easy for the kids to eat and go well with the other ingredients in this recipe. Elbow macaroni or shells are other shapes that work really well. If you use any other kind of pasta, keep in mind that they can have different cooking types and some types need more broth to cook than others. If you make it with spaghetti, you’ll have Mexican spaghetti and meat sauce 😉
- Chicken broth: This is my favorite cooking liquid for maximum flavor. You can also use beef broth, which will make the sauce a little darker. If you don’t have any broth on hand, the recipe also works with water. You may need to add a little extra taco seasoning and salt.
- Salsa: I used a plain, mild, chunky salsa from Old El Paso (not sponsored, but I always get asked which specific salsa I use in recipes that need salsa). Feel free to use a hot salsa if you prefer more spiciness. I do not recommend using a salsa with fruit added for this recipe.
- Corn: Both frozen or canned corn work. No need to defrost frozen corn, please drain canned corn well.
- Bell pepper/celery/onion: Feel free to leave either of these out if you don’t have them/don’t like them. They all add flavor and bulk up the dish with vegetables, so be mindful of that if you make any alterations.
- Cheese: I used shredded cheddar, but a Mexican cheese blend also works very well.
How to make Taco Pasta
1. Start by sautéing the celery and onion in olive oil until fully softened, but not browned.
2. Ad the ground beef and cook until browned, breaking it up as it cooks to crumble.
sauté onion and celery add beef and brown
3. Stir in the taco seasoning until it is fully coating the beef and vegetables, then stir in the chicken broth, scraping any browned bits off the bottom of the pan.
4. Add the remaining ingredients (except for the cheese).
add chicken broth add vegetables, salsa and pasta
5. Stir well, then bring to a boil once. Stir again, reduce the heat to a simmer and cover with a lid. Cook for 10-15 minutes, until the pasta has cooked and the sauce has thickened. Open the lid every 2-3 minutes to stir – check on the pasta doneness and make sure it’s not sticking to the bottom.
stir well, then simmer add cheese to cooked pasta
6. Finish simmering without the lid for 1-2 minutes right at the end, then stir in the cheese and serve.
Recipe tips
- Please do not cook the pasta before adding it in this recipe. I always get complaints on one pot pasta recipes about the sauce being watery, and usually it turns out the pasta was pre-cooked. But no! The pasta can go in dry, uncooked, straight from the box!
- Try to dice the vegetables evenly for best results – I dice them all about the size of the corn or just slightly larger, this yields the best texture for the pasta dish. Check my guide on how to cut a bell pepper if you’re not sure how to finely dice a pepper.
- Make sure to regularly stir the pasta to keep it from scorching on the bottom.
- If the pasta seems too dry during cooking, pour in a little more broth. But be careful, if you add too much, you will end up with taco soup.
Storage tips
Fridge
Simply place the leftovers in a casserole dish, cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days.
Evenly sprinkle with cheese and bake until piping hot and bubbly in a 375°F oven; about 20-25 minutes.
Freezer
I recommend only just cooking it until the pasta is al-dente, then allow to cool to room temperature.
Freeze in a casserole dish, wrapped first in plastic wrap and then in foil for up to 3 months (label with name/date before freezing).
Thaw in the fridge overnight, fully uncover, then sprinkle with cheese and reheat in the oven at 375°F for about 20-30 minutes, until bubbly and fully heated.
Serving ideas
If you need to round out your meal, try one of these side dishes to go with your pasta:
- Cilantro Lime Slaw
- Mexican Bean Salad
- Sautéed Green Beans
- Cucumber Tomato Avocado Salad (or Tomato Cucumber Salad)
- Guacamole
PS If you try this recipe, please leave a review in the comment section and add a star rating in the recipe card – I appreciate your feedback! Follow along on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram.
One Pot Cheesy Taco Pasta
Recipe details
Ingredients
- ½ tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 stalk celery chopped
- 1 tablespoon taco seasoning
- 3 cups chicken broth or more, depending on your pasta (some kinds need more liquid, but only add more as it cooks and is too dry)
- 1 cup salsa
- 1 (12-oz) box small pasta shapes regular, high fiber or whole wheat all work – though higher fiber pastas may need more liquid than regular
- 1 red pepper chopped
- ½ cup sweetcorn
- salt & pepper to taste
- ½ cup shredded Mexican blend cheese or more to taste
Instructions
- Sauté vegetables: Heat oil in a large, deep skillet or large pot over medium heat. Add onion and celery and cook until softened but not browned, about 3-4 minutes.
- Brown beef: Increase heat to medium-high and add the ground beef. Cook until browned, breaking up meat to crumble as it cooks. Stir in taco seasoning, then pour in chciken broth, scraping any browned bits off the bottom of the skillet.
- Add remaining ingredients: Add salsa, pasta, red pepper, corn, salt and pepper to skillet and stir well. Bring to a boil.
- Simmer: Reduce heat to a simmer, cover with a lid and cook until sauce has thickened and pasta is done (about 10-15 minutes, depending on your pasta). Uncover and stir every 2-3 minutes to keep pasta from sticking to bottom. Depending on thickness of your pasta, you may need to add up to ½ extra cup of broth during cooking if it's looking dry. Cook uncovered for final 2-3 minutes.
