This Simple Beef and Shells skillet is a perfect ground beef pasta recipe the whole family will love! Ready in under 30 minutes, this easy cheesy pasta dinner is packed with spinach, tomatoes and just the right amount of Italian Seasoning. Who wants seconds?
Ground Beef Pasta Skillet–it’s what’s for dinner!
If a dinner recipe can’t be ready in 30 minutes or less, then I want no part in it whatsoever.
Who’s got time, or the energy for that–unless of course it’s something in the slow cooker. I want my dinners quick and I want them easy. And I don’t want the same three or four recipes on repeat. Is that too much to ask?
Oh and there is one more thing, I want them to be put on the table with ZERO arguments. Like, I place the plates in front of the family and they look at me with a twinkle in their eyes and a big smile. Then they say “Thanks, Ma,” and dive in.
One more thing, if it’s not too much to ask: leftovers. I want recipes that give me some leftovers. But the husband doesn’t eat leftovers, Lorie, is that what you are thinking? I know, I know, he really doesn’t and I have slowly given up on parts of that dream.
Buuu-uut, guess who ate leftovers of this ground beef pasta? Yep, you guessed it, my lovely husband. And he did it HAPPILY, might I add.
In the 11 years we have been together, that has NEVER EVER EVER happened. So this recipe is now going down as most epic dinner in my book. If I can crank two nights out of one dinner, my week is made.
Do you have to use ground beef in this recipe?
Technically no. But I guess if you use turkey, you will want to call it a Turkey and Shells Skillet dinner, right? I don’t do a lot of beef in our house for two reasons: One, beef is pricier than turkey. And two, I like skipping the draining part when it comes to cooking. One less thing to do is what am all about in the kitchen.
You can honestly use ground turkey or even ground chicken to replace the beef in this grouch beef pasta. You could even use a meatless ground meat substitute. There are a lot of options for ways to modify this delish dinner to meet anyone’s needs or taste.
What you will need to make this simple ground beef pasta recipe:
- Pasta: I typically use what are called “salad shells,” and they are perfect bite sized shells. Like I mentioned earlier, as long as you cook your pasta according to the package, you should be able to use several other options such as rotini, penne and more.
- Pasta Water: Not pictured but very important. The starchy water is key to helping seal the deal on this ground beef pasta. It adds flavor and helps to thicken things up in this pasta dish.
- Italian Seasoning: I use an Italian seasoning that does NOT include garlic. If your seasoning does have garlic, lessen the amount of garlic powder you add to the recipe and then adjust to taste.
I have all of these ingredients more often than not around the house. I don’t always have ground beef in the freezer so I make this recipe with ground turkey sometimes and find it to be great as well. The bonus of using ground turkey is that you don’t have to drain any oil.
How to make this recipe:
- Prepare pasta according to package instructions. Don’t forget to reserve about 3/4 cup of the pasta water before draining the shells. If you are a meal prepper, you can easily make the pasta ahead of time to save a few minutes when putting this ground beef and shells recipe together. Bonus!
- Heat olive oil in skillet. When it is glistening, add in onion. Cook until the onions start to become translucent. (steps 1 and 2)
- Scoot the onions to the side and add in ground beef. Break it up into chunks and cook until browned (there will be no red in meat at this point), stirring regularly. Drain the excess oil if desired. The onions should be almost clear at this time. (steps 3 and 4)
- Add in spinach, diced tomatoes and spices. I drain the tomatoes before adding. It is not necessary but I prefer it that way. If you don’t drain the tomatoes, just add a little less pasta water to start and add more as desired. Stir to combine and allow the spinach to wilt. (steps 5 and 6)
- Turn heat to medium low and add in the parmesan and 1/2 cup of reserved pasta water. Stir to combine. Allow to simmer for 3-5 minutes to thicken slightly. (steps 7 and 8)
- Add pasta into the ground beef mixture and toss to combine. Add more reserved pasta water if desired. If your skillet is small, you can opt to add the beef mixture into the pasta pan instead for easier mixing. The skillet I used in these photos was small and it was a super tight squeeze to add the pasta. Top with more cheese and some fresh parsley and serve! (steps 9 and 10)
Pro-Tips/Notes:
- Meal prepping tip: make your pasta ahead of time over the weekend. All you will have to do is stir it in when the rest has cooked up. That is one less thing you will need to worry about when making dinner.
- As mentioned before, feel free to use another ground meat! Turkey, chicken, a meat free substitute.
- Reserved pasta water–this is the secret behind so many pasta recipes. That starchy water does its magic on this pasta recipe and is a great ingredient to use when making pasta dishes.
Check out some of my other FAVORITE simple dinner recipes!!
- Parmesan Crusted Steak and Potatoes Sheet Pan Dinner
- Instant Pot Carnitas
- Baked Cashew Chicken
- Simple Chicken and Biscuit Skillet Dinner
- One Pot Chili Mac and Cheese
DID YOU MAKE ONE OF MY RECIPES? LEAVE A COMMENT AND LET ME KNOW! I ALSO LOVE TO SEE YOUR LEMONS + ZEST RECIPES ON SOCIAL MEDIA–TAG ME @LEMONSANDZEST ON INSTAGRAM OR FACEBOOK!
Simple Beef Pasta Skillet
Ingredients
- 16 oz box of pasta shells
- 1 lb ground beef
- 2-3 c baby spinach
- ½ onion, diced
- 1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
- ¾ c grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ¼ – ½ tsp crushed red pepper
- 2 T olive oil
- ½ tsp cracked pepper
- ½ tsp salt, more or less to taste
- 3/4 c reserved pasta water
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to pasta directions. When draining, reserve about 3/4 cup of the past water for later. Toss pasta with about 1 tablespoon olive oil and set aside.
- While pasta is cooking, in a large skillet, heat one tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. When glistening, add onion and cook 1-2 minutes. Add in ground beef and brown, stirring regularly. (about 7-9 minutes) Drain any excess oil.
- When beef is cooked, add in spinach, tomatoes seasonings, salt and pepper. Cook until spinach is wilted and ingredients are combined. Turn heat to medium low and add in 1/2 cup reserved pasta water and parmesan. Stir to combine and simmer for several minutes to allow to thicken.
- Add in pasta and toss to combine.
- Add freshly shredded mozzarella and chopped parsley when serving if desired.
Notes
- Meal prepping tip: make your pasta ahead of time over the weekend. All you will have to do is stir it in when the rest has cooked up. That is one less thing you will need to worry about when making dinner.
- As mentioned before, feel free to use another ground meat! Turkey, chicken, a meat free substitute.
- Reserved pasta water–this is the secret behind so many pasta recipes. That starchy water does its magic on this pasta recipe and is a great ingredient to use when making pasta dishes.
What is a serving size for this recipe
Hi! Sorry for the delay. If basing the recipe off of 8 servings, then the serving size is about 1 1/2 cups. The nutrition info is based on 6 servings so a serving size is a bit closer to 2 cups. Sometimes it’s hard to decide what the realistic serving size is!
My family raved about this. It will become a regular on our family menu. Thank you so much!
Yay!!! I love love love hearing this. My hubby is a tough critic and he loves this one so I figure that has to be a winner for many others too!