Mexican Chili Pasta Recipe
Sometimes I crave Italian and Mexican at the same time. Strange, huh? I found this recipe hits the spot on nights like that. The noodles and cheese cover the Italian the rest is all Mexican/chili-ish. This is a highly customizable recipe and a family hit.
Mexican Chili Pasta Recipe
This is a highly customizable dish that is very family friendly. Add diced green chilis for a kick or leave out for a mild dish. My kids love black olives so I go heavy with those and cheese and leave out the meat for vegetarian.
Author: Heather
Ingredients
- 2 cans chili starter (I used ½ a jar of Frontera)
- 1-2 cans of diced tomatoes (use the ones w/green chilis for a little kick)
- Sliced black olives (to taste... we used 1½ cups)
- ½ - 1 lb pasta (we used elbow but shell works nicely also)
- Shredded cheese to taste (choice on type but Mexican blend works great)
- Beans to taste (kidney or black work nicely, I used 25 ounces)
- 1-2 lbs of ground beef (optional... we did not use this)
Instructions
- Cook pasta to desired tenderness. If using ground beef, brown and drain. Mix all ingredients together leaving enough cheese to spread on top (I use about a handful in the mixture and then another for the top). Bake 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees. My kids like to add a little shredded cheese on top before eating.
that looks really good
This too sounds and looks so good. Can’t wait to try it.
I have to tell ya that I made this over the weekend and my family absolutely loved it. Thanks so much for sharing your awesome recipes with us. Our family has truly benefitted from them.
OMG Thank you for updating me Diane! You just made my night. You are SO very welcome 🙂
Thanks so much for sharing this- I tried it the other night and it was awesome! My toddler can be be a fairly picky eater and even she liked it. I added some cooked spinach for more veggies and she didn’t even notice. 🙂
I have never tried this before, but would love to. Looks really yummy.
Can’t wait to try this. We are trying to cut back on our meat consumption, so we will try it without the beef just like you did. Sounds really good!
Looks delicious! Thank you for the recipe!
Looks delicious. My daughter will love this because she’s craz over Black Olives in anything. 🙂 Thanks for sharing. I’m going to show her this and let her make it. 🙂
Carol L
Definitely need to add this to my list of recipes I want to try. This looks delicious and easy. Thanks for sharing.
I like how EASY this is!! It looks very filling and would make for good leftovers too. I’ll have to try it!
I like Mexican food and I like that this recipe is vegetarian. I sometimes do not like to always eat meat, and this is an easy recipe for me to try. I will be making this soon!
My SIL makes something similar! Yum!
It sounds flavorful enough that the meat could be left out! Thank you! Our family has been attempting the meatless monday thing and it’s been hard for us! LOL maybe I can make this while it’s still a bit “chili” outside 😉
This looks absolutely delicious! I definitely will have to recreate it with some gluten-free pasta! 🙂
This looks really good. This is similar to one of my favorites, Mexican Lasagna. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/mexican-lasagna-recipe/index.html
This sounds great! I also crave mexican and italian at the same time 🙂
My neice is a Vegetarian and I am always looking for recipes for her. I usually make goulash like this and she loves it. Plus this recipe is usually cheap and they say if you replace 1 meal a week without meat, you can save around $40 for a family of 4 a month
This looks delicious and simple! A few weeks ago I made something similar called taco spaghetti, both my husband and I loved it! I will have to try this one out next, thank you for sharing!
Oh this looks delicious! Would be a definite hit at our house…… must pin!
Thank you so much! I can’t wait to try this recipe for my family. My husband doesn’t like regular chili leftovers but he may go for this.
Thanks so much for sharing the Sunday family dinner reminder/tips! It’s good to be reminded about the importance of that! Also appreciate your recipes!! (I worked with Kaytlin at the MW bookstore. We miss her!).
Recipe sounds great too — where did you find the Frontera Chili Starter?
This looks pretty darn good. I’d like to make it and would have to have the one with green chili’s. Can’t have lots of kick but just enough. Sounds great and with things we usually keep in the house at all times anyway
This is the perfect comfort food for early fall! I’d like to make this today! there is a one-day sale going on for ground beef. And I do love my chili with beans – and the beef!! I’ve never tried Frontera – I’ll have to give it a whirl!
this looks good. sounds like it tastes even better you can get the best of both in one dish why not.
Great idea! It’s kind of like an enchilada in pasta form.