We both love this homemade version of Taco Pasta, since we grew up eating boxed Hamburger Helper type meals! This one is really easy to do, plus we now have two ways of making it… the original stovetop version we’ve made for many years, and a new Instant Pot version too 🙂
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- 1 pound ground beef I use ground turkey
- 8 ounces elbow macaroni or other small pasta such as small shells
- 1 tablespoon minced onion flakes I use fresh chopped & diced yellow onion
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 cup salsa
- reserved pasta water reserve 1/2-1 cup if desired
- 1 packet taco seasoning or 2-3 tablespoons homemade
- 1/2 8 oz pkg cream cheese
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- salt and pepper
- finely shredded cheddar cheese to garnish
Ingredients
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- Bring a large pot of water to boil. Cook pasta according to the package directions. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of pasta water. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook the ground meat over medium-high heat until no longer pink. Drain fat. Add onion flakes and garlic, cook about 30 seconds. (See notes: I use ground turkey and fresh chopped onion and garlic).
- Mix in the salsa and taco seasoning and let simmer over medium heat for about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the cooked pasta, cream cheese, sour cream and reserved pasta water, and continue stirring until the cream cheese is melted and the sauce is well blended.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste. Top with shredded cheese and more sour cream and salsa if desired
Stacy's Notes: I've made the original stovetop version (recipe ingredients and directions above) for many years. I first found the recipe at plainchicken.com and adapted it slightly for our tastes (I use turkey instead of beef, elbow macaroni instead of shells, and fresh onion instead of the dried onion flakes). This is like a homemade version of a taco or mexican flavored Hamburger Helper. We just serve it with a veggie or salad and some garlic bread on the side.
INSTANT POT VERSION:
Once I got an Instant Pot, I knew I wanted to try a version in the IP. I loosely followed one at foodyschmoodyblog.com. This one has 6 ingredients (ground beef, taco seasoning, tomato sauce, beef broth, pasta and cheese). Again I used ground turkey for the beef, and instead of plain tomato sauce, I knew I would want to jazz it up with more than just the taco seasoning. So I added some onion powder, garlic powder, a southwest seasoning blend and some salt and pepper (my tomato sauce is low or no sodium). To make it creamier like the stovetop version we were used to having, I added a couple of tablespoons each of cream cheese spread and sour cream, in addition to the 1.5 cups of shredded cheese.
Both are really good, and very quick and family friendly! Enjoy!