Taco night will look different with this easy Taco Spaghetti recipe that is made up of taco flavors, using simple ingredients like fresh cilantro, seasoned ground beef, and plenty of cheddar cheese for topping.
What You’ll Love About This Recipe:
This easy meal is what you get when you combine Taco Tuesday with your favorite pasta recipe to create the ultimate taco recipe that is great for an easy weeknight dinner, and the whole family will love.
You can serve this to even your picky eaters, and they will enjoy the flavors of tacos in this family favorite meal.
When you use taco meat with the pasta, you no longer have your traditional spaghetti, but a new and delicious way to use a pound of ground beef to keep pasta night fun and tasty.
Some of our favorite popular recipes for pasta recipes are our Million Dollar Casserole, Broccoli Alfredo Spaghetti, and Skillet Cowboy Spaghetti Recipe.
Key Ingredients:
Ground beef: When making this recipe, you will still use lean ground beef as the main source of protein, but it will be seasoned differently than your normal ground beef mixture when paired with spaghetti.
Pasta: Keep it simple and use spaghetti noodles or whatever pasta you have in your pantry
Taco seasoning: Adding the combination of taco seasoning, salsa, and beef broth to this dish will help you create the sauce used in this taco pasta. You can also use homemade taco seasoning if you have it.
See the full list of remaining ingredients below!
How To Make Taco Spaghetti:
- Cook the beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat with olive oil.
- Add the ground beef and cook until browned. If there is excess grease, drain it.
- Add the taco seasoning, black beans, corn, salsa, and water or beef broth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Simmer for 15-20 minutes or until you have a rich, thick sauce.
- Cook that pasta according to the package directions in a large pot.
- Drain the spaghetti, reserving a few Tablespoons of pasta water.
- Add the cooked spaghetti into the beef sauce along with a few Tablespoons of pasta water (only if your sauce feels dry).
- Give it a good stir until all is well combined.
- Serve pasta warm with your favorite taco toppings.
Recipe Variations:
Add a can of Rotel tomatoes with green chilies for hot sauce or added spice.
To make this creamy pasta recipe, add cream cheese to the tomato sauce.
Top the pasta with Monterey Jack cheese or Colby Jack cheese if you prefer not to use the Mexican cheese blend.
Swap out the ground beef for ground turkey for a leaner and healthier meal option.
Expert Tips:
- You can make this dish in a slow cooker. Add all of the ingredients, except the spaghetti, to a slow cooker. Cook on high for 4-5 hours.
- Top pasta with cheese, a dollop of sour cream, or ripe avocado.
- The sauce will thicken, and the spaghetti will continue to absorb sauce upon standing.
- To make the sauce even thicker, add tomato paste to the sauce.
Taco Spaghetti Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound ground lean beef
- 1 oz. taco seasoning packet
- 12 oz. can black beans, rinsed, drained
- 14 oz. can corn, rinsed, drained
- 1 ¾ cup salsa
- ¾ cup water or beef broth
- 8 oz. spaghetti
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Chopped cilantro or parsley, for garnish
Instructions
Prepare the beef:
- Cook the beef; heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add the ground beef and cook until browned, breaking down the lumps with a wooden spoon. If there is excess grease, drain it.
- Add the taco seasoning, black beans, corn, salsa, and water or beef broth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Simmer for 15-20 minutes or until you have a rich, thick sauce.
Cook the pasta:
- Cook the spaghetti; cook the spaghetti according to the package directions in a pot of salted boiling water.
- Drain the spaghetti, reserving a few Tablespoons of pasta water.
Assemble:
- Add the cooked spaghetti into the beef sauce along with a few Tablespoons of pasta water (only if your sauce feels dry).
- Give it a good stir until all is well combined.
Serve:
- Serve pasta warm, garnished with chopped cilantro or parsley
Notes
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave a review or a question in the comment section below the post.
My kids loved this recipe! It combined their favorite meals – pasta and tacos. They found it both hilarious and delicious.
This was so easy and delicious. It will definitely be in our meal rotation