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Taco spaghetti is a one-pot dinner in which dry spaghetti cooks directly in a taco-seasoned sauce of browned ground beef, tomatoes with green chiles and beef broth, then gets a lid of melted cheddar and Monterey Jack. It takes about 40 minutes, uses one Dutch oven, and feeds four hungry people.
Dry Spaghetti, Cooked in the Sauce
The whole method rests on one idea: the spaghetti never sees a separate pot of water. It goes into the pan uncooked and softens in three cups of simmering broth, Ro*Tel juices and tomato paste, soaking up the taco seasoning as it goes.
That has two consequences worth knowing before you start. The starch that would normally be poured down the drain with the pasta water stays in the pan and thickens the sauce as the noodles cook. And the liquid has to be measured, because the noodles are going to drink most of it; there is no colander to correct a mistake.
Three habits keep it on track. Bring the liquid to a full, rolling boil before you lower the heat, push the broken noodles under the surface so none sit dry on top, and stir once or twice so they don’t weld into a single mat on the bottom of the pot.
| Stage | Roughly when | What you should see |
|---|---|---|
| Spaghetti goes in | Minute 0 of the simmer | Stiff noodles poking out; press them down until they are covered by liquid |
| Halfway | Minutes 6 to 8 | Noodles bendable and starting to clump; stir from the bottom to separate them |
| Nearly done | Minutes 12 to 15 | Noodles tender with a little bite, sauce thick but still loose and saucy around them |
| After the cheese rests | 5 minutes off the heat | Cheese melted, sauce clinging to the pasta rather than pooling |
If the pot looks dry while the noodles are still firm, add a quarter cup of broth or water and keep simmering. If the noodles are done and the sauce is still thin, leave it on the heat a minute or two longer; the pasta keeps absorbing liquid during the rest, so it is better to take it off the stove slightly saucier than you want to eat it.
What Goes in the Pot
For the pot
- 1 lb lean ground beef (90% lean) – ground turkey works too.
- 1 small yellow onion, finely diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 packet (1 oz) taco seasoning, or about 3 tablespoons of a homemade blend
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 can (10 oz) diced tomatoes with green chiles such as Ro*Tel, undrained
- 3 cups low-sodium beef broth – water works, with a little more salt at the end.
- 8 oz dry spaghetti, broken in half
To finish
- 1 cup shredded cheddar
- ½ cup shredded Monterey Jack – pepper Jack if you want more heat.
- 2 green onions, sliced
- Chopped cilantro and sour cream, for serving
Grating the cheese from a block is worth the extra minute. Bagged shredded cheese is tossed with anti-caking agents such as potato starch and powdered cellulose to keep the shreds apart, and those same coatings keep them from melting together into a smooth layer on top of the pot.
Cooking It, Start to Finish
1. Soften the onion and brown the beef
Set a Dutch oven or a wide, deep pot over medium-high heat. Add the beef and onion and cook for 7 to 8 minutes, breaking the meat into small crumbles with a wooden spoon. Spoon off any fat that collects.
The beef should show no pink and have browned edges, and the onion should look soft and translucent.
2. Bloom the seasoning
Stir in the garlic, taco seasoning and tomato paste and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pot so the paste does not scorch.
The meat should look evenly coated in a dark red paste, and the pot should smell strongly of cumin and chili.
3. Add the liquid and bring it to a boil
Pour in the tomatoes with their juices and the broth, scrape up anything stuck to the bottom, and turn the heat to high.
Wait for a full, rolling boil across the whole surface, not just a few bubbles at the edge.
4. Simmer the spaghetti
Add the broken spaghetti and press it under the liquid. Lower the heat to medium so the pot holds a steady simmer, and cook uncovered for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring from the bottom two or three times.
The noodles are ready when they are tender with a slight bite and the sauce has thickened but still flows around them.
5. Melt the cheese
Turn off the heat. Scatter the cheddar and Monterey Jack over the top, cover the pot and leave it alone for about 5 minutes.
When you lift the lid, the cheese should be fully melted and the sauce noticeably thicker than when you covered it.
6. Serve
Taste and add salt if you used water instead of broth. Lift portions out with tongs and finish each bowl with green onions, cilantro and a spoonful of sour cream.
Each serving should hold together in a tangle of saucy noodles, with almost no liquid left in the bottom of the bowl.
