Taco Macaroni and Cheese

South of the border flavors combine with cream cheese and pasta to make this hearty fusion taco macaroni and cheese dish. It’s a brand new take on two classic dishes.

You might also enjoy loaded mac and cheese, taco stuffed zucchini boats or some of these taco flavored recipes.

Why You’ll Love It

Delivers amazing flavors: Meaty ground beef, tasty cream cheese and cheddar, pasta shells, salsa, and more ensure this is a wonderful-tasting meal.
Easy to prepare: This is a one-pot meal (less washing up – hooray!) so you just need to add your ingredients to the pot in the correct order and it all cooks perfectly.
Makes a tasty change: If you’re tired with your usual go-to pasta-based dinners and Mexican staples, you’ll find this makes a flavorful change to the usual fare.

Taco Macaroni and Cheese Ingredients

Ground beef: A hearty, tasty protein.
Cheese: Cream cheese and cheddar cheese feature in this dish.
Beef broth: You might like to use my bone broth recipe here!
Salsa: Hot, medium or mild – take your pick.
Taco seasoning: I used a package for convenience but you could make your own.
Onion and garlic: For aromatic savory flavor.
Pasta shells: Or macaroni or your preferred pasta shape.
Optional garnishes: Choose from crushed corn chips, sour cream, tomatoes, avocados, and tomatoes.

How to Make Mexican Mac and Cheese

Brown the ground beef: The first step in this one pot cheesy taco skillet is to heat some oil in a Dutch oven (or large pot) and then you can fry the onion in there, before adding the beef, and some salt and black pepper. Once there is no pink left in the meat, drain off the fat.
Add more ingredients: Stir the broth, salsa, taco seasoning, taco seasoning, and pasta shapes. Put the lid on the Dutch oven and let it gently cook for about 15 minutes, stirring it occasionally.
Cook off the liquid: Remove the lid and continue cooking until the liquid is absorbed.
Add the cheese and serve: Take the pan off the heat and stir in the cream cheese and some of the shredded cheese. Serve it hot, with the remaining shredded cheese sprinkled on top and with your preferred garnishes and toppings.

Substitutions and Variations

Ground beef: Substitute ground pork, turkey or chicken. Leftover taco meat is another option.
Beef broth: If you’re using a light protein such as ground chicken, you might also want to swap the beef broth for chicken broth.
Salsa: You can use mild, medium or hot salsa, as you prefer.
Taco seasoning: If you don’t have this ingredient, you can just add a pinch each of salt, pepper, ground cumin, chili powder, dried oregano, garlic powder, and onion powder, or whichever of those flavors you like.

Serving Suggestions

Appetizers: Enjoy shrimp ceviche to begin. Jalapeno popper tacos are another option.
Side dishes: Garlic bread or crusty bread, a lemon and parmesan salad or a watermelon jalapeno salad would be good alongside your taco mac and cheese.

How to Store Taco Macaroni with Cheese

Store: Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator and eat within 3 to 4 days.
Freeze: This dish freezes well, so freeze it in portions for up to 3 months.
Thaw: Defrost overnight in the refrigerator.
Reheat: Warm it back up in a pan on the stove or in the microwave, adding a splash of broth or salsa if needed to loosen it up first.