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Ground Beef Pasta

This Ground Beef Pasta recipe is an easy 30 minute meal that you can make with any kind of pasta. Your family will love the creamy, cheesy, Italian sauce!

Be sure to serve this with a side of Garlic Bread with Cheese!

A wooden spoon full of creamy Ground Beef Pasta with Rotini noodles.

Ground Beef Pasta

You know the Italian-style version of Hamburger Helper? This is about 60 times better than that, and literally takes the same amount of time to make.

Hamburger Helper looks tasty to me, but always comes up short. I promise, this ground beef pasta recipe does not disappoint. Once you try it, you’ll be making it all the time. I think my family eats it about once a week.

Easy ground beef recipes are the best. The ingredients in this one are super simple, so let’s start there:

How to Make It

See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.

Cook and crumble the ground beef and onions. Drain grease. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add salt, Worcestershire sauce, and flour. Stir to combine and cook for 3 minutes. Add chicken broth, tomato sauce and Italian seasoning. Bring a boil, then reduce to a simmer.

Ground beef in a skillet with tomato sauce being added to make Ground Beef Pasta.

Cook for 15 minutes while you start boiling water for the pasta. Boil the pasta for 7 minutes or per package instructions.

Slowly stir in the half and half to the sauce. Reduce heat to low and sprinkle in the cheese. Stir to combine.

Adding cream and cheese to meaty tomato sauce for Ground Beef Pasta.

Drain the pasta and add it to the sauce. Serve with garlic bread with cheese.

Adding rotini pasta to creamy sauce and combining it for Ground Beef Pasta.

Pro Tips

  • Shred the cheese first and set it aside along with the half and half, they shouldn’t be cold when added to the sauce.
  • If possible, shred your cheese from a block, it melts and tastes better than packaged shredded cheese. I like to use Cracker Barrel Extra Sharp Yellow.
  • Penne, Rigatoni, Ziti, Bowtie, or Cavatappi are good pastas with this meal as well.
  • Optional ingredient additions include drained diced tomatoes, frozen peas, carrots, and/or corn.
  • Milk can be used instead of half and half, but the sauce won’t be quite as thick and creamy. Reduce the heat to low prior to adding to avoid curdling it, whole milk works best.
  • This recipe is in The Cozy Cookbook on page 136!

Storage

Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3-4 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

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A close up view of Beef Pasta on a plate with creamy Rotini noodles.

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Leave a review, I love hearing your feedback! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

A wooden spoon full of creamy Ground Beef Pasta.

Ground Beef Pasta

4.98 from 99 ratings
This Ground Beef Pasta recipe is an easy 30 minute meal that you can make with any kind of pasta. Your family will love the creamy, cheesy, Italian sauce!

Ingredients

  • 1 + ½ lbs. ground beef, 85% lean
  • 1 small yellow onion, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 3 Tablespoons flour, optional-helps thicken the sauce
  • 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
  • 16 oz tomato sauce
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • ½ cup half and half, (half cream, half milk)
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • ½ pound Rotini pasta

Instructions

  • Shred the cheese and set it aside along with the half and half. We don’t want those to be cold when we add them to the sauce.
  • Cook and crumble the ground beef over medium heat. Add the onions halfway through and cook until softened.
  • Drain grease. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
  • Add salt, Worcestershire sauce, and flour. Stir to combine and cook for 3 minutes to remove raw flour taste.
  • Add chicken broth and use a silicone spatula to clean the bottom of the pan. Add the tomato sauce and Italian seasoning. Bring a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook for 15 minutes while you start boiling water for the pasta. Once the water is boiling, add the pasta and cook for 7 minutes or per package instructions.
  • Slowly add in the half and half to the sauce, stirring as you go.
  • Reduce heat to low and slowly sprinkle in the cheese. Stir to combine. Drain the pasta and add it to the sauce. Serve with garlic bread with cheese.

