Tex-Mex meets Italian in this cowboy spaghetti, a hearty pasta casserole that bursts with bold flavor thanks to bacon, ground beef and savory beans.
In the 1960s and ’70s, Italian film directors began making low-budget Western movies that were dubbed “spaghetti Westerns.” Cowboy spaghetti is the culinary equivalent: a mashup of cozy Italian staple foods with flavors from the American Southwest. This ground beef pasta recipe makes a fantastic centerpiece to any family meal, served alongside a big green salad, vegetable sides and garlic bread.
Our recipe for cowboy spaghetti combines pasta and tomato sauce with bacon, ground beef, beans, chili-spiced tomatoes, cumin and pepper jack cheese. The result is a bold one-pot meal that’s hearty enough to satisfy the hungriest members of your crew. It makes a great work-night dinner, pairs perfectly with a ball game and is a happy surprise at a potluck.
Ingredients for Cowboy Spaghetti
Spaghetti: Spaghetti is in the name, but this meal would be just as fantastic if made with linguine or fettuccine. A short, chunky pasta shape such as penne would also work perfectly.
Bacon: Rendering the fat from smoky bacon and using that fat to cook the other ingredients is a wonderful way to pack flavor into a dish. Thick-cut is the best bacon to use for our cowboy spaghetti recipe so you get good chunks throughout the pasta.
Lean ground beef: Because you’ll be cooking the beef in bacon fat, you can get away with using a nice lean grind.
Onion: Yellow or white onions are the best types of onions for casseroles like this, but red onion works in a pinch.
Kidney beans: Home-cooked or canned kidney beans work equally well in a recipe for cowboy spaghetti. You could also use pinto beans or Instant Pot black beans.
Tomato sauce: Use the best jarred pasta sauce to make an amazingly flavorful base for your cowboy spaghetti.
Diced tomatoes and green chiles: Look for chili-seasoned tomatoes and green chiles. Or, simply combine a can of regular diced tomatoes, a can of mild green chiles and a couple extra dashes of chili powder.
Chili powder: Every brand is different, but chili powder usually includes paprika, oregano, garlic and onion powders, and cumin. It gives a smoky, rich and earthy flavor to food.
Worcestershire sauce: A surprise ingredient that is neither Italian nor American, Worcestershire sauce has a savory, tangy flavor that enhances whatever it touches.
Spices: Although all three are ingredients in chili powder, extra cumin, dried oregano and garlic powder are called for in this recipe for cowboy spaghetti. These flavors are emphasized in the sauce.
Pepper jack cheese: Perfectly melty and mild but with a kick, pepper jack is a fantastic topping for a casserole. Buy a block and shred it yourself, as pre-shredded cheese often has additives that prevent it from melting well.
Green onions: Just before serving, sprinkle green onions or scallions on the finished cowboy spaghetti recipe for an extra bit of flavor.
Directions
Step 1: Cook the spaghetti
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Cook the spaghetti according to the package directions.
Editor’s Tip: Because you’ll continue to cook the spaghetti in the sauce and then bake it in the oven, it’s good to cook the spaghetti to al dente in this first step.
Step 2: Make the sauce
In a 12-inch cast-iron skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat until crisp, stirring occasionally. Remove it with a slotted spoon, and drain on paper towels. Add the beef and onion to the drippings and cook, stirring, until the beef is no longer pink, five to seven minutes, breaking down the meat into smaller crumbles as you go.
Stir in the beans, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, chili powder, Worcestershire sauce, cumin, oregano and garlic powder.
Step 3: Build the spaghetti casserole
Drain the spaghetti and stir it into the skillet.
Add 1-1/2 cups cheese and half the bacon. Top with the remaining 1-1/2 cups cheese.
Step 4: Bake the cowboy spaghetti
Bake the casserole until heated through, 20 to 25 minutes. If desired, sprinkle with the remaining bacon and the green onions.
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