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Talkin Taco Spaghetti

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Two hard taco shells filled with spaghetti, tomato sauce, ground meat, melted cheese, and garnished with chopped herbs, placed on a white plate.

Okay, so this is Taco Spaghetti, and I had absolutely no clue I was making something nostalgic!

The second I said I was putting spaghetti into taco shells, my assistants got SO excited and immediately started talking about iCarly and Spencer’s spaghetti tacos. Meanwhile, I’m standing there like… what are you two talking about?! I’m a boy mom! Somehow this entire childhood food moment completely missed me. But according to them, spaghetti tacos were a VERY serious part of growing up!

BUT my Talkin Taco Spaghetti is loaded with seasoned ground beef, jalapeños, onion, garlic, fire-roasted tomatoes, beef base, tomato paste, and just one packet of taco seasoning. Then we toss in the spaghetti, top the whole thing with freshly shredded Colby and mozzarella, cover it up, and let that cheese get all melty and delicious! I am the master of all recipes spaghetti, so you have to try my One Pan Screamin Spaghetti, my Million Dollar Spaghetti, or my Classic Spaghetti and Meatballs!

And yes, you can absolutely eat it straight out of a bowl. BUT if you want to make the kids very happy, pile it into those flat-bottom taco shells and have yourself a full spaghetti taco moment! It sounds a little crazy, but I’m telling you, it WORKS and it’s freaking DELICIOUS!

Melissa Jo

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Chopped onions, chopped green peppers, jar of minced garlic, taco seasoning mix, and a blue garlic lid are arranged on a checkered surface next to a bowl and kitchen counter.
Chop the jalapeños and onion and get all of your Talkin Taco Spaghetti ingredients ready to go!
Chopped onions and green peppers are sautéing in a white pot, with a heap of brown seasoning or spice blend sprinkled on top. Steam rises as the ingredients cook.
Sauté the jalapeños, onion, and garlic in olive oil with the entire packet of taco seasoning until softened and golden!
Chunks of raw beef being stirred into sautéed onions and spices in a white pot with a wooden spatula.
Push the vegetables to the side and brown the ground beef before mixing everything together!
A jar of Better Than Bouillon Roasted Beef Base and a tube of Cento Tomato Paste sit on a black-and-white checkered surface in a kitchen.
Add the Better Than Bouillon Beef Base and tomato paste directly into the fat and sauté for about a minute to wake up the flavor!
A hand squeezes tomato paste from a yellow tube into a pot of browned ground meat and onions on a stovetop. Steam rises from the mixture as it cooks.
A box of Barilla thin spaghetti is being poured into a large pot of boiling water on a stove, with steam rising from the pot.
Cook your thin pasta al dente!!!
Two hands with dark nail polish hold cans of Hunts Fire Roasted Diced tomatoes above a white pot of simmering stew or sauce, with white tile backsplash visible in the background.
Stir in both cans of Hunts fire-roasted tomatoes and let the sauce simmer for 15–20 minutes!
Chopped tomatoes simmer in a white pot with a brown, spiced sauce, creating steam as they cook on a stove.
Cooked spaghetti is being poured from a colander into a white pan of bubbling red tomato sauce on a stovetop.
Add the cooked thin spaghetti directly into the sauce and toss until every strand is coated!
A pot of cooked spaghetti with meat sauce is topped with a pile of shredded yellow and white cheese, ready to be mixed, on a stovetop.
Sprinkle freshly shredded Colby and mozzarella over the top, turn off the heat, and cover until beautifully melted!
A large pot of spaghetti with ground meat, tomato sauce, and melted shredded cheese on top, mixed together and ready to serve.
Old El Paso Taco Dinner Kit box on a table, showing two tacos filled with meat, lettuce, tomato, and cheese. Text highlights Stand n Stuff shells and includes nutrition facts on the front.
Get your taco shells ready!
A smiling woman in a kitchen serves a large portion of spaghetti with sauce from a pot into a white bowl, holding both spaghetti and bowl toward the camera.
Serve up your Talkin Taco Spaghetti straight from the pot or pile it into flat-bottom taco shells for the ultimate taco-spaghetti situation!
A close-up of baked spaghetti with ground meat, melted cheese, tomato sauce, and herbs on a white plate.
Look at how GOOD THAT LOOKS!!!!
A fork lifts a serving of cheesy spaghetti with meat sauce from a pot. Melted cheese and herbs are sprinkled on top, and the dish looks hot and freshly made.
A woman in a kitchen holds up a taco filled with spaghetti, looking up with her mouth open to take a bite. A pot of spaghetti is on the counter in front of her.
MAKE IT!!

Melissa Jo’s Tips!

  • Wait to reserve your pasta water. Grab it when the spaghetti is almost done cooking so it has had time to become really nice and starchy.
  • Do not add another packet of taco seasoning. I promise you, one packet is enough.
  • Remove the jalapeño seeds for a milder dish. Leave some or all of them in if you like more heat.
  • If your ground beef releases a ton of grease, mop up some of it—but leave a little behind because that is where the flavor is.
  • Sauté the tomato paste and beef base directly in the fat before mixing everything together. That extra minute makes a difference.
  • Keep a little extra pasta water before draining just in case your sauce needs loosening at the end.
  • Use freshly shredded cheese whenever possible. It melts smoother than the pre-shredded stuff.
  • Let the sauce simmer the full 15–20 minutes. This is when everything really comes together.
  • Thin spaghetti works perfectly here because all that sauce gets wrapped around every single strand.

