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
Preheat oven for 375 degrees F. Prepare a casserole dish with non stick 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 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.
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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Hi Sally Ann, for this recipe I use a 9×13 casserole dish. Hope you enjoy the recipe!
What size casserole dish do you use?
We love serving this with a salad with cilantro and a spicy ranch dressing. I think any steamed veggie or even a cilantro lime rice would be good!
What Luke good side dishes be for this?
Yeah I think that would be good, extra cheese! And you can serve the sour cream on top once it’s ready to serve!
That’s kind of what I thought too, but I don’t have any cream cheese on hand. I think I’ll just add extra cheese and leave the sour cream for serving if anyone wants it. Thanks!
Hi Shayla, I don’t think it would come out the same. The cream cheese really sticks to the noddles for a thick creamy sauce while the sour cream I feel would melt and run off the noddles. Let me know if you try it though, I would love to know how it turned out.
Do you think sour cream would work in place of the cream cheese?
Yah! Hope you love it!!
Making this as we speak!
That is awesome Ginid, so glad everyone loved the recipe!
I made this for a cookout, and then again as a side dish for my Christmas Eve Smorgasbord dinner. It was a huge hit! I had to confess, though, that I was flying by the seat of my pants when I threw everything together — didn’t have a recipe to go by, just added things I thought would make the dish yummy. It’s great for large gatherings and an awesome “comfort” food!
I pay a visit each day some web pages and sites to read articles or reviews, but this website presents feature based articles.
This is one of my favorites, thanks so much for sharing it!
So glad that yall like it!! I need to had sriracha to it some time when my kids have something else! I love spice!
Double or triple the taco seasoning, add about a tbsp of sriracha and it’s spicy cheesy taco perfection. My boyfriends and my favourite meal! ❤️❤️❤️
Hi Sarah! I think you can used diced tomatoes for even Rotel in the place of salsa. Hope you enjoy the recipe!!
What can be used instead of salsa as I don’t have any?