One-Pot Taco Pasta Skillet
You know those weeknights when everyone’s hungry and nobody wants to do dishes? This cheesy, beefy taco pasta is here to save the day. It’s hearty, pantry-friendly, and cooks up in one skillet—because we’ve got better things to do than scrub pots.
Ingredients
- 1 15.25 oz can whole kernel corn, drained
- 1½ pounds lean ground beef
- 2 cloves garlic minced (or more if vampires are a concern)
- 1 packet taco seasoning about 1 oz
- 1 cup jarred salsa whatever you’ve got on hand
- 1 15 oz can black beans, undrained
- 2 cups beef broth
- 8 oz rotini pasta or any short noodle you like
- 1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese
- Optional fixings: sour cream chopped cilantro, extra salsa, avocado slices, black olives—go wild
Instructions
- Brown that beef. Grab a big ol’ skillet and brown your ground beef over medium-high heat until it’s no longer pink. Drain off the extra grease—unless you’re chasing flavor and chaos, in which case, live your truth.
- Season it up. Toss the beef back in the pan and drop the heat to medium. Add the garlic and stir for about a minute (don’t let it burn). Now stir in the taco seasoning, salsa, corn, black beans (juice and all), and beef broth. Give it a good mix.
- Noodle time. Add the dry pasta and stir again. Cover it up and let everything simmer for 15–20 minutes, giving it a stir now and then. You’ll know it’s ready when the pasta is tender and the house smells like taco night.
- Say cheese. Sprinkle that shredded cheese all over the top, pop the lid back on, turn off the heat, and let it sit for about 5 minutes to get all nice and melty.
- Top it like a taco bar. Load it up with your favorite toppings—sour cream, cilantro, avocado, salsa, maybe a few black olives if you're fancy. Serve it straight from the skillet and watch it disappear.