Is It Ready? Beef and Noodles
The beef comes first. Ground beef is safe at an internal temperature of 160°F, the figure listed for ground meat in the University of Maine Cooperative Extension temperature chart. Check a few of the larger crumbles with an instant-read thermometer at the end of step 1, before the tomatoes go in; once the meat is sitting in red sauce, you can no longer judge it by eye.
For the spaghetti, taste rather than trust the clock. Brands and thicknesses vary, so pull one strand out at the 12-minute mark and bite it. A thin, firm white line in the center means another two or three minutes; no line at all means it is time for the cheese.
Small Things That Matter
- Use a pot wide enough for the noodles. A Dutch oven or a wide, deep pot lets the halved spaghetti lie flat under the liquid instead of sticking out of it, where the dry ends stay hard while the rest cooks.
- Choose low-sodium broth. Taco seasoning packets already contain salt, and the liquid reduces a lot as the pasta cooks. Season at the end, not the beginning.
- Keep the simmer gentle. A hard boil for the full 15 minutes evaporates the liquid faster than the noodles can absorb it, and the bottom can catch.
- Stir from the bottom. The noodles that touch the base of the pot are the ones that stick. A flat-edged wooden spoon or spatula reaches them better than tongs.
- Serve it right away. The longer it sits, the more sauce the spaghetti absorbs. If it tightens up before second helpings, loosen it with a splash of hot broth.
Changing It Up
- Short pasta in a pressure cooker: the same taco flavors with salsa and short pasta are in this cheesy Instant Pot taco pasta.
- Beans and corn: stir in a drained 15-ounce can of black beans and a cup of frozen corn with the spaghetti. Add about ¼ cup extra broth to keep it saucy.
- Chicken and rice instead of beef and pasta: this cheesy chicken taco rice uses ground chicken, black beans and corn in one skillet.
- No pasta at all: for a lower-carb dinner, this low carb taco casserole bakes taco-seasoned beef with cauliflower rice, peppers and cheese.
- Spaghetti inside the taco: try these spaghetti tacos, where spaghetti tossed with beef and marinara is stuffed into crunchy taco shells.
Leftovers
Move leftovers to a shallow airtight container and refrigerate them within two hours of cooking. They keep for 3 to 4 days, the window that extension food-safety guides give for cooked leftovers. Expect the pasta to be much thicker the next day, because the spaghetti continues to absorb the sauce in the fridge.
Reheat portions in a skillet or the microwave with 2 or 3 tablespoons of broth or water, stirring halfway, until it reaches 165°F, the reheating temperature listed in the same Maine extension chart. Freezing is not a good option here: cooked spaghetti tends to turn mushy once it is frozen and thawed.
On the Side
The bowl is already a full meal, so the best partners are fresh and crisp. A simple green salad with lime dressing works, as does grilled Mexican street corn on the cob brushed with a mayonnaise and sour cream sauce, chili powder and cotija.
FAQ
Can I make taco spaghetti with already-cooked spaghetti?
Yes, but cut the broth to about 1 cup and simmer the sauce for 5 minutes before adding the cooked noodles. Without raw pasta to absorb it, the full 3 cups would leave the dish soupy.
Why is my taco spaghetti watery?
Usually the liquid never reached a full boil before the heat was lowered, or the pot came off the stove too early. Simmer a few minutes more, then let it rest covered for 5 minutes; the noodles will take up much of the remaining liquid.
Can I use water instead of beef broth?
Yes. Water gives a lighter flavor, so taste at the end and add a pinch of salt or a little extra taco seasoning if it needs it.
Is taco spaghetti spicy?
With mild taco seasoning and regular Ro*Tel, it is mild enough for most children. For more heat, use the hot version of the tomatoes, swap in pepper Jack, or top each bowl with sliced jalapeños.
Taco Spaghetti
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Set a Dutch oven or wide, deep pot over medium-high heat. Cook the beef and onion for 7 to 8 minutes, breaking the meat into small crumbles, until no pink remains and the beef reaches 160°F. Spoon off any fat.
- Stir in the garlic, taco seasoning and tomato paste and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pot.
- Pour in the tomatoes with their juices and the broth, scrape up any browned bits, and bring to a full rolling boil over high heat.
- Add the broken spaghetti and press it under the liquid. Lower the heat to medium and simmer uncovered for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring from the bottom two or three times, until the pasta is tender and the sauce has thickened.
- Turn off the heat, scatter the cheddar and Monterey Jack over the top, cover and let stand for about 5 minutes, until melted.
- Season with salt if needed and serve topped with green onions, cilantro and sour cream.
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