Hey everyone, I hope you are having an incredible day today. Today, I will show you a way to make a creative dish, queso taco pasta bake. It is one of my favorites food recipe. For mine, I’m gonna make it a little bit unique. This will be really delicious.

Any shape pasta would work for this recipe — elbow macaroni or penne would be great! This pasta bake is full of flavor but not spicy — perfect for the family dinner table! This Queso Taco Pasta Bake is the perfect weeknight dinner for your whole family!

Queso Taco Pasta Bake is one of the most favored of recent trending meals in the world. It’s appreciated by millions daily. It’s easy, it is quick, it tastes yummy. They are nice and they look wonderful. Queso Taco Pasta Bake is something that I have loved my entire life.

To begin with this particular recipe, we must prepare a few ingredients. You can cook queso taco pasta bake using 17 ingredients and 12 steps. Here is how you can achieve it.

The ingredients needed to make Queso Taco Pasta Bake:

1. Get 8 oz. pasta (I used Radiatore, but any small shape works)
2. Get 2 tbsp. olive oil, divided
3. Make ready 1/2 onion, diced
4. Make ready 2 cloves garlic, minced
5. Make ready 1/2 lb. ground beef
6. Make ready 1 cup black beans (I used canned, drained and rinsed)
7. Take 1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
8. Get 1/2 tsp. chili powder
9. Prepare 1 tsp. cumin
10. Prepare to taste salt and pepper
11. Get pinch cayenne pepper
12. Get 4 tbsp. unsalted butter
13. Get 1/4 cup all purpose flour
14. Prepare 1 1/2 cup chicken broth
15. Get 2 1/2 cups shredded cheese, divided (I use a mix of cheddars)
16. Get 1/2 cup salsa (I used mild, but medium or hot would be good)
17. Take chopped cilantro, for garnish

Bake to golden, bubbly cheesy deliciousness. I hope you guys enjoy this fun twist on tacos!!! Here is how you make this dish. Learn how to make Taco Pasta Bake.

Steps to make Queso Taco Pasta Bake:

1. Fill a large pot with water and add 1 tbsp. of olive oil. Place on burner with the heat on high and bring to a boil. At the same time, heat the remaining tbsp. of olive oil in a large skillet.
2. Once water reaches a boil, add your pasta and cook according to package directions, stirring occasionally. About the same time, add the onions to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally until translucent.
3. Add the garlic to the skillet next and cook another minute or so, until fragrant. Then add the ground beef and cook until completely brown. Drain any excess grease, if needed.
4. About this time, the pasta should be done. Drain the pasta and return to the pot, removed from the heat.
5. Add the black beans and diced tomatoes to the skillet with the beef. Next stir in the seasonings. Remove from heat and scrape the meat and bean mix into the pot with the pasta. Stir lightly to mix.
6. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an oven proof casserole dish and set aside.
7. For the queso: In a medium saucepan, melt the butter on medium heat. Once melted, add the flour a little at a time, whisking constantly as you add it to form a roux. Once all flour is added, allow the roux to simmer for 1 minute, whisking constantly.
8. Increase the heat to medium high and slowly begin to whisk in the broth, adding it slowly. Once all the broth is incorporated, allow to come to a simmer. Let simmer, whisking occasionally for 3-4 minutes, until thickened.
9. Remove from heat and stir in 1 1/2 cup of the shredded cheese. Once it's all melted in, stir in the salsa.
10. Stir the queso cheese sauce into the pot with the pasta and meat mix and stir to combine. Pour into the prepared casserole dish and top with the remaining 1 cup of shredded cheese.
11. Bake for 5 minutes, then set the oven to broil and broil for 3-5 minutes, until the cheese begins to turn golden and bubbly.
12. Garnish with the chopped cilantro if desired. Refrigerate any leftovers.

This Taco Pasta Bake is a curious alternative to your typical Bolognese or Carbonara. It combines the spicy flavors you'd find in a taco by having them dance merrily on a bed of cheesy penne. Cheesy taco beef baked underneath a crunchy tortilla chip layer then loaded with classic taco toppings - This truly is the ultimate taco pasta! Alright, here's where things get fun. You're right, most pasta bakes do indeed have a layer of cheese on top and then baked.

So that’s going to wrap this up with this awesome food queso taco pasta bake recipe. Thank you very much for your time. I am confident that you will make this at home. There’s gonna be more interesting food at home recipes coming up. Remember to save this page in your browser, and share it to your family, colleague and friends. Thank you for reading. Go on get cooking!