This 5-ingredient, cheesy taco pasta casserole made with salsa is one of those tried and true recipes you can doctor up according to what you have on hand or enjoy it as an easy weeknight dinner without all the extras.
★ Why You'll Love this Recipe ★
This taco pasta bake is absolutely delicious in its basic form, but it's also really versatile.
I'm going to show you how to make this taco pasta casserole in its simplest 5-ingredient form and then I'll give you some ideas for ways to change it up — make it healthier, fancier, and even yummier but adding toppings.
Toppings are totally optional. They're a way to customize this dish and dress it up which is nice if you make this for dinner regularly. You can change it up a little each time.
★ Ingredients You'll Need ★
This dish is so simple using just 5 ingredients (plus water for boiling the pasta)!
Here's everything you need to make this Taco Pasta Casserole:
- Pasta shells. Or any type of pasta you'd like! I like the shells because little bits of seasoned ground beef and sauce get tucked up inside the shells creating a really nice texture.
- Ground beef. You can also use ground chicken or turkey).
- Taco seasoning. You can buy 1oz packets of seasoning or buy taco seasoning in bulk.
- Salsa. Choose your favorite brand and style!
All salsa is certainly not created equal so depending on what salsa you choose, this can really change the flavor and texture of the whole dish.
A thicker salsa will make more of a chunky, less saucy casserole. Whereas a thinner, more liquidy, restaurant-style salsa will give you more sauce.
My favorite is Tostito's Restaurant style salsa. Or sometimes I'll go with fresh made salsa. You could even use pico de gallo or salsa verde if you really want to mix things up. Have some fun experimenting to see what you and your family like best. - Mexican cheese blend. You can usually find a few different packaged blends of Mexican, "Fiesta" blend or Taco style cheeses already shredded and ready to go. Any blend works! Some have added spices. Go with whatever floats your boat!
Optional Ingredients for Creamy Sauce
You can add in 4oz of sour cream or a half a block (4oz) of cream cheese to make the sauce creamy.
You can also make the sauce just lightly creamy by replacing the water with milk, half and half or heavy cream.
A combination of all 3 works too! Taste test and see which way you like best.
★ How to Make this Recipe ★
This taco pasta casserole is so easy to make! You just need to toss 5 ingredients together and heat essentially.
This an easy pasta recipe that's also delicious and continually receives excellent reviews on Pinterest. I think you'll love it too!
- First, cook the pasta shells al dente (1 minute less than the recommended boil time on the package) and drain.
- In the same pot, cook the ground beef.
- Add taco seasoning, water and salsa.
- If you want a creamier sauce, add sour cream or cream cheese.
- At this point you can either stir in the cheddar cheese and serve! OR you can sprinkle cheese on top and pop it in the oven to melt the cheese.
To bake or not to bake. To save time, you can make this entirely on the stovetop, just stir in the cheese at the end. I have included an option to sprinkle cheese on top and bake this whole casserole just for a prettier presentation. Say, if you're having people over for dinner. So, your choice how much effort you want to put into this. 😉
Check out the video beneath the recipe (below) to watch step-by-step how to make this pasta casserole.
★ Optional Toppings ★
Adding toppings is a great way to change up this taco casserole and make it into almost a brand new dish. There are a lot of extras you can add that go well with this Taco Pasta Bake!
Try these yummy extras:
- shredded lettuce or other leafy greens
- diced tomatoes
- sour cream
- black olives
- onion (red or white)
- fresh salsa
- salsa verde
- pico de gallo
- guacamole or avocado
- corn
- black or refried beans
- sauteed peppers
- lime juice, cilantro
- pickled jalapeños
Anything you'd put on a taco works!!
★ Substitutions ★
Try different types of meat. Try using shredded rotisserie chicken, ground turkey, steak, or cauliflower-walnut "taco meat" instead of ground beef.
Want to make this vegetarian? Try adding in refried beans or quinoa in addition to or instead of some of the meat for a vegetarian option.
Use any type of pasta. Try using different shaped pasta to change the texture. Experiment and find what you like best. I used shells but you could use elbow macaroni, rotini or even spaghetti noodles! Heck, you could even try using rice.
Change up the cheese. Try different cheeses. You could use a blend of cheese, Cotija (a crumbly Mexican cheese), melty queso, etc.
Try different salsas. I really love fresh or restaurant style salsa but you may love chunky or salsa verde. Any salsa works! You could even make your own salsa.
Like a little heat? Spice it up some with a few dashes of hot sauce, chili powder and/or some cayenne pepper.
Add some extras into the bake itself. For example, corn, beans, peppers, green chilies, etc. would all mix into the sauce pretty well vs. using them as toppings.
★ Tips & FAQs ★
★ More Recipes You'll Love ★
Want more easy, yummy dinner Ideas?
Browse all my dinner recipes and be sure to Pin your favorites for later!
Want more ideas for cooking beef?
This taco pasta casserole bake was featured on South Your Mouth!
