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This ground beef pasta recipe tastes like it’s been cooked low and slow, but it’s ready in about 30 minutes! It’s perfect for busy weeknights and has simple ingredients.
I think your family will also enjoy this Easy Meat Sauce for pasta or my Beef and Noodles.
Why you’ll love it
If you like my Creamy Beef and Shells or Homemade Hamburger Helper, there’s a good chance you will enjoy this easy ground beef pasta. It’s sorta like a quick Bolognese sauce. Ground beef, garlic, and a creamy tomato sauce make one comforting dinner!
When I was a kid, pasta with meat sauce was always one of my favorite comfort foods, and as an adult I’ve always kept some variation of this sauce in my freezer. It’s the perfect quick family meal! There’s more depth of flavor than you’d think for such a simple dish.
What you’ll need
- Pasta – I chose fusilli, but this recipe will work with whatever pasta shape you’ve got on hand. Penne would be great.
- Olive oil – for sautéing
- Onion and garlic – I use sweet (Vidalia) onion
- Ground beef – I like to use lean ground beef. It saves you from having to drain out the fat.
- Canned tomatoes – diced tomatoes form the base of the sauce. They’re canned at peak ripeness.
- Tomato paste – for more delicious concentrated tomato flavor
- Dijon mustard – it’s a flavor enhancer and not overpowering
- Italian seasoning – a convenient blend of dried herbs in a single jar
- Heavy cream – it gives the sauce body and incredible taste. I found this to have plenty of sauce, but if you want to add more, go up to a full cup of cream.
Pro tip
This sauce needs to be salted adequately to bring out all the flavors! There’s plenty of meat and cream, so a generous amount of salt is a must. You can also definitely adjust the seasonings to your personal taste preferences or jazz it up with red pepper flakes if that’s your thing. This sauce is very flexible.
How to make pasta with ground beef
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Boil the pasta. In a skillet, sauté the onion in the olive oil until softened. Stir in the ground beef and garlic, and cook until browned. Spoon out any excess fat if needed. Stir in the tomatoes, tomato paste, Dijon, and Italian seasoning.
Simmer until the sauce has reduced somewhat. Stir in the heavy cream, and let it warm through for a few minutes. Generously season the sauce with salt & pepper, then toss with the drained pasta. Top with fresh parmesan if desired.
Tools for this recipe
Check out Natasha’s favorite kitchen essentials, gadgets, and cookware!
- This is the skillet I use to make the meat sauce.
- A garlic press makes it effortless to mince garlic.
- I use this cooking spoon since it doesn’t scratch cookware.
Substitutions and variations
- Fresh basil would be a great addition to this pasta sauce (add it in right at the end) if you happen to have some.
- Try stirring in 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese if you want this dish to be cheesy.
- As with any cream-based recipe (especially with an acidic tomato sauce), subbing the cream with something else can lead to curdling.
- I know some people don’t like chunks/pieces of tomatoes, so feel free to swap the diced tomatoes with tomato sauce if you wish. Or use petite diced tomatoes.
What to serve with creamy beef pasta
- A slice of fresh crusty bread with olive oil and balsamic for dipping rounds it out.
- Make a salad for a fresh pairing. I love making a big Caesar salad with my 10-Minute Homemade Caesar Dressing (no blender!) and Garlic Croutons. For something lighter, try my Super Simple Parmesan Arugula Salad.
Leftovers and storage
- Store leftover ground beef pasta in the fridge for 3-4 days in a covered container. Reheat over a low heat until warmed through.
- If you plan on freezing this recipe, I definitely recommend freezing the sauce separately in individual portions and boiling up a fresh batch of pasta when you’re ready to eat. The sauce freezes well.
More tasty ground beef recipes
Will you give this creamy ground beef pasta a try? Please leave a star rating and review in the comments below if you made it! Ask me any questions. I’m also on Instagram.
Easy Creamy Ground Beef Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 ounces uncooked pasta
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 medium onion chopped
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juices
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard see note
- 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 3/4 cup heavy/whipping cream
- Salt & pepper to taste
- Freshly grated parmesan cheese optional, to taste
Instructions
- Boil a salted pot of water for the pasta and cook it al dente according to package directions.
- Add the onion and olive oil to a large skillet (or small pot/Dutch oven) and cook for 4-5 minutes over medium-high heat.
- Add in the ground beef and garlic and continue cooking for another 8 minutes or so until the beef has browned (break the meat up with your spoon as you go along). Spoon out excess fat if there's a lot of it.
- Stir in the canned tomatoes, tomato paste, Dijon mustard, and Italian seasoning. Simmer for 4-5 minutes or until the sauce has reduced somewhat.
- Stir in the cream and cook for another 3-5 minutes (it'll warm through and reduce a bit).
- Season generously with salt & pepper as needed and toss with the drained pasta. Serve with parmesan cheese if desired.
Notes
- The Dijon mustard isn’t totally necessary (you don’t have to buy a jar just for this recipe), but it’s great for building flavor in sauces like this one, so I always keep some in my fridge. You can always taste and add more if needed.
- Feel free to up the Italian seasoning if you want a stronger herby flavor. I personally prefer just a hint in this recipe.
- You can use a can of tomato sauce instead of the diced tomatoes if you don’t like pieces of tomatoes (or try petite diced tomatoes).
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
© Salt & Lavender Inc. Content and photographs are copyrighted. Sharing this blog post is much appreciated, but copying and pasting full recipes without authorization to social media is strictly prohibited.
This recipe was originally published on October 24, 2020. It’s been updated with new photos and better instructions but is the same great recipe!
This recipe is so quick, simple, and delicious. I can’t eat dairy, so I used the coconut cream at the top of a can of full fat coconut milk and it worked perfectly. Thanks for this recipe!
Wonderful! You’re very welcome, Mary!
Looking forward to make it
Enjoy!
This was easy to throw together and tasted even better the next day.
Would make this again.
Fantastic!! Thanks, Diana!
I loved how easy this was! I doubled the recipe because I had 1lb ground beef and 1lb hot Italian sausage. Added basil, oregano, crushed red pepper, garlic powder and fennel. I like spices. 🤣😉
Thank you so much! Love those additions!!
This one was super easy and extremely delicious. We all loved it. The heavy cream, dijon, and tomato paste make for a really tasty sauce.
Thank you so much!
Great recipe ive made it several times. Its like homemade hamburger helper. Always a crowd pleaser.
I’m so happy you enjoy it, Brooke!! Thanks for your review!
I see mention of beef broth, but don’t see that in the list of ingredients. When do I add that?
Hi Steph! I don’t add beef broth to this recipe. Are you referring to the comments section where someone mentioned it? You could add a splash if you wanted to thin the sauce/make a bit more of it if you feel it needs it at the end, but I don’t add it as written. Hope you enjoy the recipe!
Made as directed. Yummy, quick and easy! Will make this again. Whole family loved it.
That’s awesome!!
Tastes exactly like the Hamburger Helper I remember! I love that I can make it MSG free – which gives me stomach issues.
The only difference is that I cooked down 1 1 lb 12 oz can of tomatoes by 75% and added less water in my broth so I could add more veggies.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!!
My family loved this! I did change things up a bit though. I used gluten-free pasta, Beyond meat (instead of ground beef) and used full fat coconut milk. I also added some crushed red peppers. So yummy 😋
I’m so glad you were able to adapt it!