Garnish this MEXICAN BOWTIE PASTA BAKE with fresh avocado, sour cream, cilantro and a favorite hot sauce. Makes for great leftovers too.
Mexican Bowtie Pasta Bake
I currently have a pantry full of bowtie pasta that seems to have accumulated and multiplied beyond a reasonable amount. Does that happen at your house? It’s time to use it up and move on.
My boys don’t like bowtie pasta with red marinara sauce, which is mostly how pasta is served around here. It’s just not their favorite, hence the accumulation I suppose. They prefer this Weeknight Italian Sausage Pasta Sauce or this Pepperoni Skillet Sausage Pasta dish.
Related: Chicken Poblano Casserole
Garnish was key with this recipe; fresh avocado, sour cream, cilantro and one of our favorite hot sauces really brought out the flavors.
We have “super love” for this dish! You will too.
Enjoy it, we sure did.
Two years ago I made these Lite Bean and Cheese Enchiladas and they are so great if you’re watching your calorie intake. Three years ago Bert’s Southern Fried Chicken changed the way I make fried chicken.
Mexican Bowtie Pasta Bake
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cups diced onion
- 1/2 cup finely diced pickled jalapenos
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- 15 ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
- 2 Tablespoons chili powder
- 1 Tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground oregano
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
- 1 pound ground beef (90/10)
- 2 cans (3 cups) evaporated milk
- 2 (11 ounce) cans mexicorn, drained
- 3/4 pound (12 oz) bowtie pasta, dry
- 2 cups shredded monterey jack cheese
- 2 cups shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese
- Garnish with cilantro, sour cream, avocado and hot sauce
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare 13 x 9 or 3 quart baking dish by spraying it with cooking spray. Cook pasta according to package directions.
- In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, add olive oil and saute onions until soft; about 5-8 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant; about 30 seconds. Add jalapenos, tomatoes, chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper. Make sure to incorporate all ingredients well.
- Add ground beef and saute until slightly browned with other ingredients. Add milk and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in mexicorn.
- Add pasta to the meat mixture and mix well. Place half of the mixture in your baking dish and top with monterey jack cheese. Place the rest of the mixture on top of the monterey jack and top with cheddar cheese.
- Bake uncovered for 30 minutes. Serve with cilantro, avocado, sour cream and hot sauce.
Ashley says
This sounds fantastic! I love the Mexican flair and bowtie pasta is my favorite. Something about that shape that I love : )
PaigeN says
Oh, I love you. Wait, I think I mean I love this dish. Well, in any case. LOVE!
Anna @ Crunchy Creamy Sweet says
My kiddos LOVE bowtie pasta! This will be a huge hit in our house!!
nicole @ I am a Honey Bee says
ooo I love casseroles like this. pinned so we can enjoy later
NancyC says
I can see why you and your family love this dish–it sounds so good!
tijuana (po' man meals) says
sounds and looks delicious. i am a casserole fanatic! 🙂
Lisa says
Definately going to make this! Do you think if I make the “saucy” part the night before and cookthe noodles the next day it would be OK? I’m thing this would be a great Bunco dinner but need to do most of the prep the night before.
Cathy says
Hmmm…I can’t say for sure it would be a good idea to make it the night before, as far as the saucy part. You run the risk of the sauce being soaked up by the meat and you might get it all back when heated up. I’ve seen this happen with other dishes. You could make the whole thing the night before and not bake it until the next day? But I would bring it to room temp before sticking in the oven. Garnishes are super important too.
Lisa says
Thanks – I’ll do that.
angela@spinachtiger says
Comfort kid friendly yummy!
Foodiewife says
Wow. This is comfort food at it’s finest. Yes, the garnishes are absolutely perfect. Thank you for sharing this recipe, so I can make it, too.
Karen Deborah says
How much would you multiply by to feed 150 people? looks like a good easy recipe.
Rhiannon says
Math. Just multiply everything by 18-ish.
The recipe listed about makes 8-10 servings. So divide 150 by 8-10 and you get 15-18. Preeeeety simple 🙂
shelly (cookies and cups) says
Love cheesy pasta! Pinned!
Katie says
Yum! I love making pasta bakes!
Sarah Park says
I love bowtie pasta in red sauce. We all do. I still have a lot of bowtie stocked here.
Kim in MD says
YUM! We are a family of bowtie pasta lovers and Southwest flavors, so I know this will be a huge hit in my house. This looks so comforting and delicious!
Stephanie @ Macaroni and Cheesecake says
This looks so delicious and comforting! I seriously want to eat it right now!:)
Missy says
HA– Well, I THOUGHT I had all of the ingredients, until I started into this! Have made a few adjustments, we’ll see how it turns out 😉
I knew I didn’t have any ground beef, but had chicken tenderloins thawed out that I needed to use, so I substituted that on purpose. The rest, I’m wingin’ it. Thanks for the recipe!
Cathy says
Enjoy!
leeanne rivard says
about the Mexican bow tie pasta..do you cook the pasta first or just mix it in with the chicken or beef ? thanks
Cathy says
Cook the pasta first.
pat murphy says
Never heard of ‘pickled jalapenos’ before. Do I purchase them in a jar or a can or what? Also, would it be in the ‘Mexican food’ section of the grocery store or where? Also, can regular salt or sea salt be used instead of kosher salt and what is the difference with kosher salt as far as taste goes?
Cathy says
Pickled jalapenos are in cans and jars in the Hispanic section of the grocery store. Kosher salt and table salt have the same taste but are different densities. You would use a much smaller amount of table salt in your dish since the kosher crystals are much larger.
ted says
This looks great! I want to add some chorizo to kick up the flavor. What a nice website.
suzan-in-nc says
What I love about this recipe is it’s a Mexican casserole using bowtie pasta in lieu of the usual tortilla chips…a welcome change. Plus if you want to go vegetarian, just omit the ground beef. It still has plenty of protein and flavor.
Bee says
Delicious! My family loved it! This will definitely be added to my list of go to recipes on busy nights. Thanks for another great recipe.
Debbie says
A print button would be helpful! I save recipes old school!
Debbie says
Sorry – I found it!
Mary says
What are the calories in this?
Ani Kindall says
Made tonight. Yummy, accurate well-written recipe. I used 2 cans drained original Rotel in place of the diced canned tomatoes and the diced jalapeños. Tri-color bows (what I had on hand) added color. I will definitely make it again. Thanks for the recipe.
Gerry Harris says
Is that peculiar college town Arcata and the school Humboldt State? I graduated from there a long time ago…it was a cool place around 1970. thanks for the recipe…looks delicious
Cathy says
Davis, California
Heather Bowman says
So I didnt have bowtie pasta and my regularly grocery store was strangely out…. thanks to our current health crisis…. so I substituted Ratitorie and cut the chili powder down to ½tsp as the stuff I buy is extremely spicy. Other than that I followed this recipe to a t. It is amazing! My picky very spice sensitive son even loved it! Hubby and daughter both had a very audible “mmm” with their first bite! This will definitly be making it’s way back onto our table soon!
debbie says
made this last night for dinner but made with rotisseri chicken instead of hamburger!
it was delicious! family loved! thank you for the recipe!
Baljinder Dhesi says
The whole family loved this dish and I loved making it, thank you for sharing