- Finish: Once pasta is done, take skillet off the heat. Check for seasoning and add salt and pepper, if needed. Stir in cheese and let pasta sit for 1-2 minutes or until cheese has melted. Serve immediately.
Notes
Ingredient notes
- Beef: I use extra-lean ground beef, because I don’t like this pasta when it is overly greasy and with extra-lean I don’t need to drain it (which is great on a busy night!). Feel free to use a higher fat ground beef, but I highly recommend draining off the extra fat after browning it. You can also use ground turkey in place of the ground beef, if you prefer.
- Pasta: I make this with spirals because they’re easy for the kids to eat and go well with the other ingredients in this recipe. Elbow macaroni or shells are other shapes that work really well. If you use any other kind of pasta, keep in mind that they can have different cooking types and some types need more broth to cook than others.
- Chicken broth: This is my favorite cooking liquid for maximum flavor. You can also use beef broth, which will make the sauce a little darker. If you don’t have any broth on hand, the recipe also works with water. You may need to add a little extra taco seasoning and salt.
- Salsa: I used a plain, mild, chunky salsa from Old El Paso (not sponsored, but I always get asked which specific salsa I use in recipes that need salsa). Feel free to use a hot salsa if you prefer more spiciness. I do not recommend using a salsa with fruit added for this recipe.
- Corn: Both frozen or canned corn work. No need to defrost frozen corn, please drain canned corn well.
- Bell pepper/celery/onion: Feel free to leave either of these out if you don’t have them/don’t like them. They all add flavor and bulk up the dish with vegetables, so be mindful of that if you make any alterations.
- Cheese: I used shredded cheddar, but a Mexican cheese blend also works very well.
Recipe tips
- Please do not cook the pasta before adding it in this recipe. I always get complaints on one pot pasta recipes about the sauce being watery, and usually it turns out the pasta was pre-cooked. But no! The pasta can go in dry, uncooked, straight from the box!
- Try to dice the vegetables evenly for best results – I dice them all about the size of the corn or just slightly larger, this yields the best texture for the pasta dish. Check my guide on how to cut a bell pepper if you’re not sure how to finely dice a pepper.
- Make sure to regularly stir the pasta to keep it from scorching on the bottom.
- If the pasta seems too dry during cooking, pour in a little more broth. But be careful, if you add too much, you will end up with taco soup.
Storage tips
Fridge Simply place the leftovers in a casserole dish, cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Evenly sprinkle with cheese and bake until piping hot and bubbly in a 375°F oven; about 20-25 minutes. Freezer I recommend only just cooking it until the pasta is al-dente, then allow to cool to room temperature. Freeze in a casserole dish, wrapped first in plastic wrap and then in foil for up to 3 months (label with name/date before freezing). Thaw in the fridge overnight, fully uncover, then sprinkle with cheese and reheat in the oven at 375°F for about 20-30 minutes, until bubbly and fully heated.Nutrition
More recipe information
Recipe first published on 07/04/2019. Updated with slight improvements to recipe, better text and new photos on 04/12/2021.
More one pot dinners
P.S: Check out our collection of easy dinner recipes with ground beef for more ideas!
Jen Haughey says
Delicious and easy! Loved it. Happy to have leftovers for my lunches this week. I used ground chicken because that’s what I had on hand, I didn’t have any beef. This recipe is so great I think any protein will work. Thank you!
Nora says
I’m so glad, Jen! And yes, absolutely works with the ground chicken.
Joyce says
The family loved it. I did add black beans to the recipe.
Shawn says
Thank you! Great dinner idea! I didn’t want to comment because I made changes but they were minimal so here goes…I added more taco seasoning and less salsa only because I didn’t have enough salsa on hand. I also threw in some western dressing because I always add it to my taco meat.Delicious meal thank you!
Kirstan says
I have been wanting to try this recipe but there’s a lot of missed information. The sauce is not mentioned, the type of salsa is not mentioned, and do we need to drain the meat after we brown it , before we add the taco seasoning &’ the rest ?
Nora Rusev says
Kirstan, sorry you felt you needed more information, I’ll put the recipe on my list of recipes to add more instructions and notes to. As for your questions: There is no need to cook a separate sauce – the sauce and pasta all cook together in one pot! For the salsa you can just use your favorite regular plain salsa, mild or hot is up to you. And I’ll be honest, I never drain my beef. We usually buy half a cow from a farm here and it’s very lean, so there’s not much to drain. If you use a fattier product or just prefer draining, go for it! Hope this helps, happy to answer more questions if need be.
Carrie says
Great recipe. My family really liked this pasta dish. Thank you.
Javier Valverde Sr says
I’m dropping your website. I’m very irritated by the fact that I can’t print your recipes without advertising’s taking most of the page printing area.
A recipe that should only take 1 page it now takes 2 pages because of all the useless advertising.
Nora Rusev says
Javier, if you use the print button that’s right there in the recipe (instead of your brownser button) there will be zero advertising on the printout.