Creamy Beef Pasta Recipe is an easy pasta dish made in 30 minutes and loaded with flavor! Your whole family will love this quick, cheesy, everyday dinner idea!
This Creamy Beef Pasta Recipe is one of those classic pasta dinners that is comforting and nostalgic.
Today’s recipe is a grown up version of Hamburger Helper, but SO much better! We eat a decent amount of pasta in our house….my husband is Italian, and his mom served pasta in some form almost every night of the week, so while we don’t eat it THAT often, I do incorporate pasta into a lot of our meals. With 4 boys sometimes it’s about quantity and pasta is great for filling bellies. My One Pot Shrimp Pasta and my Mushroom and Garlic Butter Pasta are also on regular rotation because they’re family favorites!
This pasta dish is a creamy, cheesy tomato sauce, with ground beef and rotini! You can add a little more crushed red pepper to make it a little spicier, or leave it out all together. You can even substitute a jar of pre-made pasta sauce instead of the plain tomato sauce and the seasonings if you have a jarred sauce you really love!
Tips For Making Creamy Beef Pasta
- You can use any short pasta in this beef pasta recipe. I prefer rotini because it holds a lot of the sauce. Cavatappi is another great option!
- Make sure you’re using a deep skillet for this because it makes a large batch!
- This recipe calls for cheddar cheese at the end to mix into the pasta. You could use a cheese blend if you prefer, but I wouldn’t recommend using mozzarella because the cheese could get a little stringy mixed in and a cheddar or cheddar blend melts in better. BUT you could use cream cheese if you are wanting an extra creamy pasta!
- You could easily sub in ground turkey or chicken for the lean ground beef.
- You could even sauté some diced bell pepper or carrots with the onion to add a little more flavor.
- You can replace the seasonings in this recipe for Italian seasoning to save time.
- You could even add mushrooms to this pasta recipe instead of meat to create a vegetarian version of this dish!
- This recipe can easily be cut in half to make a smaller portion!
Can You Freeze This Creamy Beef Pasta?
Sure, BUT I have a few tips for you so your pasta doesn’t get mushy!
- Just freeze the sauce and add the rotini the day you’re planning on serving this Creamy Beef Pasta.
- If you make the whole recipe and have leftover to freeze, allow it to come up to room temperature before heating back up. You don’t want to over stir the pasta or try and break it up in a saucepan if it’s frozen, as the pasta will all break into bits.
- If you’re meal prepping and planning ahead and you plan on freezing this dish, or giving it to a family to reheat I recommend undercooking the pasta a bit so it’s just al dente. This way as you warm it up on the stove top the pasta won’t get too mushy!
Looking for More Pasta Recipes? Try these:
PrintCreamy Beef Pasta Recipe
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Prep Time: 10 minutes - Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: serves 6-8 1x
- Category: Pasta
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: Dinner
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An easy, creamy beef pasta recipe that is loaded with flavor and cheese!
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion, diced (about a cup)
- 2 pounds lean ground beef
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1 (28- ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1 pound Rotini pasta
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
- optional – garnish with parsley (fresh or dried)
Instructions:
- In a large, deep skillet heat the olive oil over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add in the diced onions and sauté for 5-6 minutes, until they begin to soften. Add in the ground beef to the skillet and break the meat apart. Cook until no pink remains. Drain excess grease and return the to heat.
- With the heat still on medium, add in the garlic, basil, oregano, salt, red pepper, and flour. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly to coat.
- Add in the tomato sauce and broth and stir to combine. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes.
- While sauce is simmering, boil Rotini according to pasta directions. Drain.
- Add the cream and pasta to the sauce, stirring to combine. Add in the cheese and stir until melted.
- Garnish with parsley if desired and serve immediately.
Notes:
Store airtight in the refrigerator for up to 3 days
Keywords:: pasta recipe, cookies and cups, beef recipe, beef pasta, dinner recipe
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Hi! I’m Shelly and I’m an addict. Of the buttercream sort. I started this site a few years ago as a way to justify my sugary, buttery obsession with desserts. It has worked out well for me so far, because as it turns out you guys all love sugary, buttery desserts too! It feels good to know you're not alone, doesn’t it?
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Can you use mozzarella cheese instead of cheddar?
Yes 🙂
This was a wonderful recipe. My family loved it. We also sprinkled parmesan cheese over the top. So yummy!!
★★★★★
I bet the Parmesan cheese on top was good!! I’ll try that next time!
Can I substitute cream cheese for heavy cream and how much would you suggest using?
I’d use 4 ounces, or half a block!
Absolutely enjoy this dish. So does my family. Can it be warmed up in the oven? I want make it for a pot luck.
