Taco Mac & Cheese made with Queso – Only 5 ingredients! A quick and easy, budget-friendly meal made with elbow macaroni, ground beef, diced tomatoes and green chiles, taco seasoning and queso. A must-try for mac and cheese and queso fans!
An Easy Meal in under 30 Minutes!
This delicious Taco Macaroni and Cheese with Queso comes together perfectly, loaded with kick and flavor. With just 5 simple ingredients, this family-friendly meal is on the table in no time. Taco beef, macaroni, queso…what’s not to love! For your next Taco Tuesday, give this awesome recipe a try. Perfect for busy weeknights, game days and more.
Ingredients Needed to Make This Mexican Inspired Pasta Dish: (Full recipe at bottom of post)
- elbow macaroni
- lean ground beef
- taco seasoning (or use homemade blend)
- water
- can of Rotel, drained, (Rotel is diced tomatoes and green chiles)
- jar of your favorite queso
How To Make This Cheesy Mexican Inspired Macaroni and Cheese:
Prepare elbow macaroni according to package and drain well. While macaroni is cooking, in a large skillet, brown and break up ground beef over medium-high heat until fully cooked, drain fat. Next, water and taco seasoning – blend well and continue cooking for 4 minutes. Add Rotel to beef, blend well and reduce heat to low.
Last, add cooked macaroni noodles and queso (heated according to directions on jar), gently folding the queso and noodles with the beef until well blended.
This is great topped with hot sauce, taco sauce. You can even top it with your favorite taco toppings like tomatoes, chopped lettuce, onions, jalapeños, sour cream and more. Enjoy!
Taco Macaroni and Cheese with Queso Frequently Asked Questions:
Is this dish hot and spicy? This dish is not very hot and spicy but does have a little kick. You can easily adapt this recipe using your favorite queso with the level of heat you like. You can also omit the Rotel (diced tomatoes and green chiles).
Can I substitute ground beef? Yes. You can use ground turkey and chicken or skip meat all together.
What kind of Queso? Use your favorite brand or make homemade.
Can I use a different pasta? Yes, you can use penne, shell and more – just be sure to use the same amount.
What to serve with this mac & cheese? Great served with a side of chips and salsa, guacamole and a margarita.
Want more great recipes ideas? Check out these Easy Pasta and Mexican Inspired Dinners!
- Slow Cooker Queso Chicken Tacos
- Old Fashioned Tuna Noodle Casserole
- Easy Cheesy Beef Enchiladas
- Easy Slow Cooker Ravioli Lasagna
- One Pan Taco Rice
- Chicken Alfredo Penne Bake
- Easy Cheesy Beef Burrito Skillet
Please Note: This is not a sponsored post, I have no affiliations with any of the products shared in this post.
Taco Mac & Cheese with Queso
Ingredients
- 16 ounce box of elbow macaroni - prepared according to package
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 packet of your favorite taco seasoning - (1 ounce)
- ⅔ cup water
- 10 ounce can of Rotel - (diced tomatoes and green chiles)
- 15 ounce jar of your favorite queso (heated according to directions on jar) - or use homemade
Instructions
- Prepare elbow macaroni according to package and drain well.
- While macaroni is cooking, in a large skillet, brown and break up ground beef over medium-high heat until fully cooked, drain fat.
- Add water and taco seasoning – blend well and continue cooking for 4 minutes. Add Rotel to beef, blend well and reduce heat to low.
- Last, add cooked macaroni noodles and queso, gently folding the queso and noodles with the beef until well blended. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Thanks for stopping by!
Cheers!
Velma Brawdy
Super easy and everyone loved it. It’s a good mid week quick meal
Ingrida blume
can I keep this warm in my crock pot?
Nijea
was really good!! My family are picky eaters and there were no leftovers. Even my 2 year old had seconds…..I didn’t make any adjustments to the recipe.
Jamie
This was very good and relatively easy – I so appreciate recipes with few ingredients. I seasoned my meat before adding the taco seasoning as I always season my meat but other than that, no changes!
Pamela Shank
This looks so easy and delicious. My family likes anything with macaroni in it. I have never thought of Rotel and the Queso cheese in it. Yum. This is going on my meal plan this week. I always find such great recipes on this weekly recipe potluck. Thank you.