Mexican Spaghetti

What you need to make Mexican Spaghetti

• Dry spaghetti. You can use any pasta that works well with a meaty sauce.
• Fire-roasted tomatoes, undrained. I don't recommend substituting plain tomatoes. The fire-roasting adds a fantastic, rich flavor to the tomatoes.
• Mexi-corn, undrained.
• Shredded cheese. I like Mexican-style cheese, but plain cheddar cheese, Monterey Jack, or quesadilla cheese would be fine.
• Green chiles, undrained.
• Taco seasoning. You can use a packet of taco seasoning, or you can use 2 tablespoons of my bulk taco seasoning mix.
• Green onions. I chop off the root end and use a little of the white and most of the green.
• Ground beef. You can save a lot of prep time at dinner by bulking cooking ground beef and freezing the cooked meat (cooked beef takes up less room in the freezer, too!). It takes less total time to cook in bulk that individually, and if you bulk purchase when ground beef is on sale, you can save a bundle. You could substitute ground turkey, elk, or deer meat for the ground beef.
• Water.

See recipe card for quantities.

Season the cooked ground beef with the taco seasoning and water, cooking until the seasoning and water is blended and thickened.

Chop the green onions and add to the seasoned ground beef with the (undrained) Mexi-corn, fire-roasted diced tomatoes, and green chiles.

Heat and stir the sauce ingredients over medium heat until heated through and well mixed.

Serve Mexican Spaghetti sauce over hot, cooked pasta and top with shredded cheese.

Substitutions

• Low carb - instead of pasta, serve over zoodles (spiralized zucchini noodles)
• Gluten-free - use gluten-free pasta and homemade taco seasoning with gluten-free ingredients
• Vegetarian - Substitute drained, rinsed black beans or plant-based ground for the beef

Make it your own

This recipe is very forgiving, so feel free to use what you have on hand. You could add black olives, salsa, black beans, or enchilada sauce, or garnish with guacamole, sour cream, or cilantro.

• Spicy - upgrade to hot/spicy chiles, or garnish with fresh diced jalapeño
• Mild/kid-friendly - omit the green chiles, substitute corn for Mexi-corn
• Crunchy - add crispy jalapeños or French-fried onions for garnish

Storage and freezing

Store the leftover sauce and spaghetti noodles separately in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

The meat sauce can be made ahead for the freezer. Make the sauce as directed in the instructions and store in an airtight container for up to 3 months in the freezer.