Creamy Beef Pasta Recipe

As a mom to four boys with an Italian husband, I have a roster of one-pot pasta recipes on regular rotation. My crock pot beef stroganoff, baked mostaccioli, and cheeseburger pasta are also family favorites, and often make an appearance as cozy wintertime dinners. For those who grew up eating Hamburger Helper, this one-pot, creamy beef pasta recipe is a homemade version you can make tonight in about 30 minutes, without the box.

It’s one of my favorite creamy pasta recipes, loaded with cheesy, savory flavor and a great way to use up ground beef. 

Like Homemade Hamburger Helper, Only Better

• It’s ready in 30 minutes, making it a quick, easy weeknight dinner recipe.
• This is a one-pan wonder. No pile of dishes to clean afterward!
• The flavors are creamy, cheesy, and savory with simple ingredients.
• Family-friendly comfort food with lots of room for customizing. Make it with ground beef, sausage, or cooked shredded chicken.
• This beef pasta recipe refrigerates and reheats well for delicious leftovers.

Ingredients Needed

Here’s what you’ll need to make this cheesy, creamy ground beef pasta recipe. See the recipe card for the exact measurements.

• Olive Oil – Or any cooking oil you prefer.
• Onion and Garlic – One small yellow onion or shallot, finely diced. I use fresh garlic, but if you don’t have it, substitute ¼ teaspoon of garlic powder for each fresh clove.
• Ground Beef – I recommend lean ground beef as it doesn’t make the dish too oily. You can easily swap the ground meat in this pasta recipe with pork, chicken, or turkey. I even have a version with ground sausage in my creamy Italian sausage pasta.
• Seasonings – Dried basil, oregano, salt, and crushed red pepper flakes. You can substitute Italian seasoning instead of individual dried herbs. Add more crushed red pepper for a spicier dish, or omit the chilli if you’re sensitive to spice.
• Flour – To thicken the creamy tomato sauce. You could use cornstarch instead; use half of the amount in this case.
• Canned Tomato Sauce – Or a can of tomato purée or crushed tomatoes will also work. You can replace plain canned tomatoes and the spices listed above with a pre-seasoned pasta sauce if you’d like.
• Beef Broth – I like to use bone broth. Store-bought or homemade chicken stock is a good substitute, though it won’t have quite the same depth of flavor as beef. You can substitute half of the broth or stock with a dry red wine, like Cabernet Sauvignon, if you’d like.
• Pasta – This can be rotini pasta (great for gripping the meaty sauce), or any sturdy short pasta.
• Heavy Cream – For a lighter dish, swap heavy cream with half-and-half. You could also use sour cream.
• Grated Cheese – Freshly grated cheese melts more smoothly than pre-grated, packaged cheese. Instead of grated cheddar cheese, you can use Monterey Jack, Gouda, or a meltable cheese blend. The only cheese I don’t recommend for this recipe is mozzarella, as it gets a bit stringy.

How to Make This Creamy Beef Pasta Recipe

The rich, creamy meat sauce comes together quickly. I toss it with rotini, but you can use any pasta you have in the pantry. 

• Cook the beef and onions. Start by sautéing the diced onions in olive oil over medium heat. Once softened, add the ground beef. Break it up using a wooden spoon while the beef cooks and browns. When there’s no pink remaining, drain the excess grease and return the pan to the heat.
• Add seasonings. Next, stir in the garlic, basil, oregano, salt, red pepper, and flour. Let the flour cook off for a minute, stirring to coat the beef.

• Make the sauce. Add the tomato sauce and beef broth to the pan. Bring the sauce to a boil, then simmer for 15 minutes. 
• In the meantime, cook the pasta. In a pot of salted, boiling water, cook the pasta al dente according to the package directions. 
• Put it all together. Drain the pasta and add it to the meat sauce along with the heavy cream. Stir, then add the grated cheese. Once that’s melted, you’re ready to dig in. Garnish with fresh or dried parsley and grate over fresh Parmesan if you’d like. Enjoy!

Cooking Tips

• Any short pasta works in this beef pasta recipe. I prefer rotini because the sauce can cling to all those ridges. Cavatappi, rigatoni, penne, and ziti are also great choices. If you wanted, you could also use long pasta or homemade egg noodles.
• Use a deep skillet or a large saucepot for this recipe. It makes a large batch!
• Drain the grease. If there’s a lot of excess oil in the pan after you’ve cooked the ground beef, drain it before proceeding. This avoids an overly greasy pasta sauce.
• If you don’t have grated cheese, substitute cream cheese instead for an extra-creamy pasta.
• Add more veggies. Sauté diced bell pepper, celery, mushrooms, or carrots with the onion for more flavor. Adding more vegetables is also a great way to make this pasta vegetarian, if needed.
• Scale the recipe. I love leftovers, but if you’re feeding a smaller crowd, you can reduce the recipe by half.

What to Serve With Creamy Beef Pasta

• Bread: Serve with thick slices of homemade French bread, air fryer biscuits, or hot water cornbread for sopping up the creamy leftovers.
• Vegetable sides: Enjoy this beef pasta with a fresh green salad or a side of air fryer green beans, broccoli, or asparagus.
• Dessert: I’ve been loving these Biscoff cookies lately, or try a scoop of cozy apple brown betty with vanilla ice cream.

How to Store and Reheat Leftovers

• Refrigerate. Store any leftover beef pasta in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
• Reheat. Warm up the pasta in a skillet on the stovetop, or in the microwave. If needed, add a splash of broth to help loosen up the meat sauce if it’s thickened during storage.
• Freeze the meat sauce. Do this separately from the pasta whenever possible. Before serving, thaw the sauce in the fridge, reheat it, then cook a fresh batch of pasta to toss with the sauce.
• Freeze the pasta so it doesn’t get mushy. If you’re planning to freeze the finished beef pasta, I suggest leaving the pasta slightly undercooked. Before reheating, thaw the pasta completely in the fridge. This keeps the pasta from overcooking when it’s reheated.

More Weeknight Pasta Dinner Recipes

• Chicken Enchilada Pasta
• Boursin Cheese Pasta
• Creamy Angel Chicken Pasta
• Garlic Parmesan Chicken Pasta
• Creamy Shrimp Tomato Pasta
• Taco Pasta