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One Pot Taco Mac and Cheese is the perfect blend of seasoned ground beef, pasta, cheese and your favorite taco toppings all rolled into one fantastic dish. It’s fast, easy and ready in under 30 minutes!
One pot meals are perfect for busy families. They cook in under 30 minutes and use just one pan for easy clean-up. This One Pot Taco Mac and Cheese recipe has the perfect blend of spices and cheesy pasta goodness. It’s a one dish wonder that your whole family is sure to love.
Be sure to try our One Pot Pizza Pasta, One Pot Mexican Chicken and Rice, and One Pot Creamy Chicken and Noodles!
Ingredients for Taco Mac and Cheese
This taco inspired mac and cheese is made with ground beef, onion and garlic, seasoned generously with taco seasoning, as well as 2 cups of dry macaroni, beef broth, water, and diced cherry tomatoes. I considered using salsa, but really wanted the taco flavors to come through, rather than the tomato and spice.
- Ground Beef – I prefer to use a ground beef that is at least 85-90% lean.
- Onion – diced and cooked with the ground beef.
- Garlic – for flavor.
- Taco Seasoning – I use some to season the meat as it cooks, and some to add the the cooking liquid to flavor the whole dish.
- Pasta – Choose any small cut pasta you like, but macaroni is the obvious choice. Shells, Farfalle or Rotini all work as well.
- Beef Broth – the cooking liquid for the pasta.
- Sharp Cheddar Cheese – You want to grate this yourself off the block. Avoid the pre-shredded cheese as it contains an anti-caking agent that prevents melting.
- Cherry Tomatoes – I love adding fresh tomatoes to this dish. They add brightness and some acidity that pairs wonderfully with the creamy cheese. Add some to the pasta to cook, and save some for garnishing at the end.
- Green Onions – Thinly sliced, for garnishing.
How to Make One Pot Taco Mac and Cheese
See the recipe card below for full, detailed instructions
- The first steps are to cook the ground beef with the onion and garlic in a large skillet over medium heat. I scooped the meat onto a paper towel covered plate to drain it, but you could also just mop up the grease with some paper towels. Leaving a little bit is ok and just adds to the flavor.
- Next you’ll add the beef broth and water, pasta, tomatoes and more taco seasoning. I use taco seasoning a lot and sometimes will make my own. But I often just use a packet seasoning or the Ortega Taco Seasoning which comes in a larger container so you can use as much or as little as you need.
- Simmer the pasta and meat mixture for about 15-20 minutes. If there is still a lot of liquid in the pan, just turn up the heat a bit and stir the pasta as the liquid evaporates. You want it to be a little saucy when you add the cheese so it will form a nice cheese sauce. You’re going to add a whole bunch of that shredded goodness to the pan and stir it until it’s nice and melted. Place the lid on the pan for a few minutes to let it melt completely.
- Once the cheese is completely melted, garnish with diced tomatoes and green onion.
FAQs
One Pot meals are an easy way to completely simplify your dinnertime routine. They are warm and comforting like a casserole, but require minimal prep and clean up and just about 30 minutes to make. You just need a pot or a pan to cook in plus a few prep tools. That’s just a few dishes to wash!
One Pot Meals typically include a protein, starch and veggies all rolled into one delicious dish making it a full and complete meal.
Absolutely! If you want to use chicken instead of ground beef, just cut chicken breasts into small pieces and cook in place of the ground beef. You just need to brown the chicken, not cook it all the way through. Then proceed with adding the pasta, liquid, etc.
Variations
Spicy: Bring the heat by adding a can of diced jalapenos or a can of Rotel tomatoes (well drained) in place of the cherry tomatoes. A pinch or two of cayenne pepper will also turn up the heat.
Deluxe: Top with crushed tortilla chips, shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, and sour cream.
Cheese: Another way to change it up would be with different types of cheese. A white cheddar would be delicious or even gruyere or pepper jack. You could make it extra creamy by adding a couple of ounces of cream cheese.
Meat: Any kind of ground meat will work. Feel free to swap in ground turkey or ground chicken, even ground pork or sausage.
Serving Suggestions
Like I mentioned this is a full and complete meal in one, so you could really just serve it on its own and be fine for four people.
