Warm up dinner time with this Mexican Pasta Bake – a hearty pasta casserole dressed in Mexican-inspired flavours, layered with cheese and ready in a flash for busy weeknights.
My family have a big soft spot for Mexican, it puts a smile on all our faces! When the kids were younger I used to put only half the taco seasoning into this dish so that it wasn’t too spicy. As they got older I gradually increased the intensity, and now my son adds chilli and jalapeños to most of our Mexican dishes.
This is a really easy dish to throw together on a busy weeknight, all you need to do is cook some pasta, brown some mince, then add all the other ingredients (except the cheese) into the saucepan and mix. I then spoon into a casserole dish, top with cheese, and cook in the oven for 20 minutes or until the cheese has browned – it’s such an easy pasta bake!
If you’re looking for an easy and super delicious weeknight dinner, look no further than this Mexican Pasta Bake.
Mexican Pasta Bake
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Preheat oven to 180?.
- Cook 2 cups trivelle pasta according to package directions, drain. Return pasta to hot saucepan, set aside.
- In a large frying pan cook 500 g beef mince and 2 teaspoons minced garlic over medium heat for 3-5 minutes or until browned.
- Place mince into saucepan of cooked pasta along with 400 g red kidney beans, 400 g diced tomatoes, ¾ cup mild salsa and 30 g taco seasoning mix, stir to combine.
- Spoon mixture into casserole dish.
- Sprinkle with ½ cup tasty cheese and cook in oven for 30 minutes or until cheese is golden.
- Serve with a sprinkle of spring onions.
Nutrition
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14 comments
I’ve never thought to make Mexican Pasta Bake! What a great idea. It would have so many yummy flavours.
It is so yummy, Lucy. We all really enoy it.:)
We are huge fans of Mexican flavours and this pasta bake would be a massive hit in our house. I’m adding it to my meal planner. The Mexican chicken rolls look amazing too.
You sound like us Kate we just love anything mexican too.:)
Great idea, another recipe to add to the Collection
Glad you like it Yvonne!!
Made this for lunch today and though it was a great alternative to the usual burrito or tacos although I think for me there were too many beans but not sure what I could replace them with, not overly keen on beans but still enjoyed them, Husband enjoyed it but wouldn’t say he was overly excited, his first comment was “it tastes like mexican” besides stating the obvious haha I took that as a sign it wasn’t his favourite but he still said it was good. I enjoyed how simple the recipe was and will keep it as a back up if i run out of taco shells!
In stead of the big can of beans try adding a small can of 4 bean mix .
great idea 🙂
I made this for my family and it was a hit! No need to change a thing. The fussy teens were pleasantly surprised by this pasta bake with pizzazz. I will definitely add this to my mealtime repertoire. Thanks so much for the inspiration.
Looks amazing. Not sure my kids (including the big kid hubby) would like kidney beans…any substitutes
you could use any beans… black beans, lima beans etc. you could maybe try baked beans (though i haven’t tried), just wash and drain them so the sauce doesnt add any flavour to the mince mix 🙂 the beans just bulk the meal up a bit more
Yummo, even cherubs enjoyed it ?they ate it with just grated cheese on top, then we used rest for pasta bake YUMMY..DOUBLED RECIPE so 2 nights dinner done wow..thanks for a great recipe Katrina.
So fabulous to hear! Thank you for the lovely feedback – I’m so pleased the whole family loved this dish, and that it got you through two nights x