EASY Creamy Beefaroni
Easy weeknight CREAMY Beefaroni, the perfect weeknight meal for the family especially when you have to have dinner on the table quickly on a busy day. My mom used to make this for our family at least once a week back in the day. I remembered how much my sister and I loved Beefaroni night and I wanted to share with you! It’s very affordable, easy to prepare, and is done in the most 30 minutes! BUT, I added a little twist to make it CREAMY! Just add a block of cream cheese and it’s oh so divine!
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@melissajorealrecipes Easy CREAMY BEEFaroni! #beefaroni #easyrecipe #easymeal
EASY Creamy Beefaroni
Ingredients
- 1.25 lbs. of ground beef. I use ground chuck.
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 5-7 cloves of garlic minced
- Cracked black pepper and salt to taste
- 1/2 tsp of crushed red pepper
- 1 jar of Rao’s Marinara sauce
- 8 oz. of cream cheese
- about 1/4 cup of pasta water
- fresh basil for topping
- about 1/4 cup of Pecorino Romano grated Cheese for topping
- 1 lb. of large elbows pasta
Instructions
- Add ground beef, chopped onion, minced garlic, crushed red pepper, and salt & pepper to a skillet with high sides. Cook on medium heat until the meat is almost cooked through and the onions and translucent.
- In the meantime, boil the large elbows according to the directions on the back of the box to achieve al dente pasta.
- Add the jar of Rao’s Marinara sauce to the ground beef once it’s browned all the way
- Bring the contents of the pan to a boil; then lower to a medium low heat and simmer for 5 minutes
- Add 1 block of cream cheese to the sauce and let it slowly disintegrate into the sauce for a few minutes. Then use a wooden spoon to break it up and stir it in for a couple minutes while simmering at a low heat.
- Add the elbows and a ladle full of pasta water (about 1/4 cup) to the sauce and let the sauce simmer until creamy. (about 3-5 minutes)
- Once you achieve the desired consistency add fresh basil and Pecorino Romano to the sauce and mix and simmer another couple minutes.
- Serve it all up and enjoy!
Notes
- Pasta Water! About a 1/4 of pasta water takes this dish from easy to dreamy! When your pasta is nearly finished boiling, grab a ladleful or so and add to the sauce until you get a creamy consistency. Allow the sauce to simmer at least 5 minutes with the pasta water on low.
- My favorite pan to cook with because it’s got high sides AND it goes stovetop to oven. I call him my old faithful: https://amzn.to/3UssB0e
- I use Pecorino Romano cheese for nearly all of my Italian dishes, but parmesan will work as well.
- Serve this dish up with a simple garden salad family style with Italian dressing and fresh bread.
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