Why choose between tacos and spaghetti when you can have both!
Zesty taco meat and peppers are cooked with spaghetti in a zesty sauce in just one pot!
Serve casserole-style with sides of sliced black olives, extra shredded cheese, sliced green onions, green chiles, and some sour cream or salsa!
An Easy One Pot Meal
- This easy casserole style recipe needs just one pot – less mess and less effort.
- It’s versatile – perfect for adding extra veggies, mix-ins, and toppings.
Ingredients for Taco Spaghetti
- Meat – I use lean ground beef (80/20) in this recipe but ground turkey can be used in place.
- Pasta – This recipe uses spaghetti noodles – if you change the pasta, you may need to add a little more or less broth.
- Sauce – Choose your favorite flavor of salsa (hot or mild) or use a can of Rotel tomatoes. Chicken broth (or beef broth) adds flavor and salt while the starch from the spaghetti thickens the sauce.
- Variations – Besides bell peppers, this recipe is perfect for sneaking in healthy veggies like shredded zucchini or carrots, corn, chopped kale, or chopped mushrooms.
How to Make Taco Spaghetti
This one-pot dish goes from the stovetop to the table in minutes!
- Cook ground beef and onion. Drain any fat.
- Add bell pepper, broth, milk, and salsa.
- Bring sauce to a boil and add spaghetti. Cover and cook (per recipe below).
- Stir in cheese. Season if desired and serve.
Feeling Fancy?
A packet of taco seasoning makes this quick and easy, but if time allows, you can make your own homemade taco seasoning.
Topping Inspiration
- Creamy: guacamole, sour cream, extra shredded cheddar cheese
- Flavor Boosters: sliced black olives, sliced green onion
- Spicy: salsa, hot sauce, salsa verde, sliced jalapenos
- Fresh: fresh tomatoes, fresh cilantro
Leftovers
Keep leftover taco spaghetti in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days and reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave with a little milk, if needed.
More Perfect Pasta Recipes
Did you enjoy this taco spaghetti recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Taco Spaghetti
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 1 packet taco seasoning 1 oz
- 2 ½ cups chicken broth beef broth or water
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup salsa any flavor, more as desired
- 1 small green bell pepper diced
- 8 ounces spaghetti
- 1 cup Mexican cheese blend shredded
- toppings as desired
Instructions
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In a 12-inch skillet, cook the ground beef and onion over medium-high heat until no pink remains while breaking up with a spoon. Drain any fat. Add the taco seasoning and cook for 1 minute more.
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Add the broth, milk, salsa, and bell pepper.
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Bring to a boil, add the spaghetti and cover. Reduce the heat to medium low and let simmer covered, stirring occasionally, for 12-15 minutes or until the spaghetti is tender.
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Remove from the heat and let rest uncovered for 5 minutes.
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Add the cheese and stir until melted. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper or salsa if desired.
Notes
- Remove from the heat before adding cheese.
- The sauce will thicken as it rests.
- Salsa can be replaced with 1 can of original Rotel tomatoes, drained.
- Leftovers will keep in the refrigerator for 4 days.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Beef, Main Course, Pasta
Cuisine American
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Absolutely delicious!!
Definitely a keeper.
Mmnn. Yummy
This was so good and easy to make! It was a hit in my house with 4 teen boys and my husband. Thank you
I found that 8oz of spaghetti wasn’t enough for the amount of sauce and meat. Could easily up to 10 or possibly 12. It also could use a bit more spice (hotter salsa, salsa & Rotel, jalapeño peppers)
the taco spaghetti oh how yummy. Will be waiting for more recipes
this looks so good . can’t wait to try this recipe.
Made this for the first time. Both of us were extremely pleased in how it tasted! I used Mild taco seasoning and store brand of Rotel in medium and the results had just enough of heat to the flavor, tho I may try the Hot flavor of seasoning next time. This is a winner!!
We followed the recipe exactly and it was really good! We loved the taco/spaghetti flavor combination! We also really loved the creaminess that the sour cream topping added to the dish. Very easy to make and a great dinner for a busy weeknight! We will definitely be making it again!
So glad you enjoyed it, Jackie! Thanks for trying our recipe.
Wonderful alternative to taco Tuesday.
Looks yummy. I will try it
I hope you enjoy it!
Looks delicious!
yum…easy, fast and filling! great for a crowd
add taco chips for crunch!
Glad you enjoyed it, Deb! Thanks for trying our recipe.
This taco recipe is so good and so filling. U will not go wrong making this
Thanks, Susan! I am glad you enjoyed it.
This is great! I used almond milk, meat free ground and dairy free cheese and it still turned out great! Thanks for the recipe!!
So glad you loved it Katie!
Absolutely delicious . Filled the kitchen with a wonderful smell. Definitely will be a repeat in my kitchen. Thank you Holly ❤️
So glad your family loved it David!
My family loved this spaghetti meal. It really lends itself to adding a lot of extra veggies ie zucchini, mushrooms, carrots, parsnips, chop them up small and the kids don’t realize how healthy this meal is. Easy to put together, all in one pan. This is definitely going into our favorite recipe file.
So glad your family loved it Barbara!
Made this for lunch today as that is when we eat our main meal. It turned out really delicious. I used some green chilies for some extra Mexican flavor. Will definitely make it again! Thanks for such a great recipe.
So glad you loved it Adele, green chiles are a great addition!
I made this for supper tonight. It has so much flavor! It’s a keeper for me, absolutely delicious
I’m so glad you loved it Darlene!
looks great. will try soon
I can’t wait to hear how it goes.
I might be missing it but, you must have to precook the spaghetti. It sounds like a stupid question to me but could you please clarify.
The pasta cooks in the broth in step 3, there is no need to precook it.