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Busy night? Taco Pasta is your new weeknight dinner hero. In under 30 minutes, this creamy, cheesy one-pot dinner delivers all the flavors of tacos in a cozy bowl of pasta that the whole family will love.
Love taco night? Add Taco Pizza, Taco Soup, and Taco Casserole to your dinner rotation next.
Why You Will Love Taco Pasta
This taco pasta recipe checks all the boxes when it comes to weeknight family dinners.
- Massive Family Appeal. Familiar ingredients and plenty of cheesy goodness mean no one will turn up their nose. Think homemade hamburger helper meets tacos.
- Quick Cooking. This one pan dinner recipe comes together with in under 30 minutes.
- Budget-Friendly & Versatile Recipe. Use what you have on hand in the pantry. Make it with or without meat, choose hot or mild salsa, and finish with your favorite taco toppings.
5-⭐ Reader Review
Loved this! Made it tonight to use up leftover taco meat and threw in a bell pepper just to squeeze in a fresh vegetable. Definitely planning on making it again. -Veronica ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Notes on Ingredients
This recipe is made with simple ingredients that replicate Taco Mac and easily adaptable based on what you have.
- Ground Meat: Use ground beef, ground turkey, or ground chicken. In fact, you can even opt to omit the meat altogether.
- Taco Seasoning: While you can use your favorite store-bought, I recommend homemade taco seasoning to control the overall sodium content.
- Salsa: With peppers, onions and bold flavors, this shortcut ingredient helps to build a nuanced sauce. Use mild heat for little ones. If serving to really picky eaters, blend the salsa before adding to the dish to hide any chunks of onions or peppers.
- Tomato Sauce: Plain tomato sauce helps to create a saucy, dish perfect for pasta.
- Pasta: Elbow noodles are the classic option as they cook quickly and cling to the sauce. Shells or rotini noodles are good substitutes. Have spaghetti noodles on hand? Try my similar Mexican spaghetti recipe.
- Cheese + Sour Cream: Shredded cheese and sour cream are folded into the pasta at the end to give the dish creamy, cheesy finish.
- Toppings: You certainly don't need any toppings. But just like tacos, this taco pasta is delicious when topped with avocado, tomatoes, olives, minced cilantro--any toppings you like!
How to Make Taco Pasta
This recipe is ALMOST as easy as making boxed Taco Mac, but the flavor of homemade is so much better! Let me help break down the steps so you can get this dinner on the table fast!
- Brown the Meat. In a large, deep skillet or Dutch oven, sauté ground beef (or ground meat or choice) over medium-high heat until fully browned, breaking into small pieces as the meat cooks. Once browned, drain off any grease if needed.
- Dump and Simmer. Simply add water, salsa, tomato sauce, taco seasoning and elbows to the meat. Bring the mixture to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally until the noodles are just tender.
My Pro Tip
If the noodles absorb the liquid before they are fully cooked, add additional water, ¼ cup at a time, as needed.
- Add Cheese and Sour Cream. Remove the pasta from the heat and stir in the sour cream and cheese to combine. The residual heat should fully melt the cheese, but if not, cover the pan and let sit for a minute or two to fully melt the cheese.
Recipe Modifications
- Use Leftover Taco Meat: If you happen to have leftover taco meat, use it in place of the browned meat and omit the taco seasoning from this recipe. You will save time making this recipe AND reinvent your leftovers into something delicious.
- Keep it Vegetarian: Skip the meat and stir into a (15-ounce) can of pinto or black beans that have been rinsed and drained when you add the cheese and sour cream.
- Instant Pot Directions: Use my recipe for Instant Pot Taco Pasta.
- Gluten-Free. I have used Barilla brand gluten-free elbow noodles with success. I can't recommend other gluten-free brands, as most give off too much starch as they cook.
More Tex-Mex Favorite Dinners
Taco Pasta
In under 30 minutes, this creamy, cheesy one-pot dinner delivers all the flavors of tacos in a cozy bowl of pasta.
Video
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 8 ounces tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons taco seasoning
- 1½ cups water, + more as needed
- 1 cup salsa
- 2 cups elbow noodles
- ½ cup sour cream
- 2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
Instructions
- In a large non-stick skillet, or dutch oven, brown 1 pound lean ground beef over medium high heat until browned, breaking up into small pieces as the meat cooks. Drain off any excess grease.
- Add in the 8 ounces tomato sauce, 2 tablespoons taco seasoning, 1½ cups water, 1 cup salsa, and 2 cups elbow noodles stirring to combine.
- Bring the mixture to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat to medium and simmer uncovered for 15-18 minutes, stirring often, until the noodles are just al dente. If you feel the liquid is evaporating too quickly, add up to an additional ¼ cup of water at a time, as needed.
- Once the pasta is tender, turn off the heat and stir in ½ cup sour cream and 2 cups cheddar cheese. Let sit for a couple minutes if needed to allow the cheese to melt into the dish. Serve with your favorite toppings.
Notes
Beef: Feel free to replace the ground beef with ground turkey or ground chicken if desired.
Vegetarian Option: Skip the meat and stir into one (15-ounce) can of pinto or black beans that have been rinsed and drained when you add the cheese and sour cream.
Pasta: Whole wheat or regular elbow noodles. You can also use mini shell pasta or rotini pasta.
Taco Seasoning: In place of a prepared blend use: 1 tablespoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon cumin, ¾ teaspoon salt, ¾ teaspoon paprika, ½ teaspoon onion powder, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ¼ teaspoon oregano and ⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes.
Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in a heat-safe dish in the microwave, adding a splash of water if needed to thin.
Nutrition
Calories: 404kcalCarbohydrates: 41gProtein: 29gFat: 15gSaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 77mgSodium: 760mgPotassium: 678mgFiber: 3gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 947IUVitamin C: 4mgCalcium: 330mgIron: 3mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Tried this recipe?Mention @amindfullmom or tag #amindfullmom!
This post was originally published in 2022 and republished 2025.
The whole fam loves this recipe! We can’t get enough!
That is the best kind of recipe!
I loved making this! Such a great twist on tacos! My family loved it!
Thanks for sharing Laura! I love hearing you enjoyed this!
Hi! I’m going to make this for dinner tomorrow using leftover taco meat. Could I just cook/drain the pasta separately like usual, and then mix all the ingredients together for the final dish? Or does cooking the pasta with the meat and other ingredients part of what makes it work? Thanks!
Cooking the pasta with the flavorings adds a lot of flavor. However, you can simply stir in in leftover meat right before stirring. Enjoy
Loved this! Made it tonight to use up leftover taco meat and threw in a bell pepper just to squeeze in a fresh vegetable. Definitely planning on making it again- maybe even with sloppy joe!
Oh I bet it will be delicious with leftover sloppy joes as well. Great idea! So glad you enjoyed this meal Veronica!
Hi
I'm making this recipe right now. It was a great idea and different from making my usual taco soup.
My daughter came out to the kitchen and said, what smells so good. It's taco pasta!
So easy and it tastes so good. I've tried the sauce and noodle, so good. 😊
I hope you all enjoy Irene!
Hi,
Can I substitute yogurt for sour cream?
Yes, plain yogurt will work great!
This is a great weeknight dinner recipe! Love this!!
YAY! So glad your family enjoyed Nellie.
Absolutely delicious! My family loved it and keep asking for more!
That makes me so happy to hear Sohie! Thank you for sharing.