As a busy mom, weekly meal planning is an essential part of my week. A beloved reoccurring theme in my household? Taco Tuesday.
We’ve had chicken, steak, beef, fish and even duck tacos, and still, everyone gets excited to gather around the dinner table come Tuesday. Last week, I wanted to try a new dish for our Tuesday dinner, so I broke out my trusty crockpot and got to work. This recipe is super simple, with virtually no prep work. Are you ready for an instant family favorite?
Easy Crockpot Taco Pasta Bake
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1 cup Water
- 1 (1oz) package Taco Seasoning or my easy homemade version HERE
- 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1/4 cup white onion, diced
- 1 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 (8oz) packet of Old El Paso® Chile & Roasted Garlic Cooking Sauce (or favorite taco/enchilada sauce)
- 4 oz cream cheese, soften and cut into 1 inch pieces
- 3 cups Medium Sized Shell Noodles, Cooked
- 2 cups Cheddar Cheese, Shredded
Optional Toppings
- Sour cream, salsa or shredded cheese
- Cook ground beef over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until beef is thoroughly cooked and drain.
- Place cooked beef, beef broth, water, taco seasoning, diced tomatoes, onion, garlic, Old El Paso® Chile & Roasted Garlic Cooking Sauce and cream cheese into a 5-6 quart slow cooker. Stir until well combined.
- Cover; cook on low heat setting 4-5 hours. When about 15 minutes are left, cook and drain pasta as directed on package. Uncover crockpot and stir in pasta and shredded cheese. Stir until well combined. Continue to cook, uncovered for 10-15 more minutes, or until cheese has melted.
- Top with optional sour cream, salsa or shredded cheese and enjoy!
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Easy Crockpot Taco Pasta Bake
This Easy Crockpot Taco Pasta Bake is super simple, with virtually no prep work. This go to recipe will be an instant family favorite!
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 4 hours
Total Time: 4 hours 10 minutes
Serves:6
Hover over "serves" value to reveal recipe scaler
Calories:534
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1 cup Water
- 1 1oz packages Taco Seasoning
- 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1/4 cup white onion diced
- 1 garlic cloves minced
- 1 8oz packet of Old El Paso® Chile & Roasted Garlic Cooking Sauce (or favorite taco/enchilada sauce)
- 4 oz cream cheese soften and cut into 1 inch pieces
- 3 cups Medium Sized Shell Noodles Cooked
- 2 cups Cheddar Cheese Shredded
Instructions
- Cook ground beef over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until beef is thoroughly cooked; drain.
- Place cooked beef, beef broth, water, taco seasoning, diced tomatoes, onion, garlic, Old El Paso®
- Chile & Roasted Garlic Cooking Sauce and cream cheese into a 5-6 quart slow cooker. Stir until well
- combined.
- Cover; cook on low heat setting 4-5 hours. When about 15 minutes are left, cook and drain pasta as directed on package. Uncover crockpot and stir in pasta and shredded cheese. Stir until well combined. Continue to cook, uncovered for 10-15 more minutes, or until cheese has melted.
- Top with optional sour cream, salsa or shredded cheese.
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Nutrition Information:
Calories: 534kcal (27%)Carbohydrates: 27g (9%)Protein: 27g (54%)Fat: 34g (52%)Saturated Fat: 17g (85%)Cholesterol: 114mg (38%)Sodium: 881mg (37%)Potassium: 365mg (10%)Fiber: 1g (4%)Sugar: 2g (2%)Vitamin A: 1075IU (22%)Vitamin C: 2.8mg (3%)Calcium: 312mg (31%)Iron: 2.6mg (14%)
Nutrition Disclaimer
Family Fresh Meals is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.
Recipe originally developed for BettyCrocker.com Check out my other recipes for developed for Betty HERE!
marie says
Hi. I wasn’t able to find the El Paso cooking sauce in my area. I don’t know how old this post is, but are you still able to find it? I was thinking it might be a discontinued item have you ever made it with a different sauce? If yes, which one? Thanks you.
Corey says
Hey Marie! 8 oz of your favorite taco or enchilada sauce would work great too. I’ll make sure to add a note about that to the recipe too incase others cannot find the product 🙂
Rob says
Yummy, yummy, yummy! My wife and me love this!
@Marie- look in the Mexican Isle for a brand Frontera. It will be in a pouch. Red Chile Enchilada Sauce w/Roasted Tomato+Garlic is a delicious one. But there are other options too.
Brenda freeman says
do you have any of these recipes published in any cook books?
Jennifer says
I made this tonight. Definitely kid AND hubby approved meal. Had to take out a bit of liquid but I added most of it back to get the right consistency as it’s on the picture. Probably only have a cup of liquid I didn’t put in.
oj says
Hi!
I dont eat dairy/cream cheese. Any ideas for a substitute for that ingredient to make sauce creamy-like?
Thanks!
julie says
made this tonight put it in the pot around 330/4 however 4 hours later i learned i forgot to plug the pot in 🙂 take out for tonight but tomorrow hoping this will be worth the wait!!
Stacy says
I accidentally put the cheese in right at the beginning 🙁 hopefully this still turns out because it looks so delicious!!!
