Cheesy Taco Pasta Bake
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With just a few pantry items and fresh ingredients, you can make these cheesy taco pasta bake for taco Tuesday or any night of the week!
Simple recipes are what I am turning to over and over these days. This cheesy taco pasta bake is a perfect weeknight meal that includes many ingredients you likely already have or are easy to find.ย
One of the great things about this cheesy taco pasta recipe is that it is super versatile. You can easily substitute many of the ingredients for things you have on hand or might be more readily available in your store without a big change in the flavor.
Cheesy Taco Pasta Ingredients
- Pasta – I used shells in this recipe but any short cut pasta should work fine.
- Ground Beef
- Taco Seasoning – You can use a store bought version or your favorite homemade one.
- Cumin
- Bell Pepper
- Black Beans
- Mexi-corn
- Diced Green Chiles
- Fresh Salsa
- Sour Cream
- Shredded Cheese
Pasta Casserole Variations
You can leave out ingredients like the corn and black beans or just substitute them. Some easy substitution ideas include:
- Replace the fresh salsa with jarred salsa or even canned crushed tomatoes
- Replace the canned mexi-corn with thawed frozen corn
- Replace the black beans with pinto beans
- Substitute ground beef with ground turkey or ground chicken
- Replace the ground beef with cooked, shredded chicken
Think of this cheesy taco pasta casserole as an upgraded version of hamburger helper. It is packed full of yummy tex-mex flavors and on your table in 30 minutes or less.
More Easy Pasta Recipes
If you love this recipe for cheesy taco pasta, be sure to try these other easy pasta recipes:
- One Pot Taco Chicken Alfredo Pasta
- Pasta Casserole
- Easy Lemon Garlic Pasta
- Three Cheese Baked Spaghetti Casserole
- Bruschetta Chicken Pasta
Cheesy Taco Pasta Bake
Ingredients
- 16 ounces shell pasta
- 1 pound ground beef
- 2 Tablespoons taco seasoning
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1/2 bell pepper diced
- 1 can black beans rinsed and drained
- 1 can Mexicorn
- 2 Tablespoons diced green chiles
- 2/3 cup water
- 1 cup fresh salsa
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 1 1/2 cup shredded cheese
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions subtracting 3 minutes from the recommend cooking time. Drain and set aside.16 ounces shell pasta
- While the pasta cooks, brown ground beef over medium heat; stirring to crumble. Drain and return to pan. Mix in bell pepper, taco seasoning, cumin, black beans, Mexicorn, and green chiles. Cook for an additional 2 minutes. Remove from heat.1 pound ground beef, 2 Tablespoons taco seasoning, 2 teaspoons cumin, 1/2 bell pepper, 1 can black beans, 1 can Mexicorn, 2 Tablespoons diced green chiles
- In a small bowl, whisk together water, salsa, and sour cream. Stir into ground beef. Add pasta and 1 cup of shredded cheese. Stir to combine.2/3 cup water, 1 cup fresh salsa, 1/3 cup sour cream, 1 1/2 cup shredded cheese
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9×13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Add pasta mixture to baking dish. Top with remaining 1/2 cup of shredded cheese.
- Bake in preheated oven for 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.
Notes
- For a basic recipe, you can leave out black beans, mexicorn, green chiles and the bell pepper.
- Substitute thawed corn for Mexicorn if desired.
- Elbows, penne, ziti, or rigatoni can be substituted for the shells.
Nutrition