★★★★★
Oh yes if you plan on reheating it, might want to add a little more sauce, because the pasta does absorb the sauce as it sits 🙂 You could even make it and keep it warm in the crock pot!
5 stars!!!! My family loved it!! Hearty, creamy, and just delicious! The only change I made (not by choice. I forgot to get tomato sauce when I was at the grocery store. I was not going back to the store lol) was that I used spaghetti sauce instead of tomato sauce. It was amazing!! This will be in the dinner rotation for sure. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe with us.
★★★★★
So glad you guys liked it! And yes spaghetti sauce works great too…and is already seasoned!
If I were to add spinach and mushrooms should I cook the mushrooms beforehand and add at the end or can they both go in during the cooking process ?
I would cook them with the onions!
Hello, I have some leftover whipping cream I’m looking to use up, would it be ok in place of the heavy cream? Thanks
It should work, but if the whipped cream is sweetened I would pass. You will need to stir it in a lot, otherwise it might appear curdled.
Oh Shelly! I made it and it is finger licking goodd!!!! The smell of the pasta literally made everyone’s mouth water and we all pounced on it..Best pasta ever. I totally recommend this recipe to all..It is delicious y’all!
★★★★★
Yay!! So glad you liked it!!
what can i use if i dont have any heavy cream?
You can use half and half or milk in a pinch!
i don’t have tomatoe sauce but i do have vodka sauce, could i use that instead?
Yes, absolutely!
If I just use to Italian instead of all the other seasonings how much of it should I put? Would the flavor be better with the other seasonings instead?
You could use an Italian seasoning blend, absolutely! I would probably throw in 1 tablespoon! Italian seasoning doesn’t have red pepper flakes, though, so if you want a little spice, add that separately 🙂
This sounds good. I need to get some ground turkey, and vegetable broth. About 18 years ago I was bit by a tick, and can no longer eat any red meat.
I’m wondering is it okay to omit the cheese? I’m dairy sensitive…
Yes you can or sub it with almond milk!
I forgot the beef broth. Can i use chicken broth instead??
yes sure!
Thankyou so much for posting this recipe I used to make a very similar dish years ago, and had forgotten about it. Now I’ve remarried have 2 foster sons, and am so thrilled to be reminded of this recipe. Mine was a little different but so similar its not an issue. So I’m going to surprise them all with this dish, hubby and the boys will love it. I used to sometimes serve it with Garlic bread just for something help mop uptake wonderful gravy juices etc. So I’m all set to serve in the weekend when we often eat… Read more »
Hope you love it as much as your original recipe!
You think you could add pasta sauce instead of tomato sauce?
yes, it will just already be seasoned, so you might just want to alter or omit the additional seasoning 🙂
Can you substitute chicken broth and for the beef broth?
sure 🙂
Could you use macaroni or penne noodles??
★★★★★
Sure, yes!!
Just made this last night for dinner and the whole family was a fan! Made a LOT of food so there was plenty left for lunches. I followed the recipe to a T (using rotini noodles) and it was perfect. Wouldn’t change a thing!
★★★★★
So glad you liked it!!
Just made this tonight and love it! I halved the recipe since I’m cooking for one. Delicious and I have plenty of leftovers. A perfect meal with a side veggie or salad.
★★★★
So glad you liked it!!
How would you suggest making it a one pot dish? Could you cook the noodles at the same time in the same pot?
★★★★★
You could you would just have a to add 2- 2 1/2 cups more broth, so that pasta had enough liquid to absorb 🙂
hi shelly,
made this dish for dinner last night and it was a big hit!
we grew up on hamburger helper :0) and it ‘s great to have a “grown up” version that not only is healthier, but tastes WAY better (of course).
it went together so easily, and the leftovers heated up perfectly for lunch today.
thanks for a great recipe.
★★★★★
So glad you liked it!!
Hi Shelly when you serve this dish to your kids how else do you incorporate something “healthy”? Are they good about eating salad or veggies? I can’t get my kids to eat anything healthy besides the main dish.
I almost always have something green on the side. My kids aren’t huge salad eaters, but they love green beans and broccoli, so I try to have that on hand at all times. They really love roasted veggies, and if I have time I do that. If not, I stock my freezer with the Steam in the Bag veggies that I can just pop in the microwave so I have those in a pinch. But of course sometimes I stick a side of baby carrots on their plate and feel like it’s a win 🙂
My boys all loved this dish tonight!
★★★★★
So glad! This is one of my kids favorite easy dinner recipes!
Pasta with a creamy sauce should be, yes, creamy. But pasta on its own? Nope. If your naked pasta is creamy you may want to take a look at how long you are cooking it for and what kind of pasta it is. Thanks for lovely recipe.
★★★★