Taco Pasta
Taco Pasta is creamy, spicy and an easy Italian meets Mexican dinner. I love making this pasta when I want everyone at the table to be happy.
TACO PASTA
Lately it’s been an all out drag down fight to get my kids to eat dinner.
I gave up. I told my husband, “I think I’m boycotting cooking dinner this week.”
But then I made this pasta. Taco Pasta. Two of my kid’s favorite things in one dinner. Sure to be a hit.
The other tip for success is to make sure your kids are starving. Or if you don’t have kids make sure your husband is starving.
Usually as I’m making dinner, the kids are ambushing the refrigerator without me looking (no wonder they never eat). But this time my husband had them outside in the hot tub for a pre-dinner swim.
Dinner was silent. Everyone was busy eating. It was fabulous. And my barely two-year-old ate more than my husband and I put together. My oldest son said that the pasta shells looked and tasted like miniature tacos.
This meal comes together really quickly and doesn’t require the oven so it doesn’t heat up your house. A-hem. Parents 1 – Minions 3.
OTHER TACO RECIPES:
- Taco Pasta Salad
- Taco Lasagna
- Walking Tacos
- Taco Pizza Rolls
- Taco Pasta Salad
- Taco Party Bread
- Easy Taco Bake
- Shrimp Tacos with Avocado Salsa
Taco Pasta
This Taco Pasta is creamy, spicy and an easy Italian meets Mexican dinner. I love making this Taco Pasta when I want everyone at the table to be happy.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef or turkey
- 8-12 ounces medium pasta shells or other small dry pasta shapes (about 3-4 cups dry)
- 1 small onion chopped (about 1 cup)
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 (14 ounces) can diced tomatoes with mild green chilies drained (if making this for kids you might want to use just plain diced tomatoes)
- 1 packet taco seasoning (4 tablespoons)
- 3 ounces cream cheese
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to the package directions. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of pasta water. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook the ground meat over medium-high heat until no longer pink. A few minutes before the meat is cooked through, add the chopped onion to the skillet. Once the meat is cooked through, mix in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add in the diced tomatoes and taco seasoning and let simmer over medium heat for about 3-5 minutes.
- Stir in the cream cheese, sour cream and reserved pasta water, and continue stirring until the cream cheese is melted and the sauce is well blended. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer over medium-low heat 3-5 minutes to reduce the sauce a bit if it is still too thin. Add the pasta a little at a time. You may not need all of it. Stir to coat.
- Toss in the cilantro right before serving for some fresh color and flavor. Serve with a green salad.
Recipe Notes
slightly adapted from Fake Ginger
This was so good! I made it 3 days ago and me and my man are STILL enjoying leftovers.. YUM!
I loved this! I made my own taco seasoning and instead of diced tomatoes I did tomato paste. It tasted just like the Hamburger Helper that my husband loves without all the nasty preservatives. This will totally be a repeat recipe! 🙂
Wow, just made this for dinner and everyone just loved it! Followed it to a t. I will make this again, esp good for a week night dinner.
Hi there! I stumbled upon your website today and love your recipes!!! You really have a ton of great ideas…i pinned a handful today and cant wait to try this one!!! Yum!!!
Thanks!
Melissa
Welcome!
@heather,
I definitely think the tomato adds flavor. I can’t think of anything else to substitute….
So, I love pasta, ground beef, and anything taco but despise anything tomato. How do you think it would taste if I subtracted that from the recipe?
Making this tonight. Can’t wait! 🙂
@Majal,
Thanks! I’m glad you liked it!
I just have to leave a comment..i made it just now and im telling you its delish…yummm…thanks for sharing 🙂
I have a couple of picky eaters in my family as well. I have made this a couple of times already and it’s on the menu this week as well. I’ve adapted it based on what I have on hand as well as leaving out the chiles, as I know they won’t eat those. It’s a hit with the whole family! Thanks for sharing!
@Anonymous,
Sorry you didn’t like it. Did you use tomatoes with chilies like the recipe calls for. With a little spice it tastes great but you can make it mild for kids.
i had high hopes for this based on everyones comments. but this was the blandest dish i have ever had in my life. had to put ketchup on it to choke it down.
OMG Yummy is what I would call this recipe. Great recipe I will definately be adding this to the recipe weekly list.
That was really good! Good for 2 for 2 meals even!
I had such high hopes for this recipe, since so many people said their kids loved it and devoured it. My son loves tacos, so I thought he would love it! Not so much. It was really delicious, and my husband and I definitely enjoyed it, but the kids wouldn’t eat more than a bite. Oh well.
Just made this tonight for dinner without the green chilli’s and stirred in some tortilla strips for some crunch. My 4 and 2 year old daughters ate it up without complaint – which is a BIG thing because they are pretty picky eaters. Thanks for helping me add to my small list of menu items that I make often.
Just made this! I didn’t have any sour cream or cream cheese but did have that new Philadelphia Cooking Cream. YUM! Thanks1
@luckymommy,
Whenever I make pasta I always try to make a salad along side it. Either Caesar or just whatever I have.
what did you serve with it? or did most of you just serve it alone?
This is a great taco pasta recipe! This would be a great meal for special events like catering Fort Lauderdale or even simple dinners at home. Thanks for sharing.
I do not have kids, but I do have a boyfriend who loves all things taco. Made this for dinner tonight and it was very easy and definitely did not disappoint! I used fat free sour cream and low fat cream cheese. I topped it with some crushed tortilla chips, shredded cheese and black olives when serving.
I found you off the Once a month mom web page. Just getting started with freezer meals and this was on one of their menus! Just finished cooking it. My kids aren’t picky (please don’t hit me!) so it wasn’t a surprise it was eaten! I put the chiles in it as my 4 yo loves spicy food. I forgot to drain my tomatoes tho, so had to boil it for awhile and I didn’t add pasta water. Made a triple batch, one for dinner and two for the freezer! Thanks so much for your blog! Your desserts look dangerous!
What changes (if any) did you make to freeze them?
Just made this with rotini pasta…..it was really very good! I will add to my recipe collection. It was so easy to make! Thanks for posting!
Joanne
I made this tonight and it was excellent! I added extra cream cheese and corn.
This is fantastic! I made it with extra lean grd turkey. Used as close to fat free ingredients as I could get. I also skipped the pasta. Its great in lettuce wraps for those of us (with no children yet!) always on the weight loss wagon!
Just made this tonight, our family loved it. Thank you for sharing!
we had this tonight. so easy! and we all really liked it. score! 🙂 thanks.
Delicious! I added a can of black beans too, and it was awesome. My daughter loved it too. I’ll definitely be making this again. Thanks for a quick, yummy recipe!
This was awesome! Better than I thought it would be (it’s so simple – but tastes so rich and delish!). All three of my PICKY boys ate it, and my hubby, too. It’s a keeper – thanks for sharing! You are the best ❤
Yum! I just made this for my husband and I, and it is absolutely delicious! I made a few modifications to it, such as when I cooked the ground beef I added a zucchini puree (one whole small zucchini) and 1/2 c. each diced (super fine) carrots and celery. We’re trying to up our veg intake at our house. Well, I am. And hopefully what my hubs don’t know… will only make him healthier? He’s pickier than most small children, but he absolutely loved this! I also only used reduced fat or fat free dairy in this. We’ll definitely be making this again!