Need a quick 15 minute dinner that everyone will love? Well, I’ve got your back. This recipe was inspired by those boxes of Hamburger Helper I saw at the store the other day. I see why they appeal to so many families. It’s fast, easy and you don’t really have to think too much about it. Well, I took the ease of that meal, took out all the preservatives {and msg….eww} and made it healthier! To be honest, just using unprocessed, fresh ingredients makes it ten times better for your health. Plus, whenever I taste those kinds of foods, my tastebuds are hyper sensitive to the chemicals or something because they taste awful to me! Is that just me, or do you guys taste that too?
Anyways, this recipe is 7 basic ingredients and will make you never want to buy boxed dinners again! Easy, fast and delicious with a capital D! Cheesy southwest goodness on your fork. Yes please.
You all are going to love this one! Happy Wednesday! 
Cheesy Taco Pasta
yield: 4 large servings
Print This Recipe
Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef {I used 80/20]
1 taco seasoning packet
1 1/2 cups southwest salsa
1/2 cup water
1/2 lb. pasta {I used rotini}
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
1/4 cup cream
salt & pepper, to taste
Directions:
Bring water to boil to cook the pasta. Salt it and cook pasta until al dente.
While the pasta is cooking, in a large skillet, cook ground beef, breaking apart as you go. Once thoroughly cooked, drain meat and run under hot water to remove any fat. Wipe out pan with paper towel and place back on heat. Pour cooked beef into hot pan with taco seasoning, salsa and water. Simmer until pasta is finished cooking.
Once pasta is cooked, drain well and pour into skillet. Top with cheese, cream, salt and pepper. Stir until cheese melts and noodles are coated in sauce. Serve immediately.
{ 24 comments… read them below or add one }
This is something my mom has been making for years. Such comfort food!
I used to love hamburger helper as a kid! Thanks for sharing this grown up version, I can’t wait to try it! Perfect for the husband too
Comfort food all the way! I love it.
I think I’ll make this for dinner tonight. Just a quick question. When you say cream do you mean whipping cream? I’m still learing in the kitchen.
Yes, I mean heavy whipping cream, not already whipped cream! Hope I caught you in time!
that looks soo good! Dang I really shouldn’t read food blogs when I’m starving
ummm… YUM! thinking about doing this tonight! but my husband was born with an aversion to red meat so i am thinking shredded chicken and sour cream maybe???
to do easy easy shredded chicken i throw it in the crock pot with a little stock, seasoning (will use taco today) onion, garlic etc… let it cook all day until it falls apart! perfect for tacos, burritos, casseroles
i’ve also done this with italian dressing in place of the taco seasoning AWESOME…
This is my idea of a perfect meal! I just bookmarked it so I can be sure to find it later!
Always looking for a quick delicious dinner! Looks perfect:-)
I made this Tuesday night for dinner – it was so quick and easy. This will definitely be saved in my normal dinner rotation!
Thanks so much…my family has been taco’d out so I decided to try this last night and it was fantastic! Using what I had on hand I used Sour Cream instead of cream and Smoked Cheddar instead of regular and it will now be a standby recipe. So easy too, thanks again!
This looks fabulous! recipes like this give lazy people like myself no excuse not to cook up something new n yummy every night
definitely plan on giving it a go!
That looks delicious! I know my hubby will love this – can’t wait to try
I love homemade versions of meals like this. Ever since I switched to hardly any processed foods like Hamburger Helper, I can TOTALLY taste the chemically stuff if by chance I do have to eat it. Even eating at restaurants is becoming hard because it’s just too salty or just plain icky. My only thing with this recipe is I would use homemade taco seasoning, as the packets you buy typically also have MSG in them, amongst other things.
what a great idea! I’m vegetarian so I could leave the beef out but I love the idea of taco seasoning in pasta.
Like woah…this was great, sooo easy and a cinch to put together with pantry ingredients. I eyeballed 4 tbsps of Penzey’s taco seasoning, it is sold in bulk, not packets. Good job!
found this on pinterest…tried it out, it was great!
Taco seasoning packets have msg in them, just an FYI. I found a great ho,emade version. Cant wait to try this.
This was okay. I am not a salsa lover and the chunks were still crunchy so I think that turned me off.
I made this tonight for my family and I have to tell you, IT WAS GREAT! My eight year old even asked for seconds, which she Never does. I will be making this again for sure, (and sharing on my blog! Linking back to you of course!). Thanks so much!!!
what kind of cream????
Just heavy cream.
I made this last night and it was a huge hit! I made it with homemade tostadas. For the pasts I used Mexican velveeta and sour cream and it was just a bit too spicy but this is definitely one I’ll be making again!
Thanks for sharing.
Oh my heck you have saved me! My husband is obsessed with hamburger helper and I hate it so I never let him buy it- he will LOVE this! This is going on our menu for this week! Can’t wait to try it!
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