This quick and easy Taco Spaghetti is loaded with flavor from ground beef, onion, Rotel tomatoes, and taco seasoning. The dish is topped with a healthy amount of cheddar cheese, Monterey Jack Cheese, and chopped fresh cilantro.
Spice up your pasta night with this delicious taco spaghetti recipe! Made in just one pot, it’s a quick and easy meal the whole family will love. This is easily doable for weeknights, and clean-up is a breeze. If you like this recipe, try some of my other easy dinner recipes, like Mexican pizza, bruschetta chicken, taco pie, and pizza burgers.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
See the complete list of ingredients below on the recipe card.
- Ground Beef: For optimal flavor, use ground beef with a bit of fat. It cooks up more tender and flavorful. Ground turkey or ground pork also works well with this recipe.
- Rotel tomatoes: You can substitute diced tomatoes and a 4-ounce can of green chiles for the Rotel tomatoes.
- Taco seasoning: For optimum flavor, use my homemade taco seasoning, which is made with chili powder, cumin, kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, oregano, red pepper flakes, and ground cayenne pepper.
- Spaghetti noodles: Other pasta that works with this recipe includes thin spaghetti, rotini, penne, elbow macaroni, cavatappi, or rigatoni.
- Cheese: I use a mixture of cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese but you can use a Mexican blend cheese.
How to Make Taco Spaghetti
This is the summary version; for the complete list of ingredients and instructions, see the recipe card below.
Start by browning the ground beef in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium-high heat. When the beef is about halfway browned, add the onions and continue cooking until the beef is browned and the onions are soft. Reduce the heat to low and add the garlic. Stir and cook for 1 minute.
Increase the heat to medium and add the Rotel tomatoes, taco seasoning, beef broth, tomato paste, and Worcestershire sauce. Bring the mixture to a boil and add the spaghetti. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the spaghetti is tender, scraping the bottom of the pan several times and stirring several times. Remove from the heat and top with both kinds of shredded cheese. Place a lid on the pot and let the cheese melt for several minutes. Remove the lid, stir in the cheese, and top with chopped cilantro.
Preparation Tips
- Instead of trying to drain the fat from the pot and risking dumping the beef, tilt the pot on its end and use a paper towel to soak up the excess.
- Add small amounts of beef broth if needed to keep the pasta covered.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave at reduced power for short increments until warm or in a skillet on the stovetop over low heat until warm.
Recipe Variations
- Top each serving with your favorite taco toppings, such as sour cream, black olives, chopped tomatoes, chopped avocados, black beans, salsa, corn, jalapenos, or Pico de Gallo.
- Turn the heat up with green chiles, minced jalapeno, serrano peppers, or ground cayenne pepper.
- Try using ground turkey, pork, or chicken.
- Change up the cheese with a good quality Mexican cheese blend, Pepper Jack Cheese, Queso Chihuahua, or Queso Quesadilla.
More Ground Beef Recipes
Taco Spaghetti Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 (10-ounce) cans Rotel tomatoes
- ¼ cup taco seasoning
- 3 cups low sodium beef broth
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
- 12 ounces spaghetti noodles
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack Cheese
- Chopped fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Brown the ground beef in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium heat. When the beef is about halfway browned, add the onions and continue cooking until the beef is browned and the onions are soft.
- Reduce the heat to low and add the garlic. Stir and cook for 1 minute.
- Increase the heat to medium and add the Rotel tomatoes, taco seasoning, beef broth, tomato paste, and Worcestershire sauce. Bring the mixture to a boil.
- Add the spaghetti. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the spaghetti is tender, approximately 15-20 minutes. Scrape the bottom of the pot several times and stir frequently.-
- Remove from the heat and top with both cheeses. Place a lid on the pot and let the cheese melt for several minutes. Remove the lid, stir the cheese in, and top with chopped cilantro.
Notes
- Instead of trying to drain the fat from the pot and risking dumping the beef, tilt the pot on its end and use a paper towel to soak up the excess.
- Add small amounts of beef broth if needed to keep the pasta covered.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave at reduced power for short increments until warm or in a skillet on the stovetop over low heat until warm.
Nutrition
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Karen
Combining the best two meals in one recipe is amazing. What a great idea! The whole family enjoyed it and we will make it again, soon!
Beth Pierce
Thank you, Karen! So glad that you enjoyed it!
Michelle
This looks like such a delicious family meal, I’d love to try this out tonight. Spaghetti is such a great and easy-to-make dish, taco meat is the perfect addition!
Beth Pierce
Thanks, Michelle! Enjoy!
Jenny
This sounds like a great mid-week family meal, thanks for the inspiration once again.
Beth Pierce
My pleasure, Jenny! Enjoy!
Claudia
I made this last night for dinner and we loved it. My husband ate until he almost popped.
Ben
This is so good. I love the combination of flavors. It’s one of my new favorite mashup recipes.
Stacie
I love how you make everything seem so easy to prepare. I can’t wait to try this one out!
Beth Pierce
Thanks, Stacie! Enjoy!
MissyG
Yummy! I will be making this again 🙂
I decided to make this last minute and didn’t have some of the exact ingredients but I made it work. I don’t keep broth in the house so I used Better Than Bouillon paste and water; part Beef and part Chicken because I didn’t have enough Beef. I even added a bit more of the bouillon paste in the end to give the flavor an extra boost. It tasted great without the boost too though. I had just enough Cheddar but no Monterey Jack so I added Velveeta. I know, I know, some of y’all are probably cringing right now. But hey, it’s what I had lol! Next time I will make sure to have the proper cheeses for sure. I also used Cavatappi pasta since I was out of spaghetti. It all worked out and tasted really good! I loved only using one pot too.
Beth Pierce
Thanks, Missy! I am so glad that you liked and that you were able to improvise with what you had on hand!
Tammy
A fun weeknight dinner for the family. This was so delicious and easy to throw together! Thanks for sharing the recipe, Beth.
Sue
Taco Spaghetti – a flavor-packed fusion of ground beef, onion, Rotel tomatoes, and taco seasoning, all in one pot! Topped generously with cheddar, Monterey Jack cheese, and cilantro, it’s a weeknight dinner dream. Quick, easy, and minimal cleanup. Delicious and efficient – what more could you ask for?
Beth Pierce
Well said, Sue. I could not agree more. Enjoy!
Fatima
I’d love to try this with ground turkey! My husband prefers it over regular meat.