Taco Spaghetti Bake — 🌮🍝😍 Tender spaghetti noodles are tossed in a creamy cheese sauce along with seasoned ground beef, tomatoes, green chiles, black beans, and cilantro! The PERFECT family-friendly weeknight dinner recipe that’s super EASY and ready in 30 minutes!
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Easy Taco Spaghetti Recipe
There are a couple of time-honored family favorite dinner recipes that almost everyone can agree upon. 15- 15-minute easy 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, and black beans, and garnished with cilantro.
Trust me when I say that everyone is going to be asking for seconds of this kid-friendly recipe!
This recipe is amazing! It came together quickly, and easily! It is delicious! I can’t stay out of it. I did add a little chili powder and cayenne pepper as suggested to make it a little more spicy.
Anna
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 noodles – 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
- Lean ground beef – 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
- Olive oil, optional
- Packet of taco seasoning (or homemade taco seasoning)
- Canned black beans
- Rotel
- Sour cream – Make sure to use full-fat sour cream, not lite sour cream, because it’s got too high of a water content and you’ll have a watery, runny sauce
- Cheese – Use a combination of American cheese (or Velveeta cheese) and Mexican shredded cheese blend for the best taco flavor and melty consistency. Do NOT substitute reduced-fat cheese, or it simply won’t melt
- Salt
- Pepper
- Fresh cilantro
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
Cheese lover?
If you’re a cheese lover like I am, rather than using 1 cup total of the shredded cheese, bump that up to a generous 1 1/2 cups and divide it accordingly.
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: Fill a large pot with water, and bring to a boil. Cook the pasta to al dente according to package directions, drain, and set aside. Remember, the pasta will continue to cook when combined with the other ingredients. So, be careful not to overcook! I like to cook with chicken broth or beef broth for a more savory flavor, but water is just fine, too.
Step 2: Brown the ground beef with oil, if using, in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low, and add the taco seasoning, black beans, Rotel tomatoes, sour cream, American cheese, and half the shredded cheese. Stir to combine the ingredients and melt the cheese.
Step 3: Add the cooked pasta, and stir to combine. Then, sprinkle with the remaining cheese, and season to taste.
Step 4: If not using an oven-safe pan, transfer the mixture to a baking dish. Otherwise, transfer it directly to a preheated oven, and bake for about 10 minutes or until the cheese has melted.
Step 5: Garnish with cilantro and a dollop of sour cream, if desired. Enjoy warm!
What to Serve with Baked Taco Spaghetti
Recipe FAQs
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:
1. American Cheese OR Velveeta – You can use either one of these cheeses for the 1 cup of cubed cheese that’s stirred into the warm ground beef mixture. Make sure to cube it fairly small so it melts quickly. The benefit of Velveeta is that it will give you an ultra-creamy cheese sauce compared to American or other cheeses. Another option here is Colby Jack cheese instead of American or Velveeta.
2. Shredded Mexican Cheese Blend – I call for 1 cup of this cheese as well, but it’s divided. I like to stir in 1/2 cup into the warm ground beef mixture. And then sprinkle 1/2 cup on top before baking to get that nice look and mouthfeel from a layer of melted cheese on top.
3. Alternatively, for the shredded cheese you can use pure shredded cheddar cheese and not a blend. It doesn’t melt quite as creamy though which is why I like using a shredded Mexican blend of other shredded cheese blend.
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.
Sure! Feel free to include sautéed yellow onions, bell peppers, or mushrooms for extra flavor and nutrients. Black olives make a great addition or topping, too, if you’re a fan.
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 in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 4 months.
