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Our Cheesy Taco Spaghetti recipe is full of taco flavor with lots of ground beef, tomatoes, and cheese that the whole family will devour. Be sure to make enough for leftovers, because you’ll be fighting over them!
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Its only within the last few years that I’ve really become a major pasta lover. I could probably eat pasta once a day and not get tired of it.
The problem is that I could also eat tacos every day and not get tired of them.
What’s a girl to do? Why, marry the two, of course!
Enter this Taco Spaghetti Casserole – the best of both worlds and a major crowd pleaser.
I don’t want to oversell this, but when I tell you that this is my new go to casserole to serve up at dinner, I’m not lying. The whole family just loves it and we all fight for the leftovers.
Our taco spaghetti is creamy and flavorful, loaded with seasoned beef, really rich and satisfying, and it’s got the best of both the pasta and the taco world going on in one dinner!
We basically took our favorite Rotel Dip, tossed it with pasta, and baked it. You seriously can’t go wrong with that combo!
My family fought over the leftovers on this one, so we’ve taken to doubling the recipe. We could happily eat this all week long!
Ingredients for Taco Spaghetti Bake:
Spaghetti – Any shape of pasta would work, but we love spaghetti!
Ground Beef – I prefer to use a lean beef, but you could get away with ground turkey or chicken in this recipe as well. Our turkey tacos are very popular too!
Taco Seasoning – Store bought is fine, but this homemade taco seasoning is even better.
Cream of Chicken Soup – Use the can or use my substitute for cream of chicken soup.
Ro*Tel – This is a can of diced tomatoes and green chiles. We use the original version, but it also comes in mild and spicy.
Velveeta – I don’t use Velveeta often, but in my opinion, it’s a must for this recipe. It makes a super decadent cheesy dish that’s thick and creamy.
Cheddar – This is for sprinkling over the top of the casserole. Use any shredded cheese you prefer.
Cilantro – Skip this if you hate the stuff. We love the fresh flavor and color it adds.
What We Love About This Recipe
This casserole is extra rich, creamy, and decadent while packing in all of those Mexican flavors our family loves. This is easy to prepare, with simple ingredients. We love how cheesy this is with just a bit of spice.
How to Make Taco Spaghetti:
Pasta: To start, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Be sure to salt your water – it should be salty like the sea! Drop in a pound of spaghetti and cook for one minute less than the package instructions call for.
Beef: While the pasta cooks, add the pound of ground beef to a skillet and cook over medium heat until the meat has browned. Drain the grease from the skillet and add the taco seasoning to the meat.
Stir to coat the meat in the seasoning and then add the water, cream of chicken soup, tomatoes, and the chunks of Velveeta. Stir well to combine while the cheese melts until you have a smooth cheese sauce with tomatoes and ground beef.
This will be thick and creamy and, honestly, kind of irresistible.
Bake: When the cheese sauce is ready, pour over the pasta in a large mixing bowl and stir until the pasta and sauce are well combined. You can add a bit of pasta water to the mixture if you’d like to thin it out, but we love how thick and cheesy this is.
Next pour the mixture into a 9×13 baking dish that has been greased with non-stick spray.
Top the mixture with some shredded cheddar cheese and bake for 20 minutes or until it is hot and bubbly. Finally you can sprinkle some cilantro on the top and serve!
VARIATIONS & ADDITIONS:
- Ground turkey or chicken can be used in place of the ground beef.
- Try topping it off with a Mexican cheese blend instead of cheddar, or use both!
- Some possible additions include chopped onion, mushrooms, and black beans.
- Top your spaghetti with my homemade guacamole and a spoonful of our restaurant style salsa.
Leftover Hack!
Okay, this is taco spaghetti, but have you heard of spaghetti tacos? You just stuff your spaghetti into crunchy taco shells. Go ahead and do that with the taco spaghetti and holy moly…delicious!
FAQ’S:
Besides the normal amount of spiciness that you’d find in a packet of taco seasoning, this recipe also uses Ro*Tel diced tomatoes with green chiles. We don’t find this dish overly spicy, but it is a bit more spicy than your average American style taco.
You can keep any leftover casserole stored in an airtight container in the fridge for about 3 to 4 days. You can also freeze leftovers in a freezer safe container for up to a few months.
More mexican inspired recipe!
- Dorito Chicken Casserole
- Taco Lasagna
- Fried Tacos
- Fish Taco Bowls
- Mexican Chicken Casserole
- Easy Mexican Rice
- Air Fryer Fajitas
Cheesy Taco Spaghetti
Ingredients
- 1 pound spaghetti
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 packet taco seasoning
- 10.5 ounces cream of chicken soup
- 10 ounces Rotel Diced Tomatoes with Chiles drained
- 12 ounces Velveeta diced
- 1 cup shredded cheddar
- Cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9×13 baking dish with nonstick spray. Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook spaghetti for 1 minute less than the package states. Reserve 1/4 cup of the pasta water before draining.
- While the spaghetti is cooking, add the ground beef to a large skillet over medium heat and crumble the meat as it cooks.
- Drain the grease and season with the taco seasoning. Add 1/4 cup of water (as called for on the taco seasoning), the cream of chicken and tomatoes. Stir well to combine.
- Add the Velveeta and continue cooking over low heat until the cheese has melted. Stir in 1/4 cup of the reserved pasta water to thin the sauce.
- Pour the cheese sauce over the spaghetti and add to the prepared baking dish.
- Top with the shredded cheddar.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
- Sprinkle with cilantro before serving.
Dave McKenzie says
I cooked this myself for the first time but I added onions frozen peas corn and capsicum aka bell pepper my partner and I really enjoyed it
Karly Campbell says
Sounds delicious!
Becky says
Made this last night it was great! I have leftovers can I reheat this in the oven? Time and temperature?
Karly says
Hi Becky! Yep, you can reheat in the oven or microwave. I’d probably do 350 in a covered dish – not sure how long it will take though.
Susan S. says
This has become a family favorite! I accidentally bought diced tomatoes with habanero peppers instead of green chilies. If you like an extra spicy kick, habanero and diced tomatoes is the way to go! I also made this without the spaghetti and served it with tortilla chips. Thanks for such a great recipe!
Karly says
Ooh, thanks for sharing, Susan! Sounds delicious!
Kris Hammonds says
I wonder if you can substitute noodles with spaghetti squash?
Karly says
It’ll be a bit different and the end result will have a bit more liquid, but otherwise it will likely work fine. 🙂
Judy Bradley says
So easy and So Delicious and the Spaghetti Sauce recipe was just the ticket to send this dish out of this World!
Karly says
Thanks, Judy!
Karl Woods says
I’m a little confused with this one. Do I add additional water, besides the pasta water?
Karly says
Hi Karl! You drain the pasta, but reserve some of the pasta water and add that to the cheese mixture. We also added water along with the taco seasoning to the beef (as called for on the taco packet). We used the starchy pasta water to make the cheese sauce more silky and adhere to the noodles, but we didn’t want to overdo it either.