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Taco Tuesday — but make it pasta with this easy Taco Pasta in the slow cooker, you can get the taste of traditional tacos mixed into tasty pasta.
You only need a few pantry ingredients to get started and make a delicious meal the whole family will love.
Cheesy taco pasta is such a great recipe to make on busy weeknights. It is a hearty ground beef recipe and is an easy taco pasta recipe filled with tons of flavor.
One of the great things about this recipe is that you can make most of this in the slow cooker, so you only need a few minutes of prep to make this homemade hamburger helper dinner recipe.
Ingredients for Taco Pasta in the Slow Cooker:
- Protein: use lean ground beef for the best results
- Vegetables: use freshly diced red bell pepper, drained canned corn, and an undrained can of diced tomatoes or crushed tomatoes
- Salsa: get a bottle or jar of your favorite salsa (feel free to use whatever spice level your entire family will enjoy)
- Cooking liquid: use fresh water to add to the slow cooker to cook the pasta
- Seasonings: keep it simple by getting a package of your favorite taco seasoning mixture at the grocery store
- Pasta: We love using rotini pasta in this recipe to keep the pasta more bite-sized
- Toppings: shredded cheddar cheese (or Mexican blend), green chilies, green onion, sour cream, and lettuce
How to Make Taco Pasta in the Slow Cooker:
Cook ground beef:
- To a large skillet, add the ground beef and cook it through. Remove any excess grease.
Add to slow cooker:
- Add the cooked ground beef to your slow cooker along with the bell pepper, corn, crushed tomatoes, salsa, water, and taco seasoning. Stir with a spoon to combine.
- Slow cook on low for 6 hours or high for 4 hours.
Add in pasta:
- After the time is up, turn the slow cooker to high and add the pasta to the meat mixture.
- Cook on high for 20-35 minutes or until the noodles are tender
- To serve, place on a plate and top with your favorite taco seasonings such as cheese, lettuce, sour cream, tomatoes, and more!
Taco Pasta – Slow Cooker
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 red bell pepper – diced
- 1 can drained corn
- 1 can crushed tomatoes
- 1 cup salsa
- 2 1/2 cups water
- 2 tbs taco seasoning
- 12 oz rotini pasta
Instructions
Cook ground beef:
- To a large skillet, add the ground beef and cook it through. Remove any excess grease.
Add to slow cooker:
- Add the cooked ground beef to your slow cooker along with the bell pepper, corn, crushed tomatoes, salsa, water, and taco seasoning. Stir with a spoon to combine.
- Slow cook on low for 6 hours or high for 4 hours.
Add in pasta:
- After the time is up, turn the slow cooker to high and add the pasta to the meat mixture.
- Cook on high for 20-35 minutes or until the noodles are tender
- To serve, place on a plate and top with your favorite taco seasonings such as cheese, lettuce, sour cream, tomatoes, and more!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
How to store leftover taco pasta dinner:
Fridge: Use an airtight container to place any of the leftover chicken and store them in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Tips and tricks for making one-pot taco pasta:
Meat to use:
We enjoy using ground beef in this recipe, but you can always use ground turkey or ground chicken in its place.
Can I use beef broth?
Another great way to add even more flavor to this easy recipe is to use either beef broth or chicken broth in place of the water, but it is not necessary in this hearty meal.
Pasta shapes to use:
- Elbow macaroni
- Shell pasta (small or medium pasta shells)
- Penne pasta
- Rotini pasta or spiral pasta
Favorite Toppings:
- Fresh cilantro
- Pico de Gallo
- Guacamole
- Crushed tortilla chips
- Black beans
- Extra cheese or nacho cheese
More taco dinner recipes:
Quick links for making dinner easy:
- Family meal plans
- Tools for the kitchen and more
- The best cookbook for family dinner recipes
- FREE budget meal plan
- Cooking videos to watch
If you give these recipes a try, make sure to tag us on Instagram @julia.pacheco.cooking and let us know how much you liked the recipes!
Made this tonight. Didn’t have corn but it was just as good without it! Really yummy!