If you want to stretch it a little further, add copycat Olive Garden Salad and maybe some chips and guacamole or homemade salsa. I like to garnish with more fresh tomatoes and sliced green onions.
Or, stir in some steamed broccoli or serve some veggies on the side.
What To Do With Leftovers
Storage: Store taco macaroni leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4-5 days.
Freezing: I don’t like the texture of thawed and reheated pasta, but if you need to freeze it, transfer to a freezer friendly container and freeze for up to 3 months.
Reheating: Thaw completely if frozen and reheat in the microwave for 60-90 seconds.
Recipe Tips
- Depending on the brand of taco seasoning you use, you may need to add a little salt at the end. Just be sure to taste it first.
- You can use any type of small cut pasta you like, but elbow noodles are the obvious choice.
More Easy One Pot Meals to Try
- Cheesy Smoked Sausage and Pasta Skillet
- Tortellini and Smoked Sausage
- Easy One Pot Ham Fried Rice
- One Pot Bacon Chicken Ranch Pasta
- Copycat Panera Mac and Cheese
- One Pot Taco Spaghetti
One Pot Taco Macaroni and Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 cup diced white onion about 1 small
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 tablespoon Taco Seasoning divided in half
- 1/2 pound small, dry pasta about 2 ½ cups
- 1 cup water
- 2 cups beef broth
- 2 cups freshly shredded cheddar cheese about 6 ounces
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes diced, plus some for garnish if desired
- thinly sliced green onions for garnish if desired
Instructions
- In a 12-inch skillet or a 3-quart pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat and cook the onions until slightly soft; 2 minutes. Add garlic and stir for about 30 seconds before adding the ground beef and 1 tablespoon of taco seasoning. Break up the beef with your spatula. Cook until beef is no longer pink. Drain and return to the pan.
- Add water, broth, pasta, diced cherry tomatoes, and another tablespoon of taco seasoning.
- Cover the pan and cook over low heat for 15 minutes, stirring twice to keep the pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Remove cover, increase heat to medium and stir pasta until most of the liquid is gone. (Note, if the liquid is already absorbed this step is unnecessary).
- Turn off heat and add the shredded cheese, reserving a handful for topping. Stir until cheese is completely melted. Top with remaining cheese and cover the pan, letting it sit for 5 minutes to allow cheese to melt completely.
- Divide into bowls, and garnish with diced tomatoes and green onions. Other optional garnishes include cilantro, sour cream, avocado, olives or crushed tortilla chips.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer Kristin Maxwell of “Yellow Bliss Road” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. For accurate calorie counts and other nutritional values, we recommend running the ingredients through your preferred online nutritional calculator. Calories and other nutritional values can vary depending on which brands were used.
Hi- this is the first time replying, but I just have say my family loves your recipes as I do too! I’ve made many of your great recipes, and never had a thing go wrong, just yummy dinners, and most of the time it’s just staples people have on hand! Thanks so much! And keep them coming! 🥰
You are so welcome Sandy! Thanks for stopping by.
I had a couple questions. What would your suggestion be to make this ahead of time? In addition when adding the pasta, is it cooked or no? I wasn’t sure if it needed to be cooked before or just put in as dry.
No, the pasta is not cooked first, it’s adding uncooked to the mix. You could make it ahead and reheat it.
I made this tonight! I had about 11/2 lbs. of some leftover taco meat and didn’t really know what to do with it since we were taco-d out lol I came across your recipe and thought it would be perfect and it was! Since my meat was already cooked and seasoned, I just dumped in the pan and added a can of drained diced tomatoes (didn’t have any other tomatoes in the house), beef broth and onions, along with a cup of whole wheat elbow macaroni and let it simmer away! When all of the liquid had absorbed, I added 4 ounces of cream cheese, just to use it up and it made it oh so creamy! I added a bit more taco seasoning and then we had dinner! I know I altered it a tiny bit, but I will make again from scratch! Thanks for the idea, we loved it!
You are so welcome Patti! Fantastic feedback! Thanks for taking the time to share.
Recommendation… if you use two boxes of Velveeta which would equal a triple batch of noodles in this case, rather than using 6 cups broth and 3 cups water, use 4 cups broth and 2 cups water. Mine was still a little watery using this combination but overall the meal is outstanding. Nice job to its inventor!