Slow Cooker Taco Pasta
If you’re looking for the perfect weeknight meal or potluck dish, look no further than this Slow Cooker Taco Pasta. It’s a hearty, delicious, and EASY dish loaded with ground beef, salsa, beans, bell peppers, cheese, and pasta that always has everyone coming back for more.
We love filling meals full of flavor. We also love easy meals. On a busy day, there’s nothing better than a meal that fills you up but doesn’t require a lot of work. That’s why we love making this taco pasta. It’s an easy slow cooker recipe full of flavor and requires very little effort. Win!
Table of contents
❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Limited Ingredients: It only takes a few simple ingredients to make this dish.
- Easy: This is a slow cooker recipe, so it’s automatically super-easy!
- Bold Flavor: This pasta dish is loaded with beef, cheese, beans, salsa, and taco seasonings, so it explodes with flavor in every bite.
- Versatile: This makes a great weeknight dinner or addition to any party.
🛒Ingredients
It only takes a few simple kitchen staples to make this recipe. We’ve listed them all here, but you can find their exact amounts in the recipe card at the end of the post.
- Lean ground beef
- Beef broth
- Salsa
- Frozen corn
- Canned black beans – drained
- Red bell pepper – chopped
- Taco seasoning
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Pasta shells
- Scallions, sour cream, and tomatoes – for garnish
🔪 How to Make Slow Cooker Taco Pasta
With just a few minutes of prep and a few hours in the slow cooker, you’ll go from ingredients to a hearty, bold beef and pasta dish that everyone will love. It’s so easy and so good. You can’t beat that!
Step 1: Brown the Beef
Brown the beef in a skillet until no longer pink. Then, drain it and transfer it to your slow cooker.
Step 2: Add the Remaining Ingredients
Add everything else except the pasta and cheese, cover, and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours.
Step 3: Add Pasta
30 minutes before serving, add the uncooked pasta, stir, and cook for another 30 minutes.
Step 4: Add Cheese
Stir in 1 cup of the cheese until melted.
Step 5: Serve
Top with the remaining cheese and serve garnished with sour cream, scallions, or any of your other favorite toppings.
📝Variations
Do you want to change up this recipe and make it your own? Here are some ways that you can do that!
- Spicy: Add diced jalapenos for a spicy kick.
- Meat: Use ground turkey for less fat or chorizo for even more flavor.
- Pasta: Macaroni or any short noodles work well for this recipe.
- Cheese: Try Mexican or taco blend cheeses in this recipe.
If you think this slow cooker taco pasta looks good, then you’ll love our creamy cheese taco pasta bake.
🥄 Equipment
- Measuring cups
- Knife
- Cutting board
- Skillet
- Slow cooker
🥫 Storage
Refrigerate this taco pasta for up to 4 days in an air-tight container. For longer storage, freeze it for up to 3 months in an air-tight, freezer-safe container.
To reheat the pasta, defrost it if frozen. Then, cook it over medium-low heat in a saucepan until heated through.
What to Serve with Slow Cooker Taco Pasta
Serve this pasta with queso blanco, guacamole, or salsa and chips on the side for even more flavor. And don’t forget a Mexican-inspired dessert like Ritz Bits churros or churro cheesecake cookies!
💭 Tips
- Be sure to drain your ground beef to avoid a greasy dish. Even lean ground beef renders some fat while cooking.
- Cook your ground beef until no longer pink and no further. Overcooking it will make it tough and rubbery.
- Slow cooker temperatures vary, so check your pasta for doneness after about 20 minutes. Continue with the recipe when the pasta is tender.
- Be gentle when stirring in the cheese so you don’t break up the pasta.
⁉️ FAQ
Do you have questions about this recipe? Here are the answers to the most commonly asked questions.
It’s safe to add raw ground beef to a slow cooker, but it will make your dish very greasy. Browning the meat first renders most of the fat, keeping your dish flavorful and grease-free.
Cheddar, Taco blend, Mexican blend, and other bold, melty cheeses all work very well.
We don’t recommend it. One of the reasons this taco pasta is so good is that it has plenty of time for the flavors to meld.
🍽 More Recipes
Do you enjoy slow cooker recipes? Then, try these delicious recipes.
🧾Recipe Card
Want to make this recipe? Print the recipe card below, or pin this recipe, so you can find it later.
Slow Cooker Taco Pasta
Equipment
- large skillet
- 6 quart slow cooker
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 4 cups beef broth
- 16 ounces salsa
- 10 ounces frozen corn
- 15 ounces black beans drained
- 1 red bell pepper chopped
- 1 ounce taco seasoning
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 16 ounces shell pasta
- Scallions sour cream, tomatoes for garnish
Instructions
- Brown and drain your ground beef and place into the slow cooker.
- Add in your beef broth, salsa, frozen corn, beans, bell pepper and taco seasoning.
- Stir to combine.
- Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours.
- 30 minutes before serving add in the pasta and stir to cover.
- Cook for 30 more minutes or until the pasta is cooked through.
- Stir in 1 cup of cheese.
- Top with the remaining cheese.
- Garnish with your favorite taco toppings.
- Serve!
Disclaimer
Any nutritional data I provide is an approximation and actual dietary information can vary based on ingredients and proportion sizes.
