Creamy Queso Pasta Recipe For When You Can't Decide Between Pasta & Mexican Food (30 Minutes) by Donna John
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What happens when you combine pasta and a queso dip-inspired sauce? A rich, creamy, badass queso pasta recipe, that's what. This easy Mexican pasta recipe is full of flavor and a filling, quick dinner.
Taco-seasoned ground beef and cooked pasta is folded into a rich queso sauce. The easy queso sauce is made with fire-roasted tomatoes, cream cheese, processed cheese, cheddar cheese (lots of cheese!), chopped green chiles and heavy cream, milk or half and half. That's it. No baking involved! Everything cooks on the stovetop and a high-protein dinner is on the table is 30 minutes. (Check out the health benefits of protein.)
Spoon the creamy, cheesy Mexican-inspired pasta into bowls or serve with your favorite side dishes. I served it with a salad dressed in avocado ranch salad dressing.
Cuisine: Mexican / American / Tex-Mex
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef (optional)
- 1 jalapeno, chopped
- 1 ounce (1 packet) taco seasoning (divided)
- 1 tablespoon water
- 16 ounces short pasta
- 14 ounces (1 can) fire-roasted diced tomatoes or tomatoes with green chiles
- 8 ounces (1 box) cream cheese
- 8 ounces (1 box) processed cheese loaf, cut into cubes
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 4 ounces (1 can) chopped green chiles
- 1/4 cup heavy cream, milk or half and half (optional)
Optional Garnishes
- chopped cilantro
- chopped red onion
- chopped avocado
- chopped fresh tomatoes
- fresh jalapenos
Here's how to make it:
- Cook the ground beef and chopped jalapeno in a skillet until browned and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Drain fat. Add half the packet of taco seasoning (you'll use the rest in the sauce) and water. Cook, stirring, until the water evaporates, about 1 minute. Set aside. (I used Old El Paso Taco Seasoning, fire-roasted tomatoes, penne pasta and Velveeta cheese. If you want to make it vegetarian or serve it as a side dish, simply skip this step and omit the ground beef.)
- Cook the pasta to al dente according to package directions. Drain in a colander and reserve a little of the pasta water.
- To the same pot, add the tomatoes, cream cheese, processed cheese, cheddar cheese, remaining taco seasoning (2 tablespoons) and green chiles. Stir over low heat until thoroughly melted and hot. If it's too thick, add the heavy cream or some of the reserved pasta water (I used heavy cream).
- Put the pasta and cooked beef into the queso sauce. Stir to combine.
- Serve with desired toppings. (I recommend using a fresh garnish on top to cut some of the richness. I used chopped red onion and fresh cilantro.) Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge and reheat in the microwave.
Recipe cooking times, nutritional information and servings are approximate and provided for your convenience. However, 30Seconds is not responsible for the outcome of any recipe, nor may you have the same results because of variations in ingredients, temperatures, altitude, errors, omissions or cooking/baking abilities. Any nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and it is up to the individual to ascertain accuracy. To ensure image quality, we may occasionally use stock photography.
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