Healthy Taco Pasta Recipe

This Healthy Taco Pasta recipe is loaded with veggies, protein, and spicy flavors. It’s sure to be a an easy weeknight family favorite meal!

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Our weekly pasta rotation

We probably end up having some sort of pasta recipe about once a week because a) pasta is cheap and easy, and b) they boys especially love noodles of all kinds.

I love pasta recipes, too, but I usually want to make sure our dinnertime meal includes some sort of quality protein and veggies to go with all the delicious carbs.

This taco pasta recipe is not only high in protein from the ground beef, but it’s also full of veggies and and mildly spicy flavors, so it’s family friendly. It only takes about 30 minutes to pull together in one pot because you cook the pasta right in the skillet!

You can also build the pasta so that kids get a simpler version and then add in all the layers of flavor for the adults, if you’d like.

Why I Love This Healthy Taco Pasta Recipe

This pasta dish is a great sub in for Taco Tuesday, especially if you want to take it to a picnic or poolside in the summer when bringing all the individual taco ingredients wouldn’t make sense. (Shells, tortilla chips, etc.!)

You can customize the recipe to your liking by swapping in and out ingredients:

Add black beans or pinto beans for ground beef (or simply add the beans!)
Or use ground turkey or pulled or ground chicken instead of ground beef
Swap corn for chopped zucchini
Use tomato sauce or diced tomatoes instead of fresh for more of a saucy sauce
Add in grated carrots
Use gluten free pasta if you’d like to make this gluten free
Use pepper jack or spicy cheese instead of a Mexican blend or cheddar cheese
Swap store-bought pico for homemade
Use Greek yogurt instead of sour cream
Or leave that and the cheese out to make it dairy free

What is Tex Mex?

You’ve probably heard the term Tex Mex before, but what is it? I had to look this up because I wasn’t 100% sure myself!

“Tex-Mex cuisine (from the words Texan and Mexican) is an American cuisine that derives from the culinary creations of the Tejano people of Texas. It has spread from border states such as Texas and others in the Southwestern United States to the rest of the country.” (per Wikipedia).

Common Tex-Mex ingredients include chicken, pork, beef, cheese, beans, peppers, and spices. Some dishes come with a tortilla, which is often a big clue as to whether you’re eating Tex-Mex or authentic Mexican food. Chili con carne is an iconic Tex-Mex dish with ground beef and cumin.

Traditional Mexican food uses corn and beans as staples, with a lot of chili peppers and spices to create complex flavors.

Other traditional Tex Mex ingredients:

Yellow cheese
Beef
Flour tortillas (vs corn)
Black beans
Chili powder
Canned vegetables (like tomatoes)

How To Make Healthy Taco Pasta

Here’s how to make this easy weeknight recipe!

Ingredients

For pasta:

olive oil
ground beef
garlic
red bell pepper
jalapeño
chili powder
ground cumin
dried oregano
salt
ground pepper
fresh pico de gallo
fusilli
frozen corn

The toppings:

shredded Mexican cheese blend
chopped cilantro
diced grape tomatoes
chopped jalapeños (pickled or fresh, without seeds!)
sour cream or greek yogurt for garnish

For homemade pico de gallo (without onions and scallions in our house 😉 ):

tomatoes
red bell pepper
cucumber
serrano pepper
cilantro
salt
ground pepper
lemon juice

Instructions

Step 1. Heat a large skillet with a lid of medium heat

Add the oil to a large skillet with lid or dutch oven and heat over medium heat.

Step 2. Cook the beef

Add the ground meat, and cook until the beef is thoroughly cooked. Stir the entire time. This will take about 5-7 minutes.

Step 3. Stir in seasonings

Stir in the garlic, jalepeno, chili powder, bell pepper, cumin, oregano, ground pepper, and salt. Let the mixture cook for 1 minute.

Step 4. Add water, pasta, pico, and corn

After that time has passed, add the water, pasta, pico de gallo, and corn.

Step 5. Bring to a boil and simmer with a lid on for about 15 minutes

Bring the mixture to a boil. Once it starts to boil, reduce the heat to a simmer. Put on a lid and cook until all the liquid is absorbed and the pasta is tender. This will take about 13-15 minutes. (you will need to stir 1-2 times during this process)

Step 6. Add cheese

Take the pan off the heat and sprinkle the cheese on top. Stir to melt.

Step 7. Serve with any extra veggies or toppings

Serve and enjoy. Don’t forget to add optional toppings such as tomatoes, jalapeños, sour cream, and cilantro.