Southwestern Pasta & Ground Beef Skillet — EASY, family friendly, ready in 30 minutes, and COMFORT FOOD at its best!! Ground beef, PASTA, black beans, tomatoes, taco seasoning, and CHEESE for a Southwestern flair!!
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Southwest Pasta Shells with Ground Beef
This easy, family friendly, ground beef skillet dinner is ready in 30 minutes and is comfort food at its best.
Ground beef is mixed with small pasta shells, black beans, tomatoes, green chiles, green onions, taco seasoning, and topped with melted cheese and cilantro for a Southwestern-inspired dish.
I melted the cheese by way of the broiler because there is nothing like the texture and flavor of baked or broiled cheese.
The Southwestern skillet reminds me of One Skillet Beef Taco Pasta and Easy 30-Minute Taco Macaroni and Cheese because it uses many of the same ingredients and has a similar flavor profile.
And of course there’s that cheese.
Pasta & Ground Beef Skillet Ingredients
For the Tex-Mex inspired ground beef shell pasta skillet, you’ll need the following basic ingredients:
- Pasta shells
- Ground beef
- Onion
- Garlic
- Black beans
- Diced tomatoes
- Diced green chiles
- Green onions
- Taco seasoning
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Jalapeño (optional)
- Cilantro (optional)
How to Make Pasta & Ground Beef Skillet
This pasta skillet recipe with ground beef comes together in just 30 minutes! It’s an easy dish to prepare one busy weeknights.
Follow these basic steps:
- Cook pasta according to package directions, drain, and set pasta aside.
- To a very large oven-safe skillet, add the olive oil, ground beef, onions, and cook over medium-high heat to brown the beef. Add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute more.
- Add the black beans, tomatoes, green chiles, green onions, taco seasoning, pepper, and stir to combine.
- Add the pasta and stir to combine.
- Evenly sprinkle with the cheese, optionally add jalapeno slices, and place skillet under the broiler until the cheese has melted and is bubbling.
- Evenly sprinkle with the reserved 2 tablespoons green onions, cilantro, and serve immediately.
Recipe Substitutions
This is a very flexible recipe that you can customize depending on your dietary needs, or to use up anything you have lying in the fridge.
- Pasta: I used pasta shells, but any short and sturdy pasta shape will work.
- Ground beef: I made this recipe as a ground beef skillet, but you may use ground pork, turkey, or chicken if desired. If using ground turkey or chicken, you’ll want to add a little extra oil to the skillet since both proteins are very lean.
- Black beans: You may substitute them with pinto or kidney beans.
- Taco seasoning: I imagine chili powder (i.e. chili seasoning, not ground chilis!) would work as well, noting that the Southwest flavor wouldn’t be as strong in the dish.
Additionally, you can saute any veggies you’d like along with the onion. Finely chopped bell peppers, zucchini, corn, etc. can all be thrown into the skillet!
Tips for Making This Ground Beef Skillet Recipe
Pasta: I used small shells but you can use medium shells, small elbow, rotini, bowtie, or your favorite small pasta.
Spice level: We thought the heat level of the dish as a whole was on the mild side and I used medium heat taco seasoning and fire-roasted green chiles. If you’re very sensitive to heat or serving this to little ones, you may want to use mild versions of those ingredients and omit the sliced jalapeno.
Toppings: I topped my pasta skillet with jalapeño slices and cilantro, but you can add any toppings you like.
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Easy 30-Minute Southwestern Beef Skillet
Ingredients
- ½ pound small-sized pasta shells, cooked according to package directions (medium shells, small elbow, rotini, bowtie, etc. may be substituted)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound ground beef, I used 85% lean
- 1 medium/large sweet Vidalia onion, diced small
- 3 to 4 garlic cloves, finely pressed or minced
- one 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed (I used no-salt added)
- one 15-ounce can petite diced tomatoes, do not drain (I use no-salt added)
- one 4-ounce can diced green chiles, do not drain (I used fire-roasted)
- ½ cup thinly sliced green onions, with 2 tablespoons reserved for garnishing
- one 1-ounce packet taco seasoning, I used medium heat, reduced sodium
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
- 8 ounces about 2 cups extra-sharp cheddar cheese, grated (grate your own because pre-grated cheese in bags doesn’t melt as well)
- 1 jalapeno pepper, sliced into thin rounds for garnishing, optional
- 2 to 3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely minced for garnishing
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions, drain, and set pasta aside.
- Preheat broiler to high.
- To a very large oven-safe skillet, add the olive oil, ground beef, onions, and cook over medium-high heat to brown the beef, crumbling it with a spatula as it cooks and stirring frequently to ensure even cooking. Cook for about 5 to 7 minutes or as necessary until beef is cooked through and onions are soft.
- Add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute, or until fragrant; stir frequently.
- Add the black beans, tomatoes, green chiles, green onions, taco seasoning, pepper, and stir to combine.
- Add the pasta and stir to combine.
- Evenly sprinkle with the cheese, optionally add jalapeno slices, and place skillet under the broiler until the cheese has melted and is bubbling, about 1 to 2 minutes. If desired, allow cheese to brown slightly, or to taste. Keep a very careful eye on your skillet and the cheese because broilers can burn things in a matter of seconds.
- Evenly sprinkle with the reserved 2 tablespoons green onions, cilantro, and serve immediately. Recipe is best warm and fresh, but will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for 4 months.
- Inspired by Easy 30-Minute Taco Macaroni and Cheese and One Skillet Beef Taco Pasta
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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