You need this quick, easy casserole in your life whether it's a busy week or back-to-school chaos.
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Table of Contents
🗝️ Key takeaways
- Delicious, 30-minute meal "spices up" a regular spaghetti dinner
- Great recipe for busy weeknights (leftovers are awesome, too!)
- Cooking the meat in the bacon grease is a great way to add a savory Southern flair
A family favorite for all ages, this cowboy spaghetti recipe gets everyone excited for dinner time—to that, I say "Yee-haw!"
Smoky bacon, chili powder, and fire-roasted tomatoes add tons of flavor, making this the kind of fusion dish you'll want to serve again and again.
🧾 Ingredients
This is an overview of the ingredients. You'll find the full measurements and instructions in the green recipe card (printable) at the bottom of the page.
📖 Variations
- Swap the beef for ground turkey, chicken, or sausage. You can even use a combination if you've got different kinds of meat to use up.
- If you don't have kidney beans, black beans will work just fine.
- We like the flavor of sharp cheddar cheese in cowboy spaghetti, but feel free to get fancy with Monterey or Pepper-Jack cheese.
- If you want a little bit of spice, choose the Rotel with green chilies, or stir in some pimento. For more heat, add sliced jalapenos.
🔪 Instructions
This is an overview of the instructions. Full instructions are in the green recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Cook bacon in a cast iron skillet and remove with a slotted spoon. Then, brown the ground beef, garlic, onions, and peppers in the same skillet.
- Add the tomato sauce, beans, Rotel, chili powder, Worcestershire, seasonings, and cooked spaghetti noodles.
- Stir in some of the cheese and crisp bacon.
- Top with remaining cheese and bake. Garnish with green onions and remaining bacon before enjoying.
🥫 How to store leftovers
Kids never complain when they hear we have leftovers of cowboy spaghetti—and since that means dinner is ready to go, I don't either!
Let the spaghetti cool a little before spooning it into an airtight container. You can refrigerate it for three days or freeze it for about three months.
The easiest way to reheat cowboy spaghetti is in the microwave. Let frozen leftovers thaw in the fridge overnight. Then, pop it into a microwave-safe bowl and warm it for a minute or two, stirring midway.
💭 Things to know
Expert Tip: If you don't have a large, deep skillet, feel free to use your favorite frying/saute pan. Then, transfer the spaghetti to a greased casserole dish for baking.
- When browning the ground sirloin, be sure to use a wooden spoon or spatula. This allows you to scrape the bottom of the skillet to release those yummy browned bits—without damaging the cast iron finish.
- I use lean ground beef, but if you choose a fattier blend, you'll want to drain off the excess grease so that your cowboy spaghetti isn't oily.
- Don't forget to salt your pasta water! It should taste as salty as the sea.
- Cook the pasta to al dente so that it doesn't get mushy. Look for a tender, chewy texture that is still a little bit firm.
👩🍳 FAQs
Unless you want a really crunchy dinner—and not in a good way—yes, you have to cook the noodles. Using leftover cooked pasta noodles (plain or lightly sauced) can help you speed up prep.
Yes ma'am! Add the spaghetti mixture to a baking dish, and refrigerate it for up to two days. When you're ready for dinner, pull it out (while the oven preheats) and bake as directed. Enjoy!
Of course! Not in the mood for meat? Want to serve this as a side dish? Simply omit the bacon and beef and cook as directed. Maybe add another can of beans.
📚 Related recipes
- Southern Chicken Spaghetti is made in under 30 minutes and has so much flavor—my recipe makes the creamiest, cheesiest sauce ever!
- Hearty, satisfying Tex-Mex flavors and super simple prep make One Pot Taco Spaghetti a must for dinner... in fact, try it for dinner tonight!
- Quick, easy, and noodle-free, Cowboy Casserole with Tater Tots comes together effortlessly and makes the whole family happy.
🍽️ Serve with...
- Frito Corn Salad is the perfect, lighter pairing for a heavy spaghetti dinner. Plus, kids love to eat salad when it's topped with crunchy chips!
- Candied Jalapenos are the perfect spicy/sweet topping for cowboy spaghetti (as well as casseroles, sandwiches, tacos, and much more.)
- 10-Minute Southern Chocolate Cobbler is decadent and rich. With a slight Tex-Mex flair, it's the perfect way to finish off your tasty dinner.
📞 The last word
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need.
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖 Recipe
Cowboy Spaghetti
Print Pin Recipe Rate RecipeIngredients
- 12 ounces spaghetti
- ½ pound bacon, chopped - divided use
- 1-½ pounds lean ground beef, I used 90/10
- 3 garlic cloves, mashed
- 2 cups onion, chopped
- 2 cups bell peppers, diced or sliced
- 15 ounces kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 15 ounces tomato sauce
- 10 ounces Rotel, undrained
- 1-½ tablespoon chili powder, use more to taste
- 1 ½ tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 3 cups cheddar cheese, shredded from a block- divided use
- green onions, garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Cook spaghetti in a pot of salted water until tender. Drain.
- In a large cast iron skillet (I used 12-inch), cook the bacon until crisp, stirring often so it doesn't burn.
- Remove bacon and drain on paper towels.
- Add beef, garlic, and onion to the bacon drippings in the skillet.
- Cook until beef is no longer pink and the onion is tender, about 5-7 minutes.
- Stir in tomato sauce, beans, Rotel, chili powder, Worcestershire sauce, cumin, and oregano.
- Carefully fold in the spaghetti.
- Stir in 1-½ cups cheese and half the bacon.
- Top with remaining 1-½ cups cheese.
- Bake until heated through, 20-25 minutes.
- Sprinkle with green onions and remaining bacon.
- Serve hot.
Notes
- If you don't have a large, deep skillet, feel free to use your favorite frying/saute pan. Then, transfer the spaghetti to a greased casserole dish for baking.
- When browning the ground sirloin, be sure to use a wooden spoon or spatula. This allows you to scrape the bottom of the skillet to release those yummy browned bits—without damaging the cast iron finish.
- I use lean ground beef, but if you choose a fattier blend, you'll want to drain off the excess grease so that your cowboy spaghetti isn't oily.
- Don't forget to salt your pasta water! It should taste as salty as the sea.
- Cook the pasta to al dente so that it doesn't get mushy. Look for a tender, chewy texture that is still a little bit firm.
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
This recipe has been tested several times. If you choose to use other ingredients, or change the technique in some way, the results may not be the same.
Cookee says
Hi Marye,
I would give most of your recipes 5 stars except...Exasperated pause... Like most recipe sites your prep time is totally and inconceivable in the true time. It takes longer than 5 minutes just to cook the ground beef. Even if you say to pre prep some of it is still considered for any home cook as prep time. How about a breakdown of time for each item in your dish, not including frozen chopped onions and peppers. Just to be truthful...take a can of kidney beans, open, drain, and rinse, put in pan and throw can in trash??? How long is that part of your 5 minutes (without running). Now come on Matte the truth on prep time for average homemaker.
Can't wait to see your breakdown of prep time. Hope you post it as well as my comment. Hugs, love your recipes...Really!
Marye says
Please don't rate my recipes until you try them. Stars have a big impact on them and it's unfair to rate them without trying. Saying that - I have no idea how anyone else preps - I only know how I do it. Before I begin I measure my ingredients, open cans, etc. I have been cooking for decades so chopping is quick and easy - sometimes I buy pre-chopped vegetables. I place all my trash and scraps to the side and throw them out when I'm done. Since everything is out, measured, etc. I don't create extra steps for myself. This is how I learned to cook. My prep times are accurate for me - there's no way I could predict how anyone else cooks.