This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Food Lion for IZEA Worldwide. All opinions are 100% mine.
This Taco Pasta Bake is a quick, delicious and cheap meal. Dinner doesn’t have to be a major production each night!
Let’s talk cost.
This meal came in around $10 dollars.
For the most part, I’m not a brand snob. I’ve come to trust and rely on some store brands. Food Lion’s private label store brand definitely saves me money. Most of the products I happily stock up on (boxed pasta, sauces, beans, salsa, canned goods galore) save me around a whopping fifty percent off my grocery bill! Same quality as the name brands…just different label.
The other way to save money on groceries is to buy your meat & poultry on sale and in “family packs”. The biggest savings seem to be with ground beef & chicken breasts. Vacuum seal and freeze in portion amounts you cook with.
Want another tasty, simple & cheap dinner? Click here for my Kielbasa Chili Recipe!
Let’s Make Dinner
This is a super simple recipe.
It needs to be said and said often – dinner does not always need to be a major production. I certainly prefer feeding my family a quick & simple meal rather than grabbing fast food.
All we’re doing here is cooking some pasta, browning the ground beef, combining all the ingredients and baking.
That’s it.
Ingredients & Substitutions
A handful of simple ingredients come together quickly for a fun & tasty dinner any night of the week.
I toss in whatever ground meat is cheapest – be it beef, chicken or turkey. Or I use leftovers if I have them. Shredded chicken, pork, beef – they are delicious in this casserole!
Oh, this meal is great meatless as well. You can skip the meat and add an extra can of black beans & corn.
This meal can be easily dressed up with fresh produce…cilantro, avocado slices, dices tomatoes, shredded lettuce, guacamole…if it’s in the budget. It’s great either way!
Don’t forget to top it all off with a generous dollop of sour cream!
Hope you enjoy!
Amanda ♥
Taco Pasta Bake
Ingredients
- 1 pound pasta
- 1 pound ground beef chicken or turkey (leftovers work great here too)
- 29 oz can tomato sauce
- 16 oz jar salsa
- 15 oz can black beans rinsed & drained
- 15 oz can corn drained
- 8 oz or more shredded cheese - reserve 1/2 cup
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon oregano
- pinch of black pepper
- pinch of chipotle powder optional
- sour cream to serve
- optional toppings - avocado slices, gucamole, hot sauce, salsa, lettuce, tomato, cilantro
Instructions
- Start pasta first. Cook until al dente. (I prefer to do this in a large pot/stock pot so I can mix everything in it afterwards. Saves washing a mixing bowl)
- Preheat oven to 350° and spray/grease a deep 13x9 casserole dish.
- In the meantime, brown, crumble & drain ground beef.
- Combine pasta, ground beef, tomato sauce, salsa, black beans, cheese, corn and all seasonings.
- Scrape into greased casserole dish.
- Bake for 25 minutes.
- Sprinkle reserved shredded cheese and bake 5 minutes or until melted.
- Serve with sour cream - a must! We also love this with hot sauce, additional salsa, fresh snipped cilantro, gucamole or avocado slices....
- Enjoy!
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