Taco Pasta Casserole (5 Ingredients)
Ingredients
- 2 lbs ground beef or use chicken and/or turkey
- 16 oz pasta shells
- 15.5 oz salsa
- ½ cup shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese
- 2 (1oz) packets taco seasoning (ยผ cup if using bulk taco seasoning)
- 1 ½ cups water
Optional for Creamy Sauce
- ½ cup cream cheese or sour cream
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Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400˚F.
- Cook pasta. Prepare pasta according to package, drain and set aside.
- Cook meat. Heat a large dutch oven or oven-safe skillet to high and add meat. Stir and cook until browned. When done, drain off excess grease.
- Combine pasta and meat. Add cooked pasta to the meat. If you don't have a dutch oven or cast iron skillet, you can move everything to a casserole dish.
- Add seasoning and salsa. Sprinkle taco seasoning over the meat then pour water over top. Add salsa then stir to combine.
- Add cheese. Top your taco bake with shredded cheese. Fro creamy sauce, stir in sour cream or cream cheese.
- Bake. Add casserole to the preheated oven and bake for 18-22 minutes or until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbly.
- Add optional toppings. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Top with any taco-style toppings you'd like. See above post for ideas!
Video
Notes
Equipment
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Martina Poole says
This is truly a great easy family recipe that can be used during the work and school week. My family loves it.
Gayle says
My grandson and two of his football friends (high school) came for lunch and ate this whole pot! They said I could make it everytime. Sooo good! Making it again today for the family. Easy Peasy!
Sharon Jones says
I cooked on top of stove. I added 1 can of black olives, chopped. Also added 1 can of little red beans. A and sour cream. Loved it
Rachel Martin says
I altered it so it was Stove top only it was great thank you for the recipe
Brenda Vaughan says
You could simply use a taco sauce
Teri B says
My kids thought it was too spicy but otherwise really liked it. I used milk and added sour cream to make it creamier. But also added a can each of black beans & sweet corn (drained and rinsed).
Delicious recipe that's easy to manipulate. Thanks!
Arabelis says
So good and it was a hit with my children. I added the cream cheese and sour cream and it was so saucy and creamy. My only suggestion would be to up the seasoning of the meat. I used garlic, chicken buillion, and sofrito to cook the meat and I feel that it made it even better. Thank you so much for the awesome recipe.
Amber says
Absolutely delicious & so easy to make! My entire family loved it! This will definitely be a meal we will have again in the future!
Angela G. says
So glad you and your family liked it, Amber!
Lesa says
We love this recipe. Usually use 1 lb meat and add a can of black beans for added protein.we also add a can of corn and black olives. Itโs a hit with the kiddos too.
Hannah says
I donโt have any salsa, what can I use instead?
Angela G. says
You could use ideally fresh tomatoes, onions, and peppers and extra taco seasoning or add chili powder, garlic powder and cumin.
Brenda Vaughan says
You could simply use a taco sauce
Sara says
I had to make quite a few adjustments due to the fact that it was not saucy whatsoever. I added a lot more taco seasoning, milk and a jar of queso. Turned out great and it was a big hit
Angela G. says
Thanks for the feedback and good suggestions for making this more saucy.
Shelby says
@Sara, did you add queso with the salsa or replace the salsa? And how much did you use? And what brand?
Iโm a big queso fan!
Terry says
Can you make this recipe, cool and then freeze?
If yes, how long do you thaw once out of the freezer and how long do you reheat... assume reheat covered?
Thanks much!
Trying to make college son some meals for his freezer ๐
Angela G. says
Hi Terry,
Yes, you can freeze and reheat from frozen without having to thaw. I'd recommend portioning this in small sizes before freezing and using microwave safe containers like these on amazon if making this for your college son as this recipe makes a BIG batch, enough for a family. So I'd divide this into 6 portions. Then he can remove the lid, replace with a paper towel and heat for 5-8 minutes stopping midway to stir.
Robin says
@Terry, I divided mine into 2 pans, froze 1, ate 1. We ate the second one about 2-3 months later and it was just as good as the first.
Ashley says
@Robin, did you thaw it before cooking it or did you adjust cooking times to accommodate it being frozen.
Cathy says
Very delish! Great recipe.
Angela G. says
Hi Cathy, Glad you enjoyed this casserole recipe!
jen says
any suggestions for reheating(making for someone due to a death in the family)
Angela G. says
Hi Jen, Go ahead and prepare this according to the directions except don't bake it. Just cover with foil. The person receiving this can finish cooking it right before they're ready to eat. You can give them the instructions: "Bake at 350 for 30-35 mins" I'm assuming they will be baking it from fridge temperature. If baking from frozen, cook time will be 55-60 minutes and you'll want to leave it covered with foil for about half the cook time so the cheese doesn't burn.
Jacquelyn says
The family loved it! Next time Iโll add jalapeรฑos! What would you recommend for freezing?
Angela G. says
Glad you enjoyed this dish! Jalapeรฑos would be a great addition. For freezing just make sure the casserole is in an air tight container.
Mike Rager says
Kids loved it! Ate it again for lunch the next day!
Angela G. says
Mike, so glad you and the kids enjoyed it!
Karen says
Love this recipe very simple and delicious thank you so much for sharing.