Easy Taco Mac and Cheese is a budget-friendly, family-friendly meal made with ground beef, taco seasoning and boxed mac and cheese.

 

When I first shared this recipe 8 years ago, it was a bit of an experiment. I was tasked by a brand to come up with a budget friendly recipe for a family of 4. I went shopping and came up with this recipe when I got this boxed mac and cheese on sale. This Easy Taco Mac and Cheese ended up being a huge hit with everyone I made it for. It is now a staple dinner recipe in my house – even after all these years!

Tips for Making Taco Mac and Cheese

• Broccoli would be a great vegetable to add to this recipe. It would need to be cooked first (using steam-able broccoli is perfect and keeps it easy) or serve it on the side as shown below.
• Top with crushed tortillas, sour cream, diced tomatoes, lettuce and/or sliced green onions.
• If you prefer, you can make your own Homemade Taco Seasoning
• Take it a step further and make this with your favorite Homemade Mac and Cheese recipe.
• This is a whole meal in itself but you can serve with a side salad or any of your favorite veggies like Mexican Street Corn!

Ingredients Needed: (See Recipe Card Below For The Full Recipe)

• ground beef – you can use ground turkey or ground chicken.
• taco seasoning – use a packet of store bought taco seasoning or make a homemade taco seasoning.
• water – don’t use the amount on the back of the taco seasoning. We’re only going to use 2/3 cup water here.
• boxed macaroni and cheese (with cheese sauce) – use your favorite boxed Mac and cheese. I just used the shells and cheese. This will work with any 12 ounce package of macaroni and cheese that has the liquid cheese sauce.

How To Make Taco Mac and Cheese

In a large pot, boil water and prepare boxed macaroni and cheese according to package directions. In a separate skillet, brown and crumble ground beef. Drain excess grease. Place meat back in skillet and add taco seasoning and water. Keep heat on medium-low and allow mixture to thicken. 

When ready, combine taco meat with prepared macaroni and cheese. Stir well. This stuff is so good just like this. Just serve it with a salad and dinner is done!

I’m serving it here with some microwaveable steamed broccoli that I sprinkled with some of the shredded cheese and seasoned with salt and pepper.

If you want to make this meal really majestic – top it with with some sour cream, lettuce, tomatoes and crushed tortillas!