Notes

Pro Tips:
  • If possible, shred your cheese from a block, it melts and tastes better than packaged shredded cheese. I like to use Cracker Barrel Extra Sharp Yellow.
  • Penne, Rigatoni, Ziti, Bowtie, or Cavatappi are good pastas with this meal as well.
  • Optional ingredient additions: Drained diced tomatoes, frozen peas, carrots, and/or corn.
  • Milk can be used instead of half and half, but the sauce won’t be quite as thick and creamy. Reduce the heat to low prior to adding to avoid curdling it, whole milk works best. Conversely, heavy cream may also be used.
  • This recipe is in The Cozy Cookbook on page 136!

Storage: Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3-4 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

Nutrition

Calories: 668kcal, Carbohydrates: 60g, Protein: 55g, Fat: 23g, Saturated Fat: 12g, Cholesterol: 146mg, Sodium: 1738mg, Potassium: 1303mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 8g, Vitamin A: 902IU, Vitamin C: 16mg, Calcium: 316mg, Iron: 7mg
Did you try this recipe?Mention @TheCozyCook on Instagram or tag #thecozycook!

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240 comments on “Ground Beef Pasta”

  1. This is such a delicious dish! I had ground beef in the fridge and couldn’t think of what to do with it until I came across this recipe. My husband loves it and ate three big bowls! Thank you for sharing such a scrumptious pasta dish! I will make over and over again! 

  2. I just recently made this recipe for my husband. It was very easy to make and I added a little more cheese and Italian spice. I also made extra for leftovers for the next day. Try this recipe and you won’t be disappointed. 

  3. Love the receipe had everything on hand but worschetire sauce so I substituted soy sauce came out just as good will be making this again. Look forward to more easy receipes.

    • Hi Atara! I’m so glad that you enjoyed it, and your substitution choice was spot on! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review, you’re the best! -Stephanie

  4. Easy to follow and quick recipe! Very tasty and everyone had seconds. Out of habit I add some seasoning to the ground beef cooking, for depth. I also added more cheese, because you can never have enough cheese 😆 Will definitely make this again 😋

    • I’m so happy it was a success! I love how easy and quick this one is too. Plus you can add to it in a variety of ways. Thanks so much for the great comments and review!💖

  5. A more different approach to spaghetti or a pasta dish- absolutely amazing. You could do anything with this. I chose to add shredded Parm to whole whipping cream and then lastly add the cheddar. Absolutely amazing dish. I also used minced dried onion in the meat bc I hate the crunch of onion- picky texture eater over here lol
    We are o family of 9- so I made a double batch- it’s all gone 🫶

    • I’m so happy it was such a hit with your family of 9 Bri, wahooo!🙌 Like you said, I love being able make tweaks to this one, it’s fun to do some experimenting. Thanks so much for the great review!

  6. Absolutely great! Cooked tonight and the family loves it! Another one in the cook binder! Makes 2 recipes I have tried from the cozy cook and they are great so far!

  7. Made this tonight for a family of 5, it was a smashing success! The recipe was way to follow and I had everything I needed for it on hand. Will definitely add this to my weekly rotation! Thank you!

    • I’m so happy your family of 5 enjoyed it Jessica! I love how quickly this one comes together. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment!💗

  8. Delicious and so easy. I love the way you wrote the recipe instructions, easy to follow and saved me time 🙂 thank you so much! This was so good.

    • Hii Maurissa!! I’m SO happy that you loved the recipe and that the instructions were easy to follow, I really appreciate that so much! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review, you’re the best!! -Stephanie

  9. This is an outstanding dinner! I add some mustard and corn and it really elevates the dish. So easy to make and quick. Thank you for this recipe!

  10. This is so easy and so delicious! I made a few add ins, a can of Rotel and just a smidgen of Dijon, freakin amazing. My son had 3 helpings and he rarely gets seconds. This is definitely added to our rotation. Thank you so much!!

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