Overnight Taco Pasta – a new family favorite! It is on repeat in our house! Taco mac & cheese with Velveeta and Rotel. YUM! Just dump everything in the casserole dish and refrigerate overnight. No boiling the noodles! Taco meat, cream of chicken, milk, chicken broth, Velveeta, Rotel, taco seasoning, elbow macaroni, and Mexican cheese blend. #macandcheese #taco #mexican #macaroni
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Pin This RecipeEasy Taco Spaghetti Casserole Recipe
Tex-Mex/Mexican food is my favorite. We make a Mexican recipe at least once a week. This Overnight Taco Pasta is a new favorite. Pasta, taco meat, Rotel diced tomatoes and green chiles, and CHEESE! I made this for lunch and we both absolutely LOVED it. The leftovers for dinner were equally delicious. This Overnight Taco Pasta is super easy to make. You don’t even have to boil the pasta! Just toss it in the casserole uncooked. Such an easy weeknight meal!
How to Make Overnight Taco Pasta with Velveeta
As I said, this Overnight Taco Pasta is very easy to make. Start by cooking some ground beef. Add a packet of taco seasoning and simmer for a couple of minutes. Once the taco meat is ready, add the chicken soup, diced tomatoes and green chiles, chicken broth, milk, and Velveeta cheese. Heat the sauce mixture just until the Velveeta cheese is melted.
Once the sauce is heated, remove from heat and stir in the uncooked pasta. Pour the pasta mixture into a lightly greased baking dish. Cover the dish with plastic wrap or foil and refrigerate overnight. It will be ready to bake the next day.
Please note that you don’t cook the pasta before assembling the casserole. The excess liquid in the casserole will soften the noodles overnight and they will be perfect once cooked. I love any recipe that I can make the night before and pop in the oven after work. It is almost as good as a slow cooker meal!
Can I Freeze Overnight Taco Pasta?
You can freeze this taco spaghetti casserole for a quick meal later. I prefer to freeze this particular casserole after it has been baked. Since there are only two of us, I will sometimes split the casserole into two pans and freeze one for later. To reheat the casserole, thaw completely and cover with aluminum foil. Reheat in the oven at 350ºF for 30 to 40 minutes.
What to Serve with Overnight Taco Pasta
This Overnight Taco Pasta is definitely going in the dinner rotation. We’ve already made it several times and absolutely love it. This is a very filling casserole, so you don’t need a lot of sides to go with it. We usually make some spicy black beans or a salad. Here are a few of our favorite recipes from the blog that go great with this pasta casserole:
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Overnight Taco Pasta
Ingredients:
- 1½ lb lean ground beef
- 1 (1-oz) package taco seasoning
- ½ cup water
- 1 (10.5-oz) can Unsalted Cream of Chicken Soup
- 1¼ cup milk
- 1¼ cup chicken broth
- 1 (10-oz) can diced tomatoes and green chiles, drained
- 8-oz Velveeta cheese, shredded or diced
- 8- oz elbow macaroni, uncooked
- 1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend
Instructions:
- Spray a 9×13-inch pan with cooking spray.
- In a skillet over medium-high heat cook ground beef until no longer pink. Drain fat. Add taco seasoning and water. Cook for 5 minutes until water has been absorbed.
- In a saucepan over medium heat, combine soup, milk, chicken broth, diced tomatoes and green chiles, and Velveeta. Cook just until Velveeta melts.
- Combine cooked taco meat and sauce mixture. Stir in uncooked pasta.
- Pour pasta mixture into prepared pan. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Remove casserole from refrigerator and uncover.
- Preheat oven to 350ºF.
- Top casserole with cheddar cheese. Bake, uncovered, for 1 hour.
Notes:
- I suggest using Unsalted Cream of Chicken Soup in this dish to control the sodium.
- You can buy it by the case at Amazon: https://amzn.to/49n4uZE
- Need Gluten-free Cream of Chicken Soup? You can buy it here: https://amzn.to/3MtqQ1s
- Here is our recipe for Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup: https://www.plainchicken.com/homemade-cream-of-chicken-soup/
- Can freeze leftover casserole for later. To reheat – thaw and either cover and bake in the oven or microwave the dish until warm.
- Use mild diced tomatoes and green chiles if worried about the heat.
- I used a bag of shredded Velveeta cheese. Walmart sells it.
- Here is our recipe for Homemade Taco Seasoning made with chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes, oregano, paprika, cumin, salt, and pepper: https://www.plainchicken.com/homemade-taco-seasoning/
Steph
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These overnight pasta casseroles are wonderful! I also tried the chicken one. My husband loved both of them, so we will definitely be making them again.
So only 1/2 of a box of elbow macaroni? Should I double everything if using a full 16 ounce box?
yes
This was so flavorful and tasty (not spicy either)! I used ground turkey instead of beef. I also had the ingredients prepared and put into the fridge at 10:30am the day I would be having it for dinner. It went into the oven at 5:30pm that same day and it was perfect. I followed the recipe to a T besides the turkey substitute
Is this pretty spicy?
Is this pretty spicy? I’m cooking for a 4 year old who doesn’t like things too spicy.
Use mild Rotel diced tomatoes and green chiles if worried about the heat.
Can you do this with cheddar, pepper jack or really any cheese instead of velvetta?
Could this just be made in a pan on the stove top instead of baking. I imagine the liquid might have to be adjusted.
Mine will be sitting in the fridge almost 24 hours before I bake it. Wish me luck!
Can this sit for two nights in the fridge before you bake it?
I have only made this as written, so I can not say with certainty how it would work.
I only use ground turkey for everything anymore. It works just as well as hamburger. Also it has less fat and grease so there’s nothing to drain off. It’s cheaper at Walmart. You can always add a bit of beef soup base if you want more beefy flavor.
Can I make it now at 10 am and have tomorrow for dinner,can it be more then 8 hours
This sounds so good and a great make ahead to share at work, but I don’t have velveeta. Can I use cream cheese or regular cheese?
sure
If you make this say, around 8am to 10am in the morning, would it be ready to pop in the oven at say 4:30pm or 5:30pm? It wouldn’t be overnight, but around 8 hours in the fridge, is that long enough to soften the pasta?
I would make it as early as possible.
I had Mexican Velveeta. Trying it now..
Perfect! Enjoy!
If you cook the pasta & bake & serve after you make it do you still need that much liquid?
I wouldn’t think so. But unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
How long is it ok to sit in the fridge for if it’s not cooked?
To make this fresh, I cooked the noodles to al dente and only added 1/2 cup each of milk and chicken broth. I lessened the bake time to about 30 minutes. Came out perfect!
Thanks for the tip!
Came out perfect, just followed your suggested amounts of liquid and cook time. What a hit. Thank you
Woohoo! SO glad to heat it was a hit, Don!
Is that 8oz total Veveeta?
yes
Thanks! In the oven now!
If you don’t do it overnight, how long does it need to sit?
About 8 hours