Taco spaghetti is a spicy one pot dish that’s packed with pasta, taco meat, and melted cheese. Mexican spaghetti is the ultimate comfort food, and our taco spaghetti bake recipe below is both hearty and filling!
For a proper taco pasta casserole, you’ll need spaghetti noodles, taco seasoning, ground beef, cream of chicken soup, and at least two different types of your favorite cheese (we highly recommend cheddar and Velveeta cheese for this one!).
You could even use your own pasta maker to give this recipe another level of homemade pasta goodness.
Keep reading to discover the delights of our spaghetti taco recipe!
Taco Spaghetti Recipe FAQ
This surprisingly simple recipe is (not so surprisingly) utterly delicious. We just can’t get enough of that melted cheese finish and the creamy taco flavored sauce!
To help you to perfect your one pot taco pasta recipe, we put together a quick FAQ with answers to the most commonly asked questions we hear about this dish. Keep reading for useful hints and tips!
Do I need to use leftover taco meat for this recipe?
Of all the things to do with taco meat, a taco spaghetti casserole is up there with the best of recipes with taco meat! But while this is the perfect dish for leftovers and for using up spare cans of soup that are in the cupboard, you can also prepare it using fresh ingredients too, as we suggested in the recipe above.
Either way, it’s delicious!
You can also switch your ground beef for other ingredients too. The dish works really well with ground pork or ground turkey too.
Can I make a veggie version of taco spaghetti?
It’s quite easy to make this recipe vegetarian friendly, although it’s not so easy to make this vegan friendly!
You can replace the ground beef with a meat substitute and cook the dish as per the instructions above. We suggest using quorn or crumbling up tofu before adding your seasoning. You can also replace the cream of chicken soup with cream of mushroom soup instead.
If you don’t have a meat substitute, then the dish works well with lots of vegetables too. You can chop up carrots, bell peppers, mushrooms, zucchinis, and many other ingredients.
To make this vegan, you need to use vegan cheese. You also need to make sure your spaghetti noodles aren’t made with eggs and that your seasoning is vegan.
How do I know when taco spaghetti is cooked through?
Your taco spaghetti should only need 30 minutes to bake in the oven, but you want to be sure that it’s cooked through before you serve it. You can simply stick a knife or fork into the middle, and if it comes out hot, then it’s ready.
You also want your casserole to be golden brown on top, with the cheddar cheese not only melted but crispy! Feel free to leave the casserole cooking for a little longer if you need to in order to achieve this golden-brown finish.
How spicy is taco spaghetti?
Taco spaghetti can be as spicy as you like. In our recipe, the hot spice comes from the chiles and from the taco seasoning. If you don’t like spicy food, then select a medium or mild taco seasoning and just use plain tomatoes rather than ones mixed with chiles.
If you do love a hot, spicy casserole, then feel free to add fresh chilis to the recipe, to pick the spiciest taco seasoning you can find in the store, or to mix in additional chili powder as you’re preparing the beef and seasoning in the skillet.
What can I serve with taco spaghetti?
This is a great dish to serve on its own, which makes things a lot easier for the chef. However, you can prepare a few side dishes to make the portions go further or simply to complement the dish.
This isn’t exactly the healthiest food (comfort food never is!), but you can add a touch of greenery to your dinner by preparing a leafy green salad to serve alongside the casserole. You could serve garlic bread or cheesy garlic bread (bonus points for making homemade cheesy garlic bread!), or you could even serve up a few tortillas to add to the Mexican theme!
This is also a great dish to serve with a few other sauces. As this is a taco flavored casserole, Mexican spaghetti with sour cream is a great choice, as is creamy guacamole or some added hot sauce for spice.
What can I do with leftover taco spaghetti?
If you’ve got any leftover taco spaghetti, then don’t worry, because it will keep for a few days in the fridge. Simply cover your casserole dish or transfer the leftovers to resealable containers. You can safely store the taco spaghetti for up to 72 hours.
When you need to reheat your taco spaghetti, you can put it back into the oven to bake for 15 minutes. You could also put it in the microwave if you’re in a hurry.
Taco spaghetti will keep for several months in the freezer, too. We suggest dividing your leftovers up into individual portions and placing each portion into a resealable container or ziplock bag. That way, you don’t need to defrost all the leftovers at the same time if you only want one serving!
It’s best to let the leftovers defrost on the side if you have time, but if not, you can place them in the microwave to defrost on low power. Once defrosted, reheat the leftovers in the oven or in the microwave.
Taco Spaghetti to Die For!
Beef taco pasta is one of our favorite one pot casserole dinners. It’s surprisingly simple to prepare, and it’s perfect for using up leftover taco meat, pasta, and any cans of soup or tomatoes that you have lying around the kitchen.
It’s so good, though, that you might find yourself preparing it fresh again the following week! Why not bookmark this recipe, so you can prepare one pot taco spaghetti whenever you’re hungry for some cheesy comfort food?
Liked this recipe? Our spaghetti casserole or lasagna casserole recipes are great for comfort food lovers!
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