This healthy taco pasta is a quick and easy meal with a taco twist. This recipe uses lean ground beef, chickpea pasta shells, and lots of veggies for a healthy and balanced dinner or meal prep!
This recipe is great year round and can be enjoyed any time you're in a pinch for an easy and healthy dinner in under 30 minutes.
If you love this recipe, you will love my other easy dinner recipes!
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Ingredients
- Avocado Oil: Heart Healthy fat source with a high smoke point, great for cooking.
- Lean Ground Beef: Lean protein source for the dish. Can also use ground chicken, turkey or bison instead as well.
- Mini Peppers, Chopped: Adds color, fiber and nutrients to the dish.
- Baby Bella Mushrooms, Chopped: Adds color, fiber and nutrients to the dish.
- Taco Seasoning: Feel free to make your own or you can use my favorite (the Siete brand taco seasoning mix in mild or hot)
- Canned Organic Tomato Sauce: feel free to make your own tomato sauce if you would prefer.
- Chickpea Pasta Shells: I used Banza but feel free to use another brand or substitute for whole wheat or quinoa pasta. This adds complex carbohydrates to the dish to add satiety.
- Spinach: can use fresh or frozen. Adds color, fiber and nutrients to the dish!
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
- Prepare your vegetables according to the descriptions above (chop your mini peppers and mushrooms).
- Add 1 tbs of avocado oil to a pan on medium heat.
- Add your ground beef and use a meat masher to break apart the meat.
- Add in half of your taco seasoning and stir until seasonings are well distributed. Cook until your ground beef reaches an internal temperature of 160 F and there is no visible pink in the meat.
- Add in your chopped mini peppers and mushrooms and then the remainder packet of taco seasoning. Cook for 3-5 minutes more until your vegetables begin to soften.
- While your vegetables are cooking, prepare your pasta according to the instructions on the packaging. Rinse and drain.
- Once your vegetables appear to be cooked through, lower your heat and then add in your tomato sauce.
- Add your pasta into your cooked beef mixture. Stir until combined and then add in your spinach. stir until the spinach is combined and begins to wilt. Serve and enjoy!
Hint: if you're really in a time crunch, skip the added peppers and mushrooms and double the amount of spinach added so that you don't have to do any chopping. Alternatively, use a veggie chopper to save some time!
Substitutions
- Lean ground beef - use ground turkey, chicken or bison instead.
- Mini peppers - use 1 medium zucchini or yellow squash instead of mini peppers.
- Vegetarian- add beans or crumbled tempeh instead of ground beef to make this recipe vegetarian.
This recipe is already gluten-free as is using the Banza chickpea pasta and Siete taco seasoning. It is also dairy-free.
Variations
- Spicy - add chili pepper flakes or hot sauce of your choice to make this recipe spicy!
- Toddler and kid-friendly: Use mild taco seasoning and make sure to choose a low sodium brand to make this recipe toddler and kid-friendly!
Equipment
All you need to make this healthy taco pasta is:
- A Medium (6-7 quart) Dutch Oven: Here is a cheap dutch oven if you are in the market for one. I have the Le Creuset Enamled pan as well as the Caraway dutch oven which I also love! You can also just use a 6-7 quart pot.
- a small pot
Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, which means I make a small commission if you choose to purchase through qualifying links.
Storage
Once your pasta has cooled to room temperature, store leftovers in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 4 days!
Top Tip
if you're really in a time crunch, skip the added peppers and mushrooms and double the amount of spinach added so that you don't have to do any chopping. Alternatively, use a veggie chopper to save some time!
Dinner
Looking for other easy dinner recipes like this? Try these:
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Healthy Taco Pasta
Equipment
- 1 6-7 Quart Pot or Dutch Oven
- 1 Small Pot
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon Avocado Oil
- 1 Pound Lean Ground Beef
- 6-7 Mini Peppers Chopped
- 8 Ounce Package Baby Bella Mushrooms Chopped
- 1 Packet Taco Seasoning Packet I used Siete Brand- Mild
- 1 15-17 Ounce Canned or Packaged Organic Tomato Sauce
- 1 Package (8 Ounce) Chickpea Pasta Shells
- 4 Cups Spinach
Instructions
- Prepare your vegetables according to the descriptions above (chop your mini peppers and mushrooms).
- Add 1 tbs of avocado oil to a pan on medium heat.
- Add your ground beef and use a meat masher to break apart the meat.
- Add in half of your taco seasoning and stir until seasonings are well distributed. Cook until your ground beef reaches an internal temperature of 160 F and there is no visible pink in the meat.
- Add in your chopped mini peppers and mushrooms and then the remainder packet of taco seasoning. Cook for 3-5 minutes more until your vegetables begin to soften.
- While your vegetables are cooking, prepare your pasta according to the instructions on the packaging. Rinse and drain.
- Once your vegetables appear to be cooked through, lower your heat and then add in your tomato sauce.
- Add your pasta into your cooked beef mixture. Stir until combined and then add in your spinach. stir until the spinach is combined and begins to wilt. Serve and enjoy!
- Hint: if you're really in a time crunch, skip the added peppers and mushrooms and double the amount of spinach added so that you don't have to do any chopping. Alternatively, use a veggie chopper to save some time!
Notes
Nutrition
Food Safety
- Cook to a minimum temperature of 160 °F
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don’t leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
Nicole D says
Super easy to make- I actually purchased the veggie chopper which significantly reduced prep time. We added sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese as I didn't add any extra salt to the recipe and we wanted more flavor!
christina.klapper says
I’m so glad you loved it Nicole!!!!
Amber says
So good and hearty meal. I did a little more peppers than recommended and did whole grain pasta shells. Even my picky husband liked this meal. Will definitely be added to our meal rotation.
christina.klapper says
So glad you and your family love it Amber!!!! Thank you so much for taking the time to write this review! Means so much!
Lisa says
This recipe was a big win because my picky teen LOVED it! I was skeptical about using chickpea pasta, but no one could tell the difference. We all loved it. My only changes: I omitted the mushrooms and pulverized the sweet peppers in my mini food processor to hide them from my picky eater who doesn't like chunks of vegetables.
christina.klapper says
Yay!!!! I’m so glad you & the whole family loved it!! Great idea for blending veggies & so glad you were able to try a healthier alternative (chickpea pasta) & not be able to tell the difference!
Heather says
This was so easy to make and so good!!