This Taco Mac Casserole is a family favorite and sure to please any picky eater. Made with seasoned ground beef, salsa, and coated in cream cheese. I grew up eating this, and your family can enjoy it out! It’s way better this way than from a box!
There is just something about pasta filled cheesy goodness in a casserole. I love combining two favorites to make one awesome meal, Taco Mac Casserole. Pasta and tacos, who would have thought it would be so good together. This is a family favorite recipe that you are going to want to add to your menu list asap! If you love taco recipes as much as we do then make sure to check out all my other taco recipes next.
Taco Recipes:
- Taco Spaghetti
- Cilantro Lime Chicken Tacos
- One Pan Taco Pasta
- Cornbread Taco Pie
- Taco Pasta Salad
- Taco Dip
- Cheesy Taco Pasta
- Taco Soup
How to make Taco Mac Casserole:
Time to get cooking! If you have made this recipe in the past then it will be just a little different today. I updated it slightly. I added a little more shredded cheese and used less pasta. Other than that the recipe is the same. If you made this in the past and want to keep it the same use 16 oz of pasta and only 1/2 cup of cheese.
Start by preheating the oven for 375 degrees F. Prepare a casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray and set aside. Start by cooking your macaroni according to the box directions. Strain, return to pot and set aside. Cook and crumble ground beef.
Drain fat and add onions and garlic. Cook until onions until translucent. Add taco seasoning and salsa and mix well. Add ground beef mixture to noodles and place back on low heat. Add cream cheese and 1/2 cup shredded cheese and mix until melted and well combined.
Add this to your casserole dish. Add remaining 1/2 cup cheese to the top of the casserole and bake for 15-20 minutes. Serve warm and enjoy.
Have leftover macaroni? Try these next:
Slow Cooker Mac and Cheese: This is my favorite way to make classic Mac and cheese! It’s what I always serve at Thanksgiving or Christmas, my kids love it.
Classic Macaroni Salad: Simple and delicious! This is a classic and my favorite way to make macaroni salad!
Cheeseburger Mac and Cheese: This recipe is taking Mac and cheese to a entirely new level! It’s loaded with ground beef, cheese, and bacon.
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This recipe is a classic and so simple to make.
- 10 oz Macaroni noodles
- 1 pound Ground beef
- 1/4 cup Diced onion
- 1 tablespoon Minced garlic
- 1 cup Salsa
- 1 oz Taco seasoning
- 8 oz Cream cheese
- 1 cup Shredded taco blend cheese
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Preheat oven for 375 degrees F. Prepare a casserole dish with non stick cooking spray and set aside.
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Start by cooking your macaroni according to the box directions. Strain, return to pot, and set aside.
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Cook and crumble ground beef. Drain fat and add onions and garlic. Cook until onions until translucent. Add taco seasoning and salsa and mix well.
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Add ground beef mix to noodles and place back on low heat. Add cream cheese and 1/2 cup shredded cheese and mix until melted and well combined. Add this to your casserole dish.
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Add remaining 1/2 cup cheese to the top of the casserole and bake for 15-20 minutes. Serve warm and enjoy.
Recipe Video
*Recipe updated on 2/23/2018
*pictures updated February 2018
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This was delicious! I made just a couple of changes to make it more WW friendly. I used 99% fat free ground turkey breast in place of beef and instead of regular cream cheese I used 1/3 less fat cream cheese. No one seemed to notice or care because this was absolutely delicious! So easy to make too.
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Hi, this recipe sounds delicious and I can’t wait to make! Is the shredded cheese packaged or has to be block cheese shredded by hand? Thanks!
You can do it either way! I normally use a packaged bag of shredded cheese.
What size casserole dish do you use?
Hi Sally Ann, for this recipe I use a 9×13 casserole dish. Hope you enjoy the recipe!