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This Mexican Taco Pasta combines pasta shells with the zesty kick of taco-inspired flavors, including savory ground beef and a rich blend of melted cheeses.
In this taco pasta, perfectly al dente pasta shells are coated in a rich, cheesy sauce loaded with savory ground beef and flavors that will transport you to your favorite taqueria. Add the sharpness of cheddar cheese and the slight hint of spice from pepper jack to pull it all together!
Why You’ll Love This Taco Pasta Recipe
- Quick and Easy: This pasta is done in just 30 minutes, so it’s perfect for busy weeknights.
- Family-Friendly: Everyone can customize their plate! Add more veggies, adjust the heat, drizzle on creamy avocado-lime dressing or homemade salsa… even the picky eaters get excited about this one.
- Taco Tuesday Approved: It’s a fun twist on taco night with cheesy, zesty flavor in every bite. Basically, tacos + pasta = the dinner of dreams.
Key Ingredients
- Olive Oil: Used to sauté the onions and garlic. You can swap with avocado oil or any neutral cooking oil you have on hand.
- Yellow Onion: White onions work too if that’s what you’ve got.
- Garlic: I like using fresh garlic, but you can use about 3/4-teaspoon garlic powder.
- Ground Beef: You can sub with ground turkey, chicken, or even a plant-based ground meat if you’d like.
- Taco Seasoning: Use a store-bought packet or make my homemade taco seasoning.
- Mild Salsa: Feel free to use spicy salsa if you want more heat, or swap in enchilada sauce for a different twist.
- Diced Green Chiles: You can leave them out or use a chopped jalapeño if you want it spicier.
- Pasta Shells: The perfect shape to catch all that saucy goodness. Any short pasta like penne, rotini, or elbows will work if you’re out of shells.
- Cheddar Cheese: Melts into the sauce for a creamy, cheesy finish. Colby or Monterey Jack are good alternatives.
- Pepper Jack Cheese: Adds a subtle spicy kick and extra creaminess. Not a fan of heat? Use more cheddar or mozzarella instead.
Katerina’s Recipe Tips
- Salt the pasta water. The salt added to the pasta water imparts valuable flavor to the pasta itself.
- Reserve some pasta water. The reserved water will take on some of the starch from the pasta and will help the sauce to coat every crevice of each and every shell.
- Allow the beef to come to room temperature. Adding cold meat straight into a hot pan will cause it to release its juices, and the ground beef will dry out.
- Protein options. You don’t have to use beef; ground chicken or pork sausage are great alternatives!
- Don’t crowd the pan. The beef will not brown well if you try to fit too much of it in a small pan. You want to be able to spread the beef out, allowing as much surface area to come into contact with the hot pan as possible.
- Don’t burn the pasta. When adding the sauce to the pasta in the final stages of the recipe, use heat carefully. You need enough to melt the cheese but not enough to burn the pasta.
What to Serve with Taco Pasta
This easy recipe is ready in half an hour, which leaves you plenty of time to throw together my easy tomato avocado corn salad. I also love serving taco pasta with traditional Elote (Mexican street corn), a scoop of avocado tomatillo salsa, or my awesome fresh mango guacamole. A side of these amazing easy oven roasted vegetables would also make a great addition.
How to Store Leftovers
Allow the dish to cool completely before sealing it in an airtight container and storing it in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw before reheating.
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Mexican Taco Pasta
Taco pasta shells with ground beef and shredded cheeses is a tasty and hearty dish that combines the flavors of Mexican cuisine with the comfort of pasta.
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons salt, to salt the pasta water
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 packet taco seasoning
- 16 ounces mild salsa
- 4 ounces diced green chiles
- 1 pound medium pasta shells
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- ½ cup shredded pepper jack cheese
Instructions
- Cook the pasta. Fill a large pot with water, add the salt, and bring it to a boil. Add the pasta shells to the boiling pasta water and cook per the instructions on the package.
- Saute the aromatics. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions, season with the sea salt, and sauté until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant, about 20 seconds.
- Make the meat sauce. Add the ground beef and the taco seasoning to the aromatics and cook the ground beef for 6 to 8 minutes or until browned and cooked through, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon. Stir in the salsa and the diced green chilis and cook for 3 minutes. Remove the meat sauce from the heat and set aside.
- Combine the cooked pasta and the beef. Reserve 2 cups of the pasta water and then drain the pasta. Return the pasta shells to the pot it was cooked in, place the pot on the stove over medium heat, add in the meat sauce, and stir it well.
- Add the cheese. Add the shredded cheddar cheese, shredded pepper jack cheese, and 1 cup of reserved pasta water; stir until the cheese has melted. If the sauce is still too thick, add more pasta water and stir to combine. Repeat until the desired consistency is reached.
- Finish and serve. Taste the taco pasta for salt and pepper and adjust if needed. Serve warm.
Equipment
Notes
- Pasta: For this recipe, you will need to use medium-sized pasta shells.
- Ground Beef: I used 80% lean ground beef, but you can use whatever you prefer. You can also swap the beef for ground chicken, turkey, or pork.
- Taco Seasoning: I use my homemade taco seasoning, but you can use your favorite store-bought taco seasoning. You will need about 2 tablespoons of it or a 1-ounce packet.
- Add salt to the pasta water: The salt added to the pasta water adds flavor to the pasta itself.
- Reserve 2 cups of pasta water. The starchy pasta water, when mixed with the sauce, will help it bind to the pasta more easily.
- Let the beef come to room temperature before cooking it. Adding cold meat straight into a hot pan will cause it to release its juices, and the result will be dry and tough meat.
- Use a large skillet because the beef will not brown correctly if you try to fit it in a small pan.
- Don’t burn the pasta. When adding the sauce to the pasta, you need enough heat to melt the cheese, but not too much because it may burn the pasta. Keep the heat at medium and continually stir the pasta mixture so that none scorches on the bottom of the pan.
Nutrition
Serving: 1.5cups | Calories: 425kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 56mg | Sodium: 1833mg | Potassium: 526mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 913IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 194mg | Iron: 3mg
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
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How to Make Taco Pasta
This easy pasta recipe is deliciously quick to throw together. In just 25 minutes, you will have a flavorful dish that will indeed have you coming back for seconds.
- Start the pasta water. Fill a large pot with water, salt it, and bring it to a boil.
- Saute the veggies. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat and saute the onions until translucent. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant.
- Brown the beef. Add the ground beef and the taco seasoning and cook until browned, breaking up as you go.
- Add the salsa and the diced green chilis and cook for 3 minutes before removing the sauce from the heat and setting it aside.
- Cook and drain the pasta according to the package’s instructions. Reserve some of the pasta water.
- Put it all together. In the pot, the pasta was cooked in, combine the pasta and the sauce and stir. Add the cheeses and 1 cup of reserved pasta water and stir until the cheese is melted.
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