
What is it about a one pot meal that is so DEEPLY satisfying? It feels like such a huge win. So uncomplicated, so little cleanup, so efficient – I just love it. There’s something extra special about one pot pastas, because…I mean, it’s obvious right? Pasta is life. Add it to anything and up your awesome factor by at least fifty percent.
This Creamy Taco Pasta is:
- Flavorful
- Hearty
- Dairy free
- Packed with protein
- Kid friendly!

Here’s the process:
- Brown the ground beef
- Add onions + garlic and saute
- Add tomato paste and taco seasoning and cook for a minute or two
- Add broth + rotel + pasta
- Simmer until pasta is cooked through and add cashew cream + black beans
Done!

If you’d rather use a dairy substitution instead of cashew cream, a great option would be half and half or heavy cream! Or you could use whole milk.
ALSO if you aren’t dairy free, it wouldn’t hurt to throw some cheese in there too 🤤. Totally up to you. We’re dairy free because of my son’s allergy, so cashew cream all the way over here! You LEGIT can’t tell the difference though. Cashew cream is an amazing substitute for cream.

Here’s the recipe, friends! Happy one-pot-cooking!
PrintOne Pot Creamy Taco Pasta

This delicious dairy-free one pot pasta has very little cleanup, is an easy, kid friendly meal, and is SO delicious. A shining weeknight win!
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 1 pound short pasta, we used shells
- 5 cups chicken broth
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 onion, minced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 packet of taco seasoning
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 10 oz can mild rotel
- 1/4 cup raw cashews
- 1 15 oz can black beans, drained
- Cilantro (optional topping)
Instructions
- In a large pot, brown your ground beef over medium high heat with olive oil. Season well with salt and pepper
- When browned, add your onion and garlic and saute until the onion has softened slightly. Add your taco seasoning and stir to combine
- To this, add your tomato paste, stir to combine, and cook for a few minutes
- To this, add your rotel, chicken broth, pasta, and season well with salt and pepper
- Stir to combine, bring to a simmer, and simmer until the pasta is cooked through. Stir occasionally. (This took about 20 minutes for me)
- Meanwhile, make your cashew cream. In a high powered blender, add your cashews + 3/4 cups water. Blend for 30 seconds – 1 minute or until totally smooth. If you don’t have a high powered blender (like a vitamix or blendtec), boil your cashews for ten minutes and then drain and add the boiled cashews + fresh 3/4 cups water to the blender and blend until smooth
- When your pasta has cooked through, add your cashew cream and drained black beans. Stir to combine and season to taste! (You can substitute about 1/2 cup of whole milk, half and half, or heavy cream for the cashew cream if you are okay with dairy)
- Top with cilantro (optional)
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 1/2 cup
- Calories: 580
- Sugar: 5 g
- Sodium: 856 mg
- Fat: 12 g
- Saturated Fat: 4 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 73 g
- Fiber: 6 g
- Protein: 26 g
- Cholesterol: 56 mg

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