This is even better than my chili mac! This Skillet Taco Pasta cooks up in one pot, tastes like my favorite tacos, and comes together quickly for any night of the week.

Skillet Taco Pasta is another one of those one pot recipes I love to make on busy weeknights. Not only is it simple to make, but it tastes delicious! Your family will love it! It’s packed with fun taco flavors and radiatori pasta. That’s a super fun shape for kids both little and big.

I love all things taco! Taco seasoning is so important to really good tacos. I’m working on an epic taco seasoning recipe. I keep tweaking it every time I use up the jar.

In fact, the jar is empty, and I should make another batch today. Because I love having ground beef tacos. Chicken tacos, shrimp tacos, breakfast tacos, you name it tacos!

I make tacos out of everything. If I can put it on a soft taco, then I will. Especially for breakfast. And lunch. And dinner. Chicken club tacos, pimento cheese tacos, hot dog tacos. I’m not kidding. If it will go on a soft taco, then I will try it. Why do you think I have so many different taco recipes on my blog?

What is in taco seasoning?

I think this is something that will vary with every person who makes their own taco seasoning. Sort of masala in India, it’s a custom blend that caters to your tastes. Some make it with more cayenne, some with more cumin, and some with more onion.

The basics of taco seasoning is chili powder, cumin, and oregano. Yes. Oregano. If you can find Mexican oregano that’s the best! I know oregano sounds weird, but it adds a layer of flavor that doesn’t taste Italian but rich and delicious.

My taco seasoning recipe currently has these three ingredients along with several others. I put garlic powder and onion powder in almost every savory spice blend I’ve made. Sort of like starting almost every dinner recipe with garlic and onions sautéing in the pan.

Since I love cumin, I’m heavy handed with it. It’s smoky flavor is so delicious to me. Along with that is both sweet and smoked paprika. Sometimes I add in some dried bell pepper or celery flakes, but not all the time.

We used to purchase dried bell peppers to put with Missy’s food. We stopped several years ago but I still have a large bag of them in the pantry. Maybe I need to start adding them in soup.

There’s a little crushed red pepper in there along with some cayenne pepper. Now, the cayenne pepper is where most will customize their blend. If you don’t like your tacos spicy, then scale it back or omit it and use more chili powder. If you want them flaming hot, then add more. I’m an in between person.

The last ingredient that most don’t think of is corn starch. You want the ground beef to simmer in some stock for a bit to really absorb that taco seasoning flavor. But you don’t want watery tacos. Enter the cornstarch. There’s just enough to thicken the sauce and not be like gravy thick.

What does skillet taco pasta taste like?

Like you accidentally used taco seasoning instead of chili seasoning for chili mac or American goulash. Skillet Taco Pasta has a slightly spicy taco flavor that coats the radiatori pasta. The pasta soaks up that taco seasoned broth. The Cheddar cheese is the topping on the… pasta. It’s slightly sharp and creamy flavor bring home the taco flavor.

I topped my Skillet Taco Pasta with some chopped green onions. Feel free to top yours with lettuce and tomatoes or even that green stuff they call cilantro. No. I’m not a fan of that stuff. I think it tastes like soap. But by all means, use all the cilantro you love on your skillet taco pasta.

This even heats and eats well for lunch the next day. Just make sure to pack the cheese separately. You don’t want to heat the cheese with the pasta. It just melts away and gets lots. So, heat the pasta then put the cheese on top. Close the lid of the container and give it about 2 to 3 minutes for the heat of the pasta to melt the cheese.

Skillet Taco Pasta

Name: Skillet Taco Pasta
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Tex-Mex
Ingredients: 1 pound ground beef; 1 onion, diced; 8 ounces canned, chopped, green chiles; 14 ounces canned tomatoes; 1 cup salsa; 8 ounces uncooked, short grain pasta; 2 tablespoons taco seasoning; 2 1/2 cups fat free beef broth; 3/4 cup fat free shredded cheddar cheese, divided

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

This is even better than my chili mac! This Skillet Taco Pasta is cooked in one pot, tastes like my favorite tacos, and comes together quickly for any night of the week.

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef
1 onion, diced
8 ounces canned, chopped, green chiles
14 ounces canned tomatoes
1 cup salsa
8 ounces uncooked, short grain pasta
2 tablespoons taco seasoning
2 1/2 cups fat free beef broth
3/4 cup fat free shredded cheddar cheese, divided

Instructions

Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
Brown the ground beef before adding the onions, chiles, tomatoes and salsa.
Stir in the pasta, taco seasoning, and beef broth.
Bring to a boil and then simmer until the pasta is cooked to your liking; about 15 to 20 minutes.
Stir in the cheese and serve topped with diced red onion, green onions, more cheese, or sour cream.

Nutrition Information

Yield

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 552Total Fat 23gSaturated Fat 9gTrans Fat 1gUnsaturated Fat 11gCholesterol 112mgSodium 1807mgCarbohydrates 37gFiber 6gSugar 10gProtein 47g