Taco Mac & Cheese Pasta Pie

This is my take on the viral Tik Tok Honeycomb Pasta. I spiced it up by using cheese sauce and taco meat instead of the traditional spaghetti sauce and mozzarella. Then I also added some taco toppings to make this one of the best pastas I have ever made or eaten! Pasta, tacos, and cheese sauce? It was like taco Macaroni & cheese, but with rigatoni noodles. Every bite had some cheese sauce in between the noodles. Super rich, creamy and definitely one of the most delicious pastas I have ever made! So fun to make and even more fun to eat! This is a recipe that will be going in my Fat Foodie Cook E book since its not really Fit Foodie approved.

Stay tuned for my Fit Foodie Cook E Book 2.0 coming soon! Go check out my current cook eBook to see some of my favorite meal prep cook book recipes.

I hope you enjoy this recipe! Comment below or tag me if you make this! 

CHEESE SAUCE:

1 stick butter

1/4 cup flour

3 cups milk

1 cup chicken stock

taco seasoning

 2 cups freshly grated cheddar cheese

Taco Pie Ingredients:

Rigatoni pasta (1 lb)

salt (to taste)

taco seasoning 

1.5 pounds ground beef, 

1 24 ounce jar salsa

chopped onion, 1/4 cup

garlic, 2 cloves minced

1 jalapeno, sliced

1 tomato, diced

1 cup Monterey jack cheese

for garnishes on top use any taco toppings of your choice, I used: 

jalapenos, green onions, sliced ramps, cucumber chunks, and cilantro. 

Start by browning your ground beef, strain and add taco seasoning, onion, garlic, and salsa. Let them simmer together. While this is simmering, make your rigatoni, and strain. Take a spring form pie dish and place one half of the taco meat mixture on the bottom. Layer the rigatoni upright in the pie pan. Next make your cheese sauce by melting butter in a sauce pan. Add flour slowly and stir continuously to make your roux. Then slowly add in the milk and chicken stock. Add in a pinch or two of taco seasoning to the cheese sauce. Let this come to just below a boil and then add in your grated cheddar cheese, reducing the heat and stirring until all the cheese is melted. Let the sauce thicken. Once it's reached desired thickness, pour the cheese sauce over your noodles. Top with the second half of taco meat mixture. And then sprinkle 1 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese over the meat mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Broil for 2 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for 20 minutes or so before slicing so it stays together and is easier to serve. Open spring form pan up and slice your Mac & Cheese Taco Pie. Serve and enjoy! If you make this recipe tag me! I would love to see your creations and versions of this!