One Pot Taco Pasta
All the flavors of a taco in an easy pasta dish that the whole family will love. It’s so easy, even the pasta gets cooked right in the pot!
You know I’m all about one pot meals. They are super easy to whip up, and clean up is a breeze. And dishwashing is not a favorite chore of mine so the less dishes I have to clean, the better, especially when it comes to making tacos.
Now I’m somewhat obsessed with tacos but homemade tacos require too much dicing and chopping. Fortunately enough, this taco pasta dish comes together so easily and effortlessly in one skillet. And if I’m being honest, I’d much rather gobble up this inside-out cheesy taco pasta any day of the week!
One Pot Taco Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 cup canned corn kernels, drained
- ½ cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 4.5-ounce can Old El Paso™ chopped green chiles, drained
- 1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 cup Old El Paso™ mild taco sauce
- 1 cup salsa
- 2 cups elbow macaroni
- ¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add ground beef, onion and garlic. Cook until beef has browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the beef as it cooks; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Drain excess fat.
- Stir in corn, black beans and green chiles until well combined. Stir in tomatoes, taco sauce, salsa, pasta and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat and simmer until pasta is cooked through, about 13-16 minutes.
- Remove from heat and top with cheese. Cover until cheese has melted, about 2 minutes. Stir in cilantro.
- Serve immediately.
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Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Old El Paso. All opinions expressed are my own.
Wonderful taste super simple and flexible. I used a plant based meat substitute and even our carnivores raved about the taste. I don’t think they knew it wasn’t ground beef. Thanks for the idea.
I substituted garlic powder for the garlic, precooked pasta (heated in microwave for 60 seconds) and half cup each taco sauce, salsa and water. It was a little too soupy for me so I added about 3 tablespoons tomato paste to thicken it. Would make this again and it is a perfect for Taco Tuesday.
So I wanted to tell my experience tripling the recipe for anyone else with a large family to feed. I followed the recipe as closely as I could but had to make several modifications and substitutions based on my family’s preferences and what I had on hand. I knew I wanted to triple the recipe so I used a big soup pot so that everything would fit. Next I didn’t have enough salsa so I used a combination of tomato sauce, taco seasoning, water and green chilies. I was worried that this would not taste good, but it ended up being fine. I just made sure to get the right amount of liquid from my combination of ingredients. the other substitution I had to make was using a different kind of beans other than black beans. this is the one thing I wish I wouldn’t have done I think black beans are really the best in this recipe compared to any other beans, but pinto beans would also be okay. I used white beans and it was just weird. Everyone who ate this loved it including kids of all different ages, it did take a little longer to cook for me because of the larger amount of ground beef and onions I think. Otherwise I love this recipe because it’s so flexible and everybody just loves it. oh I also had to make sure to stir it frequently enough so that it cooked evenly since it was in a huge pot. at the end, I added cheese to each individual bowl because I knew only the first few people would get it if I put all that cheese on the top, it melted pretty quickly because it was so hot so that was not a problem. I topped it with chives and sour cream after the cheese melted. This is an awesome recipe!
I make this all the time !! Super delicious!
Made this for dinner tonight,was a keeper!
Delicious! INstead of taco sauce and salsa I used a jar of Sofrito. and I also did 1 cup water and 1 cup of home made chicken broth.
Wow, I love delicious and easy! This was both. I used the entire can of black beans, because we love beans. Otherwise no changes. My family loved it.
That’s awesome!
I just stumbled onto your site yesterday and made this last night ( I was desperate for a quick tasty meal for my family – especially my active 16 month old). First the meal was DELICIOUS and SO freaking quick. This is going to be a staple in our house. I did modify it based on what we had in the house. I used ground turkey instead of beef, a taco seasoning packet instead of taco sauce, and a heaping tablespoon of tomato paste instead of tomatoes. I also added a bit more water to compensate for the chilis and sauce. Everything else was the same and it was delicious! Thanks so much and I can’t wait to make more of your meals for my family.
Hey!
Do you think i can substiture the pasta with quinoa or wild rice?
Yes, absolutely – what a great idea! But cooking time may have to be adjusted accordingly.
Absolutely delicious… & will be on repeat in my home for sure! It also heats up well the next day, win-win. I ended up using the entire cans of corn & black beans… but other than followed the recipe to a T! Thanks for another great recipe!
My taco loving kids will love this! Can’t wait to cook it!! Love a one pot dish!!
Just made this and it is delish! I had to sub in black eyed peas for black beans as that’s what was on hand, but wow. The flavor is great, and I think the cilantro is what makes the dish. I topped mine with a little sour cream and some crushed up doritos. Fantastic!
Looks great! Can I use picante sauce instead of taco sauce?
Yes, of course!
I’m going to make this recipe but using ground turkey instead of beef. Sounds easy and delicious .
I am slowly trying teach myself to cook after 26 years of never doing it. I made this dish last night and it was delicious! Thank you for doing such a great job with explaining and making the instructions super simple and clear!
How do you make this into a freezer meal?
Unfortunately, I cannot answer this with certainty as I have never tried freezing this myself – there were no leftovers left to freeze! I recommend using your best judgment for freezing and reheating.
This looks so yummy and easy. Pasta and tacos are two of my fave things – can’t wait to combine the two! 🙂
Wow! This looks delicious! My little girl absolutely loves pasta and loves Mexican food, so she’ll be delighted! I do have one question. What do you mean by 1 cup salsa? What’s the different between salsa and the taco sauce?
Anne, salsa and taco sauce are two completely different ingredients. These should both be readily available at your local grocery store.
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I love one-pot meals too! This sounds really tasty and it’s always good to have less washing up after dinner.