Busy weeknight dinners just got easier with this One-Pan Beefy Cheesy Pasta Skillet. A streamlined version of an old family favorite, this spaghetti-inspired meal will be on your table in under 30 minutes, ready to satisfy!
Fall. The season of back-to-school shopping, fall sports practices, and actually being able to turn your oven on again for the first time in months. The lazy days of summer are gone. If you’re anything like me, your life is filled with carpools, piano lessons, and various and sundry sporting events.
With everyone in the family busy with their own activities once again, family dinners sometimes get tricky. After all, who has time to spend hours in the kitchen preparing a gourmet meal when you need to be helping with homework and driving to soccer practice?
Simple, hearty meals become essential this time of year.
One-Pan Beefy Cheesy Pasta Skillet
That’s why this family-friendly One-Pan Beefy Cheesy Pasta Skillet makes the perfect weeknight dinner. It comes together in less than half an hour, only requires washing one pan afterwards, and it’s a hearty crowd pleaser!
Most families have their favorite incarnation of spaghetti, and it’s a pretty simple meal on it’s own. However, this one-pan pasta skillet streamlines the process even further to create a ridiculously easy-to-make meal that requires minimal clean-up. It’s comfort food at its best; pasta, meat sauce, and a healthy dose of gooey cheese to top it off.
For this recipe, I love to use my own spaghetti sauce that I make from the Roma tomatoes I grow in my garden (nothing beats the flavor!), but you can definitely use store-bought spaghetti sauce in a pinch. I won’t judge. We’re all trying to survive and feed our families here.
All you need to get started is a large, deep skillet. Prep a few items quickly, let everything simmer for a bit, and voila! You have a complete meal to feed a hungry crowd!
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1/2 medium onion, diced
- 1 jar (24-ounce) pasta sauce (or make your own)
- 4 cups water or broth
- 16 ounces pasta (rotini, penne, bowtie, etc.)
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- Fresh basil, for garnish, optional
Instructions
- In a large, deep skillet, brown ground beef with onion. Drain excess grease.
- Add pasta sauce and water/broth. Bring to a boil.
- Stir pasta into sauce, covering pasta with the liquid.
- Cover skillet and simmer on medium heat, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, until pasta is cooked through, about 10-12 minutes.
- Stir in half of the mozzarella cheese, then sprinkle the other half on top. Replace lid and let cheese melt.
- Garnish with basil if desired, and serve immediately.
Notes
Home Chef Tip: You can boost the healthy factor of this meal easily by sneaking some puréed veggies into the sauce. I’ve added a half cup of cooked and puréed carrots, sweet potatoes, and zucchini in the sauce without the kids even noticing it’s in their dinner.
We hope you love this 30-Minute, One-Pan Beefy Cheesy Pasta Skillet recipe from SoFabFood Contributor, Megan from The Many Little Joys, as much as we do. If you love this delightful recipe, stop by our 30-Minute Meals section to find more like it. For daily recipe inspiration, subscribe to our newsletter, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Pinterest. Enjoy!