🤔 Common Questions

Can I use a different pasta?

Yes! Regular spaghetti will work perfectly. You could also use linguine or another long pasta. I happen to love thin spaghetti here because it grabs onto that sauce so well!

Can I use a different cheese?

Definitely. Colby and mozzarella give you a really good combination of flavor and meltiness, but Colby Jack, Monterey Jack, cheddar, or a Mexican cheese blend would all work!

Do I have to use fire-roasted tomatoes?

You technically can use regular diced tomatoes, but I really recommend the fire-roasted tomatoes. They add a little smoky, cooked-all-day flavor without you actually having to cook this all day!

Do I have to serve it in taco shells?

Of course not! The taco shells are just me being ridiculous. This is delicious scooped straight into a bowl with nothing else required!

Melissa Jo

Talkin Taco Spaghetti

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This Taco Spaghetti is loaded with seasoned ground beef, jalapeños, onion, garlic, fire-roasted tomatoes, and plenty of melty cheese! Toss it all with thin spaghetti and serve it straight from the bowl or pile it into taco shells for a fun little iCarly-inspired twist!
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings: 8 people
Course: dinner, Main Course
Cuisine: American, Mexican
Calories: 451

Ingredients
  

Method
 

Step 1: Cook the spaghetti
  1. Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Add the thin spaghetti and cook until al dente according to the package directions.
  2. Before you drain it, reserve at least 2 cups of that starchy pasta water. Then drain the spaghetti and set it aside. I only used about 1 ½ cups for this recipe but you may want more or less!
  3. And listen to me on this one—do not steal your pasta water too early! More on that below.
Step 2: Sauté the vegetables
  1. While the spaghetti cooks, heat 2 tablespoons of cooking olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.
  2. Add the chopped jalapeños, chopped yellow onion, and jarlic. Sprinkle the entire packet of taco seasoning right over the vegetables.
  3. Sauté everything together until the onion is softened, golden, and translucent.
Step 3: Brown the ground beef
  1. Push the seasoned vegetables over to one side of the pot and add the ground beef.
  2. Break the beef apart and let it start browning on its own. Once the meat is partially browned but still has a little pink, begin incorporating it into the vegetables.
  3. Continue cooking until the beef is completely cooked through.
  4. Depending on how fatty your ground beef is, you may need to mop up a little excess grease—but don’t remove every drop! That fat is FLAVOR.
Step 4: Wake up the beef base and tomato paste
  1. Push the beef and vegetables over to one side again.
  2. Add 1 tablespoon Better Than Bouillon Beef Base and 1 tablespoon tomato paste directly into the fat at the bottom of the pot.
  3. Let them sauté for about a minute, stirring them into the hot fat. This little step wakes everything up and gives the sauce so much more depth.
  4. Then mix it all into the beef and vegetables.
Step 5: Add the pasta water
  1. Pour in about 1 cup of your reserved starchy pasta water. (I ended up using another ½ cup later on in the recipe, but start with 1 cup and add a little more later on if needed)
  2. Stir everything together while scraping all those browned, flavorful bits from the bottom of the pot.
Step 6: Make the sauce
  1. Add both cans of Hunt’s Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes and stir everything together.
  2. Bring the mixture up to a boil, then reduce the heat and keep it at a gentle simmer or low boil for about 15–20 minutes.
  3. This gives the sauce time to thicken up and lets all those taco-y, beefy, tomato-y flavors marry together.
Step 7: Add the spaghetti
  1. Add your drained thin spaghetti directly into the sauce.
  2. Toss and toss until every strand of spaghetti is completely coated. If the sauce seems a little thicker than you want, splash in a little more reserved pasta water until it’s perfect.
Step 8: CHEESE
  1. Sprinkle 1/2 cup freshly shredded Colby cheese and 1/2 cup freshly shredded mozzarella evenly over the top.
  2. Turn off the heat, cover the pot, and let the residual heat melt that cheese right over the Taco Taco Spaghetti.
  3. And yes, freshly shredded cheese is the move here. It melts so much better!
Step 9: Serve it up
  1. Garnish with a little fresh parsley if you want and serve it straight from the pot.
  2. ORRRR…
  3. Grab yourself some flat-bottom taco shells, pile up your Talkin Taco Spaghetti right into those babies, and go absolutely feral!!

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Nutrition

Serving: 8peopleCalories: 451kcalCarbohydrates: 47gProtein: 21gFat: 19gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 54mgSodium: 236mgPotassium: 359mgFiber: 2gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 237IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 127mgIron: 2mg

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Storage & Reheating

Store leftover Talkin Taco Spaghetti in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about 3–4 days.

The pasta will continue soaking up some of the sauce while it sits, so when you reheat it, add a splash of water or chicken/beef broth before microwaving or warming it gently on the stovetop.

And if you’re planning on using taco shells, store those separately so they stay nice and crunchy.


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Recipe Creator & Cookbook Author

I'm Melissa Jo — the recipe creator, Amazon Live host, and everyday food lover behind Melissa Jo Real Recipes. I learned to cook the old-fashioned way, watching my Italian grandmother and my mama work their magic in the kitchen, and now I share easy, saucy, no-fuss meals for real life alongside the authentic Italian family recipes I grew up on. Grab a stick of butter and let's make something delicious together.

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