One Pot Enchilada Pasta

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Bring on that one pot enchilada pasta, please!

Growing up in Minnesota, I didn’t have a lot of experience with cuisine outside of the standard American foods, or Midwestern and Scandinavian classics. Pot roast, meatloaf, pork tenderloin sandwiches, and tater tot hot dish. Yes, we say hot dish in Minnesota. Also, in case you are wondering, tater tot hot dish is kind of like shepherd’s pie, but with tater tots on top instead of mashed potatoes. Try it sometime: amazing. Living in a rural, farmer’s town, however, meant we had a yearly influx of migrant workers, and by the time I was in high school, we had a growing community of Hispanic transplants who opened Mexican markets and restaurants and quickly broadened the culinary horizons of our town.

Fast forward 10+ years (I’m old, wow), and I’ve found myself living in New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas; three states who have vastly unique Hispanic populations and as such, their cuisine is something to be experienced first-hand. I’ve eaten a lot of Mexican food over the years, and since marrying into a Mexican family, I’ve had to flex my culinary skills to learn and incorporate Mexican cuisine into my daily life. It’s been fun! I love Mexican food! Be it traditional, or a fusion of cuisines, I swear there are few meals I like more than a great, spicy, Mexican dish.

One of my favorite dishes is beefy enchiladas. You guys know I am sucker for all things beef. Yum. But sometimes I run out of tortillas, and masa, which would normally mean the end of the world, but not when I have a box of Barilla pasta on hand! Seriously, you can use pasta for every cuisine, and with my advanced knowledge of American Midwestern foods, I was able to turn my favorite Mexican dish into a West-Mex classic, a one pot enchilada pasta!

This dish is so simple, and so flavorful, and it comes together in just 30 minutes, so if you’re in a hurry, you’ve got a winner right here. Plus, it’s kid-approved! Can’t beat that, am I right? For this dish, I use my authentic enchilada sauce, as well as signature taco seasoning, but you can easily substitute canned sauce and packet seasoning if that’s what you have on hand. It will still be delicious, I promise.

Pasta is traditionally used in recipes like fideo (which refers to not only the type of pasta, but a specific dish which I love but have not yet mastered, sad, I know), or three chiles pasta, but I love to use Barilla pasta to make simple substitutions, like making stuffed shells instead of tacos, or using lasagna noodles to make a Mexican casserole. So versatile, so fun! I picked up some rotini when I went to Walmart, and it’s perfect for this recipe!

But when it comes to this one pot enchilada pasta, you better not forget the cheese!

Are you ready to get cooking? I know I am!

One Pot Enchilada Pasta

4.75 from 4 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Main

Cuisine: Mexican

Prep Time: 3 minutes

Cook Time: 27 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Servings: 6

Author: Karly Gomez

Ingredients

• ▢ 2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• ▢ 1 ½ lbs Lean Ground Beef
• ▢ ½ White Onion chopped
• ▢ 3 Tbsp Taco Seasoning
• ▢ 3 C Enchilada Sauce
• ▢ 2 C Beef Stock
• ▢ 1 lb Barilla Rotini Pasta
• ▢ 2-3 C Colby Jack Cheese freshly grated
• ▢ Cilantro for garnish

Instructions

• In a large, deep skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat, then add the onions and saute until just tender, around 4 minutes.
• Add the ground beef and begin to brown, breaking it up into small pieces as it cook, until it is no longer pink, around 5 minutes. Add the taco seasoning and stir to thoroughly combine.
• Add the enchilada sauce, beef broth, and pasta, allow to boil for one minute, then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the pasta is tender.
• Turn the oven to broil, then top the pasta with cheese and place in the oven. Allow the cheese to melt completely before removing from the oven, around 3 minutes. Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with fresh avocado, salad, and salsa for dipping.

Notes

Substitute canned enchilada sauce and packet seasoning if homemade is unavailable. Also, feel free to skip the broiler if you can cover your pot with a lid. It may taken an extra minute or so for the cheese to melt completely, but will accomplish the same end goal.

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