Taco pasta is an all-in-one pan 30-minute dinner with taco meat, tomatoes, beans, pasta and cheese. It’s sure to be a hit!
Taco night is an absolute must in my house on the regular. And while I make our go-to turkey tacos every other week, I also like to have other taco themed dinners.
There’s chicken taco casserole, taco stuffed sweet potatoes and shrimp tacos or vegetarian tacos to mix things up.
We also make baked shredded chicken tacos, turkey taco rice skillet and a turkey taco and potato skillet.
We even have breakfast tacos in the mornings sometimes!
Today, we’re combining a couple of favorites and making taco pasta!
What could be better than your favorite taco flavors mixed with pasta? Not much if you ask me! (Or my kids…)
We’ve got onions and peppers, seasoned ground turkey, diced tomatoes, black beans, macaroni pasta and of course, plenty of cheese.
Seriously so much YUM in every single bite!
Plus, this is ready in about 30 minutes!
Perfect for a weeknight dinner that will have the whole family running to the table.
If you love these flavors, check out this taco mac and cheese casserole and this fajita chicken pasta.
And stay tuned because I'm sharing a crock pot taco soup very soon!
OK, let’s get cooking.
Now, I’ve got some notes, tips and substitutions coming up below on how to make taco pasta. Just tryin’ to be helpful.
If you want to jump on down to the recipe, simply scroll right on through the rest of the text. The recipe card is near the bottom of the page, above the comments section.
Ingredient Notes:
- Peppers: You need 2 bell peppers and they can be any color or combination of colors: green, orange, yellow or red.
- Turkey: I use a 93% lean ground turkey for this taco pasta. Ground beef could be substituted, but you may need to drain off any excess grease.
- Taco seasoning: I use and prefer homemade taco seasoning, but it’s fine to substitute store-bought if you prefer.
- Tomatoes: Fire roasted diced tomatoes give some extra oomph to this dish, but regular diced tomatoes would be fine to use if that’s what you have on hand. Petite diced tomatoes would be OK, too.
- Beans: Black beans are our favorite, but pinto beans would also work well here.
- Pasta: Elbow pasta works great in this recipe because it cooks quickly and is small enough to incorporate in every bite. You could use a different pasta but your cook time may vary and you may need more or less of the pasta.
- Cheese: We go with regular cheddar cheese, but Monterey Jack cheese, pepper Jack cheese or a Mexican blend cheese would all be delicious, too. Also, we’re stirring half of the cheese into the pasta mixture so every bite is cheesy, and then we’re topping our bowls with the remaining cheese.
- Spicy: If you want a spicy taco pasta, feel free to add a jalapeño pepper to sauté along with the other peppers. You could also stir in some cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes for some heat. And/or serve this with hot sauce.
See, it’s very versatile.
Definitely a recipe you can tweak to make your own.
Oh, and if you want to skip the onions and peppers, you certainly could.
Or if you wanted to swap them out for other veggies, I think some diced zucchini would work great here. You could also wilt in some spinach at the end.
(You know me, I’d add ALL the veggies to this if my kids would let me get away with that.)
OK, now we are just about ready to eat.
Tacos to me mean toppings. (Yes, so do most things… but especially tacos!)
Here’s a few ideas to get you started. Feel free to mix and match your favorites.
Topping Ideas:
- Extra shredded cheese
- Diced avocado
- Sour cream or Greek yogurt
- Sliced green onions
- Chopped fresh cilantro
- Hot sauce
Last thing, let’s talk about what to do with the leftovers.
Storage Tips:
- Once cooled, transfer the leftover taco pasta to a covered container and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat in the microwave until hot.
- You can also freeze the leftovers. Let cool, then pack it in a freezer-safe container or ziplock bag, label and date it. Freeze for up to 3-4 months.
- Let thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then reheat in a microwave-safe container in the microwave until hot.
Also, just to note, because this stores and reheats so well, it’s an easy meal to make in advance.
Whether that’s to have it ready to go for your family on a busy day or to take to a friend, both of which I have done, it works beautifully.
Alright, there you have it.
Yet another way to make taco night fun and interesting - so it can happen more often!
Enjoy!
XO,
Kathryn
Taco Pasta
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 medium bell peppers, chopped (any colors)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 lb. lean ground turkey (such as 93% lean)
- 3 tablespoons taco seasoning
- 1 (14.5 oz) can fire roasted diced tomatoes
- 1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
- 1 (14.5 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups elbow pasta
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
Optional toppings:
- Shredded cheese, avocado, sour cream/Greek yogurt, sliced green onions, chopped fresh cilantro, hot sauce, etc.
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and bell peppers and sauté until tender, 5-6 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for another 30 seconds.
- Add the ground turkey and cook, breaking up with a spatula, until cooked through and no pink remains.
- Add the taco seasoning and stir to mix well and incorporate evenly.
- Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, black beans, water and pasta. Stir well.
- Cover the pot, reduce the meat to medium low and simmer for 10-12 minutes, until the pasta is al dente.
- Add 1 cup of the shredded cheese and stir to get it mixed in and melted.
- Serve hot with the remaining cheese sprinkled on top and any desired toppings.
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