Evey says
Made this today – it is incredibly tasty, savory and indulgent! That Enchilada sauce really makes a tremendous difference and I’m starting to think about other recipes I can use it in.
For others who may be looking for the Enchilada sauce in a packet; like seasonings, please be aware I found it at my local grocery with the taco stuff and it was in a pouch. The pouch I purchased was Frontera and I actually used the full 14 oz it contatined.
Anyway this is so so so good. Thanks for sharing!
Samantha says
Hi! If I use veggie crumble instead of ground beef, do I still need to cook it beforehand? Thanks!
Corey says
No, you do not Samantha 🙂
Gina says
Another fantastic meal!! Love your site! I am so happy I found it! ?
Mariah Rivera says
Hi! Can I cook it in high? If so, for how long?
Nancy says
Do you think this would turn out ok if I were to have the pasta already cooked and refrigerated so that i could add it in at while I am not at home? Thinking I’d like to make this for a work potluck where I won’t have access to a stove 🙂
Corey says
Yes, I think that would work out just fine!
Nancy says
Thank you! The dish was a big hit for an office pot luck…I was a little nervous by the amount of liquid that was stewing in the crockpot all morning…but once I added the pasta and cheese, it mixed together so nicely! Definitely a decadent comfort food 🙂
Brooke says
My boyfriend and I both LOVE this recipe. So yummy!!!
Anne Williams says
Can these be made on the stove? My work day schedule doesn’t work with the 4 to 5 hours since I don’t have a programmable crock pot. Thanks!
Corey says
Sure. I don’t see why not 🙂
Sonny says
Use a wall timer.
LL says
This was very good and like most crockpot meals, even better the next day!
Maurie says
Is it 3 cups of uncooked pasta or 3 cups of cooked pasta?
KaireeTaylor says
It says 3 cups shell noodles, cooked.
Keonte H says
Delicious ! My family enjoyed it…my husband said it remind home of hamburger helper. I could not find the El Paso sauce ,so I want with enchilada. I also didnt cook using the crockpot either. It still turned out well, I will be cooking this again. Thanks for the recipe?
Rebecca says
I thought the same, it’s like a Mexican hamburger helper, so good!
Gregory says
Just made it but I added black beans and corn and substitute the taco sauce and the water with tomato sauce instead, and bought doritoes to top it off, hope it’s good =)
aimee says
Mine seems a little soupy. Is it supposed to? The picture doesn’t look soupy.
Melissa says
Did I miss where you add in the cream cheese? Is it the same time you add the shredded cheese? Also would tomato purée work instead of diced tomatoes? I don’t like cooked tomato chunks
Corey says
Melissa, it is in step 1. And yes, I think tomato puree would work out well.
L says
Fantastic and super easy!
angela c anderson says
how many calories ??
Rebecca Short says
Turned out nice. It was a little bit like hamburger helper, but better. I do not regret making this
Rebecca says
Made a vegetarianized version of this last night and will definitely be adding it into regular rotation. In place of beef I used some cooked pinto beans, chickpeas, and some veggie ground “beef”. As the “beef” was preseasoned I omitted the taco seasoning. Added a generous amount of frozen leafy greens, some cilantro, omitted the cream cheese and reduced the cheese to 1 cup to reduce the fat amount. I also cooked it a bit longer, 8 hrs as I let it cook overnight while I slept and it worked just fine. This is such a cozy dish, esp now that fall is here. Thank you for a great, flexible recipe.
Rachel says
This looks great! I really want to try it, but I’d have leftovers. Do anyone know if this freezes well? It’d be awesome to have some stashed in the freezer. Thanks in advance!
Sarah Mae Hales says
I have frozen it in individual portions and it’s great!
Ashley says
I do not eat red meat but made this for my husband and kids tonight and they LOVED it. I was worried that one pound of beef wouldn’t be enough for a grown man and three hungry teenagers so I doubled the recipe. They all said it was very filling after one bowl but they were super excited to have leftovers for the weekend.
I could not find the el paso taco seasoning so I subbed it with a can of red enchilada sauce from Aldi (I would go with 8oz if following the above recipe and 16 oz if doubling). They ate it with doritos, salsa and mexican cheese sprinkled on top and said it was perfect.
MJ says
Can you use salsa instead of the diced tomatoes? My husband hates plain diced tomatoes.
Corey says
Yes, I think that would work just fine 🙂
Ann M Miller says
the recipe is very good; I add corn. Yum!
Kate says
Made this for my family of 5 and it was a success – meaning they all liked it and would have it again. Will add it to our rotation for sure. For those who couldn’t find the Old El Paso sauce, we used about 4 oz. of Ortega (liquid) taco sauce and it turned out just fine. Thanks for the recipe!
Corey says
So happy you all love it!
Sarah says
I’ve been making this for many years so I guess it’s time to leave a review. I often change recipes. I can’t think of many recipes I don’t “enhance” lol. I stick straight to this every time because don’t fix what isn’t broken! Everyone loves it. The hubby, picky teenagers, and when we have company. Just try it! We just use our favorite enchilada sauce because I’ve never been able to find the specific one listen here 🙂
Corey says
So happy to hear you love the recipe!