Budget Cheesy Skillet Pasta with Ground Beef
One pan, under $8, done in 30 minutes — cheesy pasta that actually fills you up.
This is the dinner you make when you're tired, broke, and need something that feels like a real meal. It's built on ground beef, pasta, and a handful of pantry staples — nothing fancy, nothing you need to run to the store for. The whole thing comes together in one skillet in about 30 minutes, and cleanup is minimal. Don't expect gourmet. Do expect a genuinely satisfying, cheesy, savory dinner that costs a few dollars per serving and leaves zero complaints at the table. Great for feeding a couple people or stretching leftovers into tomorrow's lunch.
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef — 80/20 works great and is usually the cheapest option
- 2 cup dry elbow macaroni or rotini
- 1 unit small yellow onion — diced
- 3 unit garlic cloves — minced, or 1 tsp garlic powder in a pinch
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 unit can diced tomatoes (14.5 oz) — do not drain
- 2 cup beef broth — or water with a bouillon cube
- 1 cup whole milk or 2% milk
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 0.5 tsp onion powder
- 0.5 tsp kosher salt — plus more to taste
- 0.25 tsp black pepper
- 1.5 cup shredded cheddar cheese — sharp cheddar preferred; block cheese melts better than pre-shredded
Method
- 1 Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and cook, breaking it apart, until no pink remains, about 5–6 minutes. Drain off excess fat, leaving about 1 tablespoon in the pan.
- 2 Add the diced onion to the skillet and cook with the beef for 2–3 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and tomato paste and stir for 1 minute until fragrant.
- 3 Pour in the diced tomatoes (with their juices), beef broth, and milk. Stir in the Worcestershire sauce, smoked paprika, onion powder, salt, and black pepper.
- 4 Bring the liquid to a boil, then stir in the dry pasta. Reduce heat to medium, cover with a lid, and cook for 10–12 minutes, stirring every 3–4 minutes to prevent sticking, until pasta is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed.
- 5 Remove from heat. Scatter the shredded cheddar over the top, cover for 1 minute to let it melt, then stir everything together. Taste and adjust salt if needed.
- 6 Serve straight from the skillet. Leftovers reheat well with a splash of water or milk to loosen the sauce.
Variations
- Vegetarian swap — Replace the ground beef with a 15 oz can of drained black beans or lentils, and swap the beef broth for vegetable broth. Add the beans at the same step as the tomatoes.
- Faster swap — Use pre-minced garlic from a jar and skip dicing the onion — sub 1 tsp onion powder instead. Saves about 5 minutes of prep with almost no difference in the final dish.
- Cheese substitution — Colby Jack, Monterey Jack, or even Velveeta all melt beautifully here if that's what you have. Velveeta gives an extra-creamy, diner-style sauce.
Notes
The pasta will continue to absorb liquid as it sits, so if it looks a little saucy when done, that's perfect — it'll tighten up in a minute or two. If your skillet is running dry before the pasta is cooked, add a splash more broth or water. Block cheddar melts much smoother than the pre-shredded kind, which has anti-caking agents that can make the sauce slightly grainy. If you want a little heat, add a pinch of red pepper flakes with the garlic.
Equipment that helps
- Large skillet with a lid (12-inch) — You need enough surface area to cook the beef without steaming it, and a lid to trap steam while the pasta cooks in the liquid.
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