Easy Taco Spaghetti Recipe
There are a couple time-honored family dinner recipes that almost everyone can agree upon. Spaghetti being one, and tacos being the other. In this super easy dinner recipe that’s ready in 30 minutes, I combined everyone’s love for spaghetti with Mexican-inspired taco ingredients and married the two! Tender spaghetti noodles are tossed in a creamy cheese sauce with seasoned ground beef, tomatoes, green chiles, black beans, and garnished with cilantro. Trust me when I say that everyone is going to be asking for seconds!
Ingredients in Baked Taco Spaghetti
To make this fast and easy taco spaghetti dinner recipe, you only need a handful of very common and easy-to-find ingredients including the following:
Spaghetti noodlesLean ground beefOlive oil, optionalTaco seasoning packet (or homemade taco seasoning)Canned black beansRotelSour creamAmerican cheese (or Velveeta cheese)Mexican shredded cheese blendSaltPepperFresh cilantro
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Taco Spaghetti Casserole
Follow my easy and straightforward steps for this quick taco spaghetti dinner recipe that the whole family will love! Step 1: Boil the pasta according to package directions, drain, and set aside. Keep moving with the rest of the recipe to save time! Step 2: Preheat the oven to 350F. Step 3: To a oven-safe sauté pan, large skillet, or Dutch oven, add the ground beef, optional olive oil, and cook over medium-high heat to brown it. Step 4: Turn down the heat to low, and add the packet of taco seasoning, black beans, Rotel tomatoes, sour cream, American cheese, half the shredded cheese, and stir to combine the ingredients and melt the cheese. Step 5: Add the cooked spaghetti pasta noodles and stir to combine. Step 6: Sprinkle with the remaining shredded cheese. Step 7: Taste, and as desired, season with salt and pepper. Step 8: Bake for about 10 minutes or until the cheese has melted. Step 8: Garnish with the cilantro and serve immediately!
What Type of Cheese Should I Use?
For this Mexican-inspired taco spaghetti casserole recipe, there are a few options to consider when it comes to what kind of cheese to use. My recommendations are as follows:
What to Serve with Baked Taco Spaghetti
This easy beef taco spaghetti casserole recipe is a meal all on its own! You really don’t need to worry too much about sides since it’s filling and hearty. However, if you’d like to pair it with some other side dishes, here are a few of my Mexican-inspired and also kid-friendly recommendations:
Grilled Avocado Corn Salad — An EASY and HEALTHY salad that’s ready in 10 minutes and you won’t be able to stop eating it!Skinny Mexican Bean and Corn Salad — Two kinds of beans, juicy corn and tomatoes, crisp peppers, and green onions are tossed in a lime-chili-cumin vinaigrette that’s perfectly light.Creamy Corn and Zucchini Salad — Corn, zucchini, cilantro, queso fresco and more are tossed in a DELISH creamy lime sauce!!Mexican Wedge Salad — A Mexican-inspired twist on the classic side salad! A great green salad of your choice! One of my favorites is Healthy 12 Superfoods Salad.
And if you’re of legal drinking age, don’t forget to pair your baked taco spaghetti with homemade margaritas or beer margaritas!
Storage Instructions
This recipe is great for families because it makes a pretty good amount. It’s also great for those of you looking for planned leftovers. Simply portion it out into airtight containers where you can store leftovers airtight in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 4 months. Reheat gently in the microwave.
Tips for the Best Taco Spaghetti
This is really such a fast, easy, and simple recipe but I have a couple final parting tips to make sure yours turns out amazingly well and becomes a family favorite! This is also why I don’t drain the fat from the ground beef. There really shouldn’t be too much anyway if you’re using lean ground beef.
Cooking the Spaghetti Noodles
Make sure when you’re boiling the spaghetti noodles, that you only cook them to al dente. Do not overcook them because they’re going to be stirred into the hot cheesy ground beef mixture which will cook them a bit more. And then baked for 10 minutes in the oven to melt the cheese, further cooking them.
Other Pasta Shapes
If you don’t have spaghetti noodles on hand, you can use another shape of pasta such as wheels like I use in this One-Pot Taco Pasta. Or try penne, ziti, rotini, or whatever pasta you have on hand, making sure to cook it to al dente based on the package directions.
Substitutions with other Proteins
Instead of ground beef, you can use ground turkey or ground chicken. These leaner sources of protein will work just fine in this fiber filled meal.
Full Fat Sour Cream and Cheese
Any time you are baking or cooking, and want cheese to melt and your final dish to taste its best, you need to use full fat products. Therefore no lite sour cream because it’s got too high of a water content and you’ll have a watery, runny sauce. And no reduced fat cheese – it simply doesn’t melt well.
To Bake or Not?
It is not really technically necessary to bake this pasta casserole. That’s because the cheese will likely melt from just stirring it in. So you may wonder then why do I suggest baking it? Because I like the extra bit of baked cheese layer on top but it’s not technically necessary. If you want to save the 10 minutes of baking, simply stir all the cheese into the beef and noodles.
More Mexican-Inspired Dinners:
One-Pot Taco Pasta – An EASY recipe that’s ready in 20 minutes, made in ONE skillet, and loaded with Mexican-inspired flavors!! A family favorite that’s great for busy weeknights!! Tried this recipe? Leave a review! Consider leaving a 5 star rating if you’ve made and loved one of my recipes! 15-Minute Cheesy Chicken Taco Skillet – Craving tacos minus all the empty carbs? This easy taco skillet without tortillas is perfect! Fast, easy, loaded with awesome Mexican-inspired flavors and it’s super cheesy! 15-Minute Salsa and Black Bean Chicken Skillet – Fast, easy, family-friendly, healthy yet hearty, naturally gluten-free, Mexican-inspired meal! The perfect recipe to jazz up your usual weeknight chicken dinner! 15-Minute Mango Lime Chicken with Rice and Beans – Easy, healthy, and the mango sauce spiked with lime juice is so tasty! You can’t go wrong with Mexican-inspired flavors, juicy chicken, and rice and beans! 20-Minute Cilantro Chicken with Rice and Beans – Easy, healthy, and the fresh cilantro sauce is so good! The chicken is juicy, loaded with flavor, and along with the rice and beans and you’ll be satisfied for hours! Easy 30-Minute Chicken Enchilada Chili – Don’t have all day for chili to simmer? No problem! This easy, hearty, healthier chili full of Mexican-inspired flavors is ready in 30 minutes! Perfect for busy weeknights! Taco-Stuffed Avocados — Like avocados? Then you are going to LOVE these taco STUFFED avocados with ground beef, CHEESE, and more!! EASY, ready in 15 minutes, a family favorite, and perfect for busy weeknights!! Chicken Tortilla Lettuce Wraps — I worked some Mexican flair into what’s normally an Asian dish. Soft butter lettuce (or romaine) cradles taco-seasoned chicken, juicy tomatoes and corn, crisp red peppers, and cheese. 15-Minute Mexican Rice and Beans Skillet with Sausage — A FAST and EASY recipe that’s loaded with Mexican-inspired flavors and ingredients!! Break out of your chicken rut with this FLAVORFUL dish that’s perfect for busy weeknights!! Mexican Rice, Beans, and Quinoa Medley – Hearty enough to be a meal or makes a FANTASTIC side dish with loads of textures in every bite!! A super FLEXIBLE recipe that’s HEALTHY and makes a big batch for planned leftovers!!
