One Pot Cajun Beef Pasta with lots-of-veg

4.88 from 31 votes

One Pot Cajun Beef Pasta with lots-of-veg

Recipe video above. A big bubbly beefy pasta in a Cajun flavoured tomato sauce, filled with lots of hidden vegetables, all made in one pot! Love that it's a complete meal, and a great way to stretch 500g/1lb beef to serve more people with the bonus of a stack of "hidden" vegetables (carrot, zucchini ,zucchini, canned tomato and onion - yes, onion counts towards daily veg intake!).

Leftovers are excellent! Fridge or freeze.

Prep Time15

Cook Time25

Course: Main, One Pot Meals

Cuisine: Western

Keyword: beef pasta, cajun beef pasta, cajun pasta, One Pot Pasta

Servings: - 8

Calories: 507cal

Author: Nagi

Ingredients

One-pot pasta:

1 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves , finely minced
1 onion , chopped
500g/ 1 lb beef mince (ground beef) (Note 1)
1 carrot , medium, shredded using box grater (I keep skin on)
1 zucchini , medium, shredded using box grater (Note 2)
1 red capsicum (bell pepper), chopped (Note 2)
2 tbsp tomato paste
800g/ 28 oz canned crushed tomato
400g/ 14 oz kidney beans , drained (or other beans of choice, can omit)
2 cups chicken stock/broth , low sodium (sub beef stock)
2 cups water (just regular tap water!)
350g / 12 oz (3 cups) elbow pasta (macaroni) , spirals, penne, ziti, small shells, rigatoni or similar size, uncooked (Note 3)
1 1/2 cups (tightly packed) colby cheese or other melting cheese of choice, preferably freshly shredded (melts better)
1 green onion stem , finely sliced (optional garnish)

Cajun spices:

1 1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 1/2 tbsp paprika (sweet/regular, not smoked or spicy)
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper , optional (faintly spicy)
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 1/4 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt

Cups - Metric

Instructions

Heat the oil in a large heavy based pot with a lid over high heat.
Cook vegetables - Cook the onion and garlic for 2 minutes. Add the beef and cook, breaking it up as you go, until you no longer see red meat. Add the carrot and zucchini, cook for 2 minutes until the water they release mostly evaporates. Add the capsicum and cook for 2 minutes.
Spices - Add the tomato paste and Cajun Spices. Cook for 1 minute.
Pasta sauce - Add the canned tomato, water (I swill the cans clean), stock and beans. Mix and bring to a simmer.
Add the pasta, stir, let it come back up to the simmer. Put the lid on and lower the heat slightly to medium so the liquid is simmering (not bubbling madly).
Cook for 15 minutes, stirring every few minutes so the base doesn't catch. The pasta should be a bit firmer than you want in the middle, and still a bit soupy which is good! Liquid gets absorbed in the next step.
Melt cheese - Give it a stir, smooth the surface, sprinkle with cheese. Put the lid on then turn the stove off (leave the pot on the stove). Leave for 3 minutes so the residual heat melts the cheese and the pasta finishes cooking.
Serve - Remove from the stove, sprinkle with green onion if desired, then serve immediately while saucy and the cheese is gooey!

Notes

1. Protein - This recipe works best with beef, I feel. Chicken and turkey gets a little dry for my taste, though you could use them (I'd increase the spices a bit, same for pork). I think lamb and cajun spices in a pasta is a little odd? But I could be wrong!

A reader also made this with kangaroo and reported delicious results!

2. Vegetables - You can switch the carrot, zucchini capsicum for other vegetables, just chop them in a way that makes sense. A huge handful of baby spinach stirred in just before topping with cheese comes to mind. I like shredding the carrot and zucchini because it disappears.

3. Pasta - the 3 cup measure for 350g/12 oz is for elbow pasta/macaroni only. The cup quantity for other pasta shapes will differ.

Leftovers - So delicious! Keeps better than many pastas because it's so nice and saucy so it doesn't get too stodgy and dry. Fridge 4 days, freezer 3 months! Making ahead - If making the whole dish ahead intentionally, stop after step 6, take it off the stove and let it cool (you could even transfer into an ovenproof dish at this stage). Sprinkle with cheese then fridge or freeze!

Nutrition per serving assuming 8 servings.

Nutrition