It’s easy to get stuck in a rut making the same handful of Groundhog Day dinners but this taco spaghetti recipe breaks the proverbial mold to spice up your suppers! This isn’t one of those spaghetti recipes with a little something extra. Actually, I don’t even think it’s Italian, but it’s so delicious who cares?!
Forget those boring pasta recipes that do little to hold your interest. This taco spaghetti recipe is full of vibrant robust flavors that combine two of my all-time favorite dishes. Even most kiddos agree that taco spaghetti is a tantalizing force to be reckoned with!
Try my spaghetti recipe with ground beef, TikTok spaghetti, or my super popular million dollar spaghetti! I promise you’ll love each and every recipe and so will your family! ♥
What I Love About Taco Spaghetti Recipe
- Full of wholesome ingredients
- It’s a casserole
- Fast easy meal prep
- Awe-inspiring flavors
- No crazy kitchen gadgets required
Taco Spaghetti Ingredient Notes
- Ground Beef – I like to use 80/20 for this recipe but use whatever you’re used to. You could even use ground turkey to save some calories. Break up your beef as you brown it just as you would for tacos. It typically takes around 8-10 minutes for ground beef to reach the USDA-recommended temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Spaghetti Noodles – You’ll want to cook your pasta al dente so it doesn’t come out of the oven mushy. For a super bangin’ flavor boost to your taco spaghetti recipe, salt your pasta water. Between 1-2 tablespoons per gallon of water may seem heavy-handed but it’s just right.
- Taco Sauce – Use a taco sauce you really like. If it’s not your favorite straight out of the jar, you won’t be crazy about it in your casserole either!
- Shredded Cheese – By all means, if time is of the essence and you need to grab a pre-shredded bag of the convenience of the grocery store shelf, then go for it! But, we’re only talking 2 cups. If you can find the time to shred the cheese yourself, it melts better and tastes sooo much creamier. You will notice the difference!
Storing + Freezing
This baked spaghetti like-casserole stores best in an airtight container with a secured lid – if there’s any left! The yummy flavor combination surprises people and they tend to overeat when I put this out. Also, this taco spaghetti recipe doesn’t store well in a resealable bag.
- How Long Can You Keep This In The Fridge? Your taco spaghetti recipe will stay fresh in the fridge for 3- 4 days if it’s stored properly. You’ll want to let it cool completely before putting it in the fridge.
- Can You Freeze This? Technically, yes and no. Noodles are finicky in the freezer often thawing into a mushy mess and sour cream doesn’t do well in the frozen abyss either.
- I often make the taco meat sauce with the corn and freeze that so it’s ready to go. When I’m ready to throw my spaghetti together all I have to do is boil the spaghetti and stir the soup mixture together.
- Make-Ahead Tips: I often make up a few batches of taco meat sauce and divvy it up into meal-sized portions. Then I just label it and toss it in the freezer. Since the frozen meat sauce stays good for up to 3 months, I can thaw them one at a time as I’m ready to make spaghetti.
- Food Safety: If you’d like more info on food safety check out this link.
Serving Recommendations
My refreshing KFC coleslaw, Southwest salad, or amazing strawberry spinach salad all work beautifully with this spaghetti. I also love my Bisquick cornbread, Southern cornbread, or jalapeño cornbread. They’re all delish with this taco spaghetti!
Charro beans and fajita veggies are also wonderful side dishes to serve with this Mexican-inspired dish.
Can I Make This In An Instant Pot Instead?
Using an instant pot means you can make this taco spaghetti recipe in a fraction of the time. If you find yourself without taco-inspired ingredients, you can just make instant pot spaghetti. It’s still a fabulous meal that only takes a few minutes.
Got meatballs? Throw together instant pot spaghetti and meatballs instead!
Can I Make This In A Crockpot?
Crock pot spaghetti is more of a traditional spaghetti recipe that’s great when you need to set it and forget it! This taco spaghetti recipe is full of decadent robust flavors that can be ready in under an hour when you need to feed a hungry crowd! It’s also a casserole – which should be a food group in my opinion.
More Spaghetti Delicioso!
- Italian Spaghetti
- Chicken Spaghetti with Rotel
- Spaghetti Pie
- Spaghetti and Meatballs Recipe (Seriously the best EVER!)
- Baked Spaghetti
- Instant Pot Spaghetti
- Super Easy Chicken Spaghetti (Weeknight + Family Fav!!)
- Spaghetti Tacos
Taco Spaghetti
Ingredients
- 8 ounces spaghetti
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef, 80/20
- 1 package taco seasoning
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 (15-ounce) can corn drained
- 1 (8-ounce) jar taco sauce
- 1 (10.75-ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
- 1 (8-ounce) container sour cream
- 2 cups cheddar cheese shredded
- 1 cup tortilla chips crushed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Spray a 9X13 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- Cook pasta (8 ounces) in well-salted water according to package instructions. Drain the pasta and spread it out into an even layer in the prepared baking pan.
- Brown and crumble the beef (1 1/2 pounds) in a large skillet over medium heat, until there is no longer any pink. Drain and discard any excess fat. Stir in taco seasoning (1 package) and water (3/4 cup) and simmer until the sauce has thickened. Stir in corn (1 can) and taco sauce (1 jar) and cook for about 5 minutes or until heated through; set aside.
- In a small mixing bowl, stir together soup (1 can), sour cream (1 container), and 1 cup of cheese. Spread soup mixture over pasta then spread beef mixture over sour cream mixture. Sprinkle with remaining tortilla chips and remaining 1 cup of cheese.
- Bake in the preheated oven until the casserole is heated through the center and the cheese is melted about 30 minutes.
Fans Also Made:
Notes
- Ground Beef –I like to use 80/20 for this recipe but use whatever you’re used to. You could even use ground turkey to save some calories. Break up your beef as you brown it just as you would for tacos. It typically takes around 8-10 minutes for ground beef to reach the USDA-recommended temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Spaghetti Noodles – You’ll want to cook your pasta al dente so it doesn’t come out of the oven mushy. For a super bangin’ flavor boost to your taco spaghetti recipe, salt your pasta water. Between 1-2 tablespoons per gallon of water may seem heavy-handed but it’s just right.
- Taco Sauce – Use a taco sauce you really like. If it’s not your favorite straight out of the jar, you won’t be crazy about it in your casserole either!
- Shredded Cheese – By all means, if time is of the essence and you need to grab a pre-shredded bag of the convenience of the grocery store shelf, then go for it! But, we’re only talking 2 cups. If you can find the time to shred the cheese yourself, it melts better and tastes sooo much creamier. You will notice the difference!
This was definitely a thumbs up all around. Definitely will make this again.
So happy you enjoyed, Susan! 🙂
Can this be made and refrigerated the day before and baked the next night?
Hi, Marilyn. Yes, you can. Just refrigerate the sauce and pasta separately, combine when you’re about to bake it. Hope this helps!
Very good recipe. I didnt have any tortilla chips so I used fritos and it was really good. I also mixed the pasta with the sour cream mixture before putting in pan just so the noodles would have some moisture. This is the 3td time I’ve made it. Its great!
Thanks, Connie! So happy to hear you like it! 😀
Is taco sauce just a jar of salsa?
No it’s not. There is another product that should be in your supermarket in the Mexican food sections. It generally comes in a jar and is labeled “taco sauce”. I just added a link to the ingredient list.
Made this one yesterday…sooo good!
Thank you, Christina! So happy you enjoyed it!