Some people shy away from cooking pasta in a One-Pot style dish – but it really does work. You get excellent flavor into the pasta and it creates it’s own sauce in the end. Essentially it is like make Hamburger Helper from scratch using real ingredients. Creamy Cheesy Beefy Pasta is so easy to make, you are going to be shocked at how flavorful and filling it is.
The really great thing about this recipe is that you can switch it up with what ingredients you have on hand. I used ground beef but you could go with ground turkey or chicken. Rigatoni was used in the recipe but you can make it work with basically any short pasta – shells, elbows, shellbos, penne, rotini – whatever you have on hand. You just want to adjust the cooking time for the type of pasta you use. You could also swap the cheddar cheese for mozzarella or a sharp cheddar.
As I mentioned – this is a filling hearty dish. So I did not serve a side with it. If you needed to stretch it or wanted to have leftovers (it’s great heated up for lunch), I would suggest some green beans or broccoli to go with. You could also serve with a nice side salad and a roll.
Now Let’s Get Cookin’!
Creamy Cheesy Beefy Pasta
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Ground Beef
- ½ Yellow Onion diced
- 3 Garlic Cloves minced
- 4 tbsp Oil
- 1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
- 1 tsp Italian Seasoning
- 1½ lb Short Pasta rigatoni, shells, elbows, rotini
- 1 qt Beef Broth
- 1 15oz can Crushed Tomato
- 1 cup Heavy Cream
- 2 cup Cheddar Cheese shredded
Instructions
- In a large saute pan over medium-high heat, add oil, onions and garlic. Cook for 3 minutes then add ground beef, red pepper flakes and Italian seasoning. Cook and crumble until no longer pink.
- Add broth, pasta and crushed tomatoes. Bring just to a boil, then cover and let simmer for 15 minutes.
- Stir in heavy cream and cheese until fully incorporated. Let cook another 5 minutes.
Estelle Forrest self-published first cookbook – Homemade on a Weeknight: A Family Cookbook – was created after a lot of playing around in the kitchen. You can purchase your own copy here:
AVAILABLE IN PRINT OR KINDLE eBOOK VERSIONS
Estelle self-published a second cookbook – Burgers on a Weeknight – recently. It has over 60 delicious burger creations! You can purchase your own copy here:
AVAILABLE IN PRINT OR KINDLE eBOOK VERSIONS
Don’t miss new recipes from Homemade on a Weeknight – subscribe and get an email with every new post!
This sounds like such a flavorful meal indeed! I think my father-in-law might love to cook this as a variation to his Mac ‘n’ Cheese-like dish.
Craving for pasta now! This looks amazing! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for sharing your tasty recipe at Vintage Charm!
This would be great on a cold night and when you are short on time. Pinned for my menu plans. Thanks for sharing. #HomeMattersParty
I love a good casserole with ground beef. This one looks like a warm comforting dish. Thanks for sharing at the What’s for Dinner party. Hope you’re having a great week.
Thanks for sharing at the What’s for Dinner party! Hope your week is going great!
This looks great, but I don’t have any avocado oil. What can I use instead?
Any oil will work. I just personally like Avocado oil for its high smoke rate. If I didn’t have Avocado oil I would probably go with Olive Oil.
Do you cook the pasta first?
No ma’am. It all cooks together in one pot.