Creamy Taco Macaroni

A few months ago, I saw this recipe on Annie’s Eats. I tried the recipe and it was amazing. The flavor was exactly like a taco, but it was in a form of pasta. The most important was that this pasta was easier to make than a taco. Minimum dicing work is perfect for a fast weeknight meal. The pasta was creamy and flavorful. Bryan and I liked this a lot! If you want the taco flavors, but you didn’t feel like cutting all the toppings. Then, this is your recipe!

 

Creamy Taco Macaroni (Adapted from Annie’s Eats)

4 servings

Ingredients:

–   1 ¼ pound ground turkey

–   8 ounce macaroni or any dry pasta

–   1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes (drained)

–   1 onion (diced)

–   2 garlic cloves (minced)

–   4 tablespoons taco seasoning

–   3 ounce cream cheese

–   ½ cup sour cream

–   salt

–   ground black pepper

–   grated Parmesan (optional)

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of water (salted) to a boil over high heat. Cook the pasta until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally. Reserve ½ cup pasta water. Drain and rinse the pasta under cold water. Set aside.
2. In a large pan over medium-high heat, cook the ground turkey until no longer pink. Before the turkey is cooked through, add the onions and cook for a few minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant.
3. Reduce the heat to medium, mix in the diced tomatoes and taco seasoning. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add the pasta, cream cheese, sour cream and the pasta water. Stir until the cheese is melted and the sauce is mix well. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 3 – 5 minutes to thicken the sauce. Place the pasta on a serving plate. Top with some grated Parmesan. Serve immediately.

Tips:

1. To make sure the pasta is tender but still firm to bite, you can almost follow the package directions exactly. The only thing you need to do is to cook the pasta 3 minutes short as the package asked for. It is because the pasta will be cooked again in the pan.