Taco Spaghetti Bake – Change up your usual spaghetti night by making it with wonderful Mexican flavors and melty cheese!
Do your kids love spaghetti? Mine do! Well, I ran across a Tex-Mex version of spaghetti in Cooking with Paula Deen magazine. It was one of those ideas, for whatever reason, that had not occurred to me…to make a Mexican version of a simple, basic Italian classic.
I changed up a few things from the original recipe, and I think it came out great. It does make enough for a 9×13 size casserole dish. We normally cannot eat all of that, so I just freeze the leftovers for a busy night. You can also split it into two smaller aluminum foil casserole pans and freeze it before baking.
Taco Spaghetti Bake
Author: Jaren
Recipe type: Main Dish
Ingredients
- 1½ lbs. ground beef
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 6 tbsp butter
- ½ cup flour
- 1½ cups milk
- 1 15 oz can tomato sauce
- 1 can diced tomatoes (I used fire roasted)
- 1 16 oz. block Colby Jack cheese, shredded
- 1 8 oz. block of Pepperjack cheese, shredded
- 2 tbsp cilantro, chopped
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp-1 tsp salt
- 1 16 oz. package of angel hair pasta, cooked to al dente
- Toppings: green onions, sliced black olives, cilantro
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350. Spray casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large pot, brown ground beef and onion. Remove all of beef mixture to large bowl when cooked.
- Add butter to same pot. Melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour constantly for 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium low. Gradually add in milk and tomato sauce. Continue to slowly whisk to combine with flour mixture.
- Add in diced tomatoes. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until mixture has thickened.
- Add beef mixture back to pot, shredded cheeses (reserving ½ cup of each for topping), cilantro, cumin, chili powder, and ½ tsp salt. Taste and add more salt, if necessary.
- Stir in cooked pasta, mixing well to combine.
- Spoon into casserole dish and top with remaining cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and top with sliced olives and green onions and additional cilantro if desired.
- Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.
And if you are looking for just the classic Italian version of this, click below.
What a great twist to spaghetti. We do like tacos, so I think this would go over big with my family!
Looks great! I could totally eat a piece for breakfast – YUM!
This looks delicious!! Adding it to my menu rotation for next month!
I love this recipe, Jaren, and the photos are great! Thanks so much for sharing this with us at Saturday Night Fever 🙂
We have made this several times. It is becoming a favorite in our home!
Awesome! Glad to know that!
I made this tonight and it turned out great! I used ground turkey and omitted the pepperjack since I’m a wimp when it comes to heat. It still had plenty of flavor. What a great way to combine my love of both Mexican and Italian food. I’m so glad I found this on Pinterest. I will definitely make this again. Thank you.
That is so awesome to hear it came out great for you! So glad you liked it!
Just pulled this out of the oven, can’t wait to try it! It made a huge pan so if you’re looking for something to feed a crowd this is it! 🙂
So glad you tried it! Hope it turned out great! I usually freeze my leftovers for another night when I make a large casserole.
what a fabulous idea! my family would love this!
Hope you’ll give it a try soon! Thanks for visiting!
What a terrific meal to feed a crowd!!
Yes it is! Thanks for visiting Becca!
My kids would be all over this – yum!
Yes they will! Thanks Cate!
Could u use ground turkey in this ?
Most definitely! Thanks for visiting!
Yummy thanx for these great looking recipes!
Your welcome! Thanks for visiting Keli!
I was wondering when add to add cilantro. The first time I added with cumin and chili powder. The 2nd time I forgot to add it even though I didn’t add it. Great dish. Kids and hubby loved it! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for noticing that Nancy! I updated the recipe. I usually add it with the cumin too and then put a little extra on the top before serving. So glad you and your family like it!!
Thanks for posting the taco spaghetti bake. Just wondering if I can make this the night before then bake before serving. Sandy
Hi Sandy! Yes, you can make everything ahead of time, place it in the casserole dish, let it cool down, and refrigerate until ready to bake. You will probably need to increase your baking time since it will go into the oven cold.
This looks marvelous! Pinned it to my casseroles board 🙂
Would love it if you’d stop by on Tuesday night 7pm ET for our Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop to share this!
Can you use a package of taco seasoning instead of the spices in the recipe? Sounds yummy.
Hi Sally! You sure can! Hope you love it and thanks for visiting!
Question, this looks yummy, planning on preparing this for pot-luck Sunday at church..the tomatoes are they the regular 15 oz size or the larger size?
Hi Dotty! Yes, use the regular 15 oz can. Hope you enjoy it!