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Taco Spaghetti
Equipment
- 1 Large Pot
- 1 Large Oven-Safe, High-Sided Skillet, Sauté Pan, or Dutch Oven
Ingredients
- 12 ounces uncooked dry spaghetti noodles, or the pasta of your choice
- 1 pound lean ground beef, about 90% lean
- 1 to 2 tablespoon olive oil, optional (but helps with noodle sticking in leftovers)
- one 1-ounce packet taco seasoning
- 15 ounces no-salt added canned black beans, drained and rinsed (or pinto beans)
- 10- ounce can Rotel
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 cup American cheese, or Velveeta, cubed into 1-inch pieces*
- 1 cup Mexican shredded cheese blend*, divided
- Salt, to taste
- Pepper, to taste
- ⅓ cup fresh cilantro, finely minced; optional but recommended for garnishing
Instructions
- Cook the spaghetti (or other pasta) according to package directions. Tip – Make sure to only cook until al dente at this point because the pasta ends up cooking additionally as it's both stirred into the ground beef and cheese mixture and then baked. So don't overcook it now. After pasta has cooked, drain it, and set aside. But keep moving with the rest of the recipe while the pasta is boiling.
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- To a large oven-safe, high-sided skillet, saute pan, or Dutch oven, add the ground beef, optional olive oil, and cook over medium-high heat to brown the ground beef. Stir and crumble as the beef cooks to ensure even cooking. Do not drain any liquid/grease/natural cooking liquids.
- After it has browned, reduce the heat to low or medium-low, and evenly sprinkle the taco seasoning, add the black beans, Rotel, sour cream, cubed cheese, half the shredded cheese, and stir to combine the ingredients and to encourage the cheese to melt.
- After the cheeses have melted, taste the dish, and add salt and pepper, to taste. Tip – If you want to make the dish spicier, add about 1 tablespoon chili powder or a pinch of cayenne pepper now. As written, the dish is not spicy.
- Add the cooked pasta into the cheese mixture and stir to combine and coat evenly.
- Evenly sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup shredded cheese over the top, and bake for about 10 minutes, or until the top layer of cheese fully melts. Tip – If you want to save time, it's not necessary to bake it. I like a notable cheese layer on top, but if you don't care or are in a hurry, just stir the whole 1 cup of shredded cheese in with everything else and skip baking it.
- Garnish with cilantro and serve immediately. Leftovers will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 4 months. Reheat gently in the microwave.
Notes
- American Cheese OR Velveeta – You can use either one of these cheeses for the 1 cup of cubed cheese that’s stirred into the warm ground beef mixture. Make sure to cube it fairly small so it melts quickly. The benefit to Velveeta is that it will give you an ultra creamy cheese sauce compared to American or other cheeses. Another option here is Colby Jack cheese instead of American or Velveeta.
- Shredded Mexican Cheese Blend – I call for 1 cup of this cheese as well, but it’s divided. I like to stir in 1/2 cup into the warm ground beef mixture. And then sprinkle 1/2 cup on top before baking to get that nice look and mouthfeel from a layer of melted cheese on top.
- Alternatively, for the shredded cheese you can use pure shredded cheddar and not a blend. It doesn’t melt quite as creamy though which is why I like using a shredded Mexican blend of other shredded cheese blend.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This recipe is amazing! It came together quickly, and easily! It is delicious! I can’t stay out of it. I did add a little chili powder and cayenne pepper as suggested to make it a little more spicy.
Thanks for the 5 star review, Anna, and I am glad it came together quickly and easily!
I am with you – fan of chili powder and cayenne in dishes like this. I don’t typically write it because many people are very conservative with spicy food. I am not and doesn’t sound like you are either :)
Love the sound & looks of the sauce, but definitely wouldn’t use spaghetti. Every good Italian knows you need to use a pasta shape that can pickup & hold heavier type ingredients, such as meat and beans – like rotini, fusilli, shells, etc.
And I’m also really disappointed in your side dish recommendations. 2 out of 3 of them contained rice & beans – both of which are starches. You’ve already got 2 starches in the pasta recipe, & you’re suggesting the addition of 2 more? 😱🤔☹️😖 But that sauce…👍🥰
I provide recipes and suggestions for inspiration. You are welcome to make a right or left hand turn and make the dish your own of course and create it and serve it exactly like you wish. I personally would eat this with a salad but I suggest things in the same family, i.e. beans if you already have beans in the dish. Always do you what you enjoy when it comes to how you like to serve/make things!