Taco Spaghetti
If your family loves tacos and spaghetti then you need to try this easy one pan Taco Spaghetti recipe that’s perfect for a quick and easy dinner. Spaghetti with the flavor of tacos is mouthwatering! Make it whenever you need a quick and easy meal in a pinch.
Need a quick weeknight dinner that even your picky eaters will gobble up? You’ll love this super easy taco spaghetti recipe! I love to make simple meals like this pasta dish or chicken and noodles because I always know that my kids will devour every single bite. These meals are incredibly easy to throw together at any moment yet they are anything but basic.
When the week is busy and I just need to get dinner on the table, I always turn to tasty meals like this taco pasta recipe. It only takes me about 40 minutes to get it onto the table and it’s so yummy! What’s not to love about a protein packed meal like this pasta dish?
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Clean up is really easy since this dish is made in just one pot. That’ll definitely keep you from standing in the kitchen for hours washing dishes after supper.
- This is a fabulous kid friendly meal. It isn’t spicy or loaded with weird ingredients. Just yummy stuff that everyone will enjoy.
- You can get 6 servings from one pot of this pasta. It’s enough to serve a family, and you can easily make an extra pot of this saucy goodness to make more servings.
Ingredients For Taco Spaghetti
- Spaghetti – If you don’t have spaghetti, you can use other pasta like penne or rotini. Angel hair pasta or linguine would also work.
- Ground beef – I recommend using lean ground beef so that this dish is not too greasy. You can use ground turkey or ground chicken if you prefer.
- Taco seasoning – You can use a packet of store-bought taco seasoning or make your own homemade taco seasoning.
- Cilantro – I love how much fresh flavor chopped cilantro adds to this dish!
- Monterey jack cheese – For the best cheesy results, shred your own cheese instead of buying pre-shredded.
- Tomato sauce – This will kind of be the replacement for spaghetti sauce so that it pairs better with the taco flavors.
- Tomato paste – Mix in some tomato paste to make a rich and flavorful sauce.
- Worcestershire sauce – Worcestershire sauce is a great addition to this one-pot taco spaghetti recipe to add depth of flavor.
- Onion – I recommend using a white onion or yellow onion. Red onion is too strong for taco pasta.
- Rotel tomatoes – If you want to add some kick, you can get a can of the hot Rotel instead of the original flavor.
- Beef broth – Beef broth makes this dish so much more rich in flavor, but you can also use chicken broth.
- Garlic – Minced garlic takes the flavors in this dish to the next level.
- Cheddar cheese – Using both Monterey jack and cheddar ensures there is gooey, melty cheese in every single bite. You can also use a Mexican cheese blend or Colby jack shredded cheese,
What Can I Add To Taco Spaghetti?
There are tons of different yummy add-ins that you can mix into taco spaghetti. Black beans or pinto beans are a great way to add more protein. Empty out the fridge and add bell pepper, diced carrots, black olives, diced zucchini, jalapenos or corn. Add some spice by using green chilies or mixing in some red pepper flakes.
You can also serve this dish with tons of your favorite taco toppings! A dollop of sour cream, diced green onions, shredded cheese, salsa or fresh pico de gallo would all be yummy.
How To Make Taco Spaghetti
- Cook ground beef and diced onion in a Dutch oven over medium heat until the beef is browned and onions are soft.
- Stir in minced garlic and cook for another minute.
- Add Rotel, tomato sauce, taco seasoning, beef broth, tomato pasta and Worcestershire sauce and stir well. Bring the mixture to a boil.
- Add the uncooked spaghetti noodles and reduce to medium heat. Cook for 15-18 minutes until noodles are tender. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the pot and stir frequently.
- When there’s about 5 minutes left add shredded cheese. Stir so cheese melts then remove the taco spaghetti from heat and garnish with fresh cilantro to serve.
Storage And Reheating
Fridge: Transfer leftovers to an airtight container and allow to fully cool before storing for 3-4 days.
Freezer: Place leftover taco spaghetti into an airtight container and store in the freezer once it cools completely for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
For best results, reheat in the microwave or on the stove top until warmed through.
Pro Tips
- I recommend leaving out salt at first and then giving the dish a taste test before serving. If it needs some salt, you can add it then. You could also mix in a bit of garlic powder or onion powder if it needs extra flavor.
- Be sure to stir the pasta while it cooks so that nothing sticks to the bottom of the Dutch oven.
- Drain the ground beef if it cooks off a lot of grease. There’s nothing worse than a greasy dish!
Make an easy taco spaghetti with all the gooey cheesy and yummy tomato sauce you know and love! And if the kids love this, then check out spaghetti tacos!
Taco Spaghetti
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 10 ounces Rotel tomatoes (1 can)
- 15 ounces tomato sauce (1 can)
- 1 ounce taco seasoning (1 packet)
- 4 cups low sodium beef broth
- 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 12 ounces spaghetti
- 1 cup cheddar cheese shredded
- 1 cup Monterey Jack Cheese shredded
- Fresh cilantro chopped, optional
Instructions
- Brown the ground beef and onions in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium-high heat. Cook until the ground beef is browned and the onions are soft.
- Add the garlic, stir together and cook for 1 minute.
- Add in the Rotel tomatoes, tomato sauce, taco seasoning, beef broth, tomato paste, and Worcestershire sauce. Bring the mixture to a boil.
- Add in the spaghetti noodles. Reduce the heat to medium, simmer and cook until the spaghetti is tender, approximately 15-18 minutes. Scrape the bottom of the pot several times and stir frequently while cooking.
- With about 5 minutes of time left, stir in the cheese and let it melt.
- Remove from heat, top with chopped cilantro if desired and serve immediately.
Nutrition
How To Serve Taco Spaghetti
Serve this yummy meal with kid friendly side dishes like tortilla chips or Homemade Breadsticks. If you don’t have a lot of time, you could stick with the super easy route that doesn’t require much cleanup and make something like Air Fryer Potatoes or Air Fryer Garlic Bread.
Veggies like Green Beans With Bacon and Glazed Carrots are a hit with even the pickiest eaters! They’re so tasty they might realize veggies aren’t so bad.
Don’t forget a dessert of chewy Homemade Brownies or No Bake Oatmeal Cookies!
More Kid Friendly Recipes
- These Pizza Crescent Rolls are so much fun to make! A definite favorite for the kids to help prepare and such a good one to have on hand for after school snacks. Canned creschent roll dough make these so easy to prepare!
- Air Fryer Pizza Bagels are a great easy lunch or quick dinner. Minimal clean up is required and. the kids will love adding their favorite toppings to their own bagels.
- Save some on your grocery bill and make Homemade Uncrustables instead of buying a box in the freezer section. Mix up the fillings to make this snack extra special.
- Make Ham and Cheese Rollups as a perfect lunch box addition or kid friendly appetizer. I’m sure you’ve already got most of the ingredients on hand for this cream cheese and rolled tortilla recipe.
