One Pot Beef and Macaroni
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This Mediterranean spiced Beef and Macaroni recipe is a family favorite. It’s easy to make in one pot with 15 minutes of prep time for a quick and delicious dinner!
Table of contents
Happy New Year friends! For the first new recipe of 2015 I’m so excited to share this Bond family favorite that I put my own little twist on!
If one of your new years resolutions was to cook more delicious dinners during the week, then this beef and macaroni dish is the perfect recipe to start with! It’s made in one pot with only 15 minutes of prep time, making it a quick and easy recipe to cook and clean up.
My brother introduced this recipe to my family in 2003 and we’ve kept it in regular rotation ever since. After making this dish on Christmas Eve for my family, I realized that I had never shared it on the blog and decided that it was about time I did! I seriously love the taste of this dish and the house smells so amazing with the cinnamon cooking into the beef, onion and garlic.
For my updated version of the Mediterranean Macaroni and Beef Recipe I added beef broth to cook the pasta right into the dish, thus making it a “One Pot Dish” and even easier than the original recipe!
Ingredients
- Olive oil – or another neutral-flavored oil.
- Ground beef – you could also use ground turkey to lighten things up.
- Onions – you’ll need one cup of diced yellow onions or red onions for this recipe, which is equal to one small onion, or half of a large onion.
- Garlic – I recommend fresh minced cloves for the best flavor.
- Ground cinnamon, salt, cayenne pepper, and ground cloves – to season the dish.
- Red wine – I recommend using a cabernet sauvignon, or another full-bodied red wine. You can also omit the wine and simply add an additional ½ cup beef broth or replace the wine with ½ cup grape juice.
- Roma tomatoes – if you can’t find roma tomatoes, quartered cherry tomatoes can also be used in place of the roma tomatoes.
- Tomato sauce – a small 8 ounce can is perfect for this recipe.
- Macaroni noodles – any small noodles will work in this recipe. I’ve made it with cavatappi, elbow macaroni, rotini, and small shells. You will not boil the noodles before adding them to the dish. They cook right into the dish, so for the recipe to work, you will want to use a small noodle that will cook in the broth and tomato sauce in 15-20 minutes.
- Beef broth – since this is the main ingredient used to cook the pasta dish, I recommend purchasing, or making, a high-quality beef stock, or broth. Beef stock has a richer, deeper flavor than beef broth. I found this Custom Culinary Beef Base at a restaurant supply store in San Diego and am absolutely obsessed with it.
- Parmesan cheese – this ingredient is an optional topping, but highly recommended!
Instructions
I’ve included step by step photos below to make this recipe super easy to follow at home. For the full detailed recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Brown the ground beef. Heat olive oil in a large pot, or dutch oven, on the stove over medium-high heat. Add diced onions and cook for 4-5 minutes. Add minced garlic and cook for an additional minute. Place the ground beef in the skillet, crumble and cook until no longer pink. Drain any grease from the pot, then place it back on the stove.
- Season the beef. Add ground cinnamon, salt, cayenne pepper, and ground cloves to the pot. Stir to combine the spices with the ground beef. Cook for 3-4 minutes.
- Add the liquid and noodles. Add red wine, diced roma tomatoes and tomato sauce to the pot. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add the dry macaroni noodles to the pot, then pour the beef broth over the noodles and stir to combine everything, making sure the noodles are fully covered in liquid.
- Simmer the dish. Cover the pot, reduce the heat on the stove to low, and cook for 20-25 minutes, or until the noodles are tender and the liquid has cooked down.
Serve the dish topped with fresh grated parmesan cheese, and optionally garnish with fresh chopped basil, parsley, or green onions.
Storage and reheating
This dish is great leftover! Store any leftover spiced beef and macaroni in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Reheat the leftovers in the microwave or on the stove. One portion of the macaroni will reheat in the microwave in 2-3 minutes. Or you can reheat as much of the beef and macaroni as you’d like in a pot on the stove over medium heat for 5-7 minutes. If the pasta looks like it’s starting to dry out, add 1-2 tablespoons of water or broth to the dish.
What to serve with it
This spiced beef and macaroni dish is delicious paired with buttery bread or a fresh salad on the side! Try it with any of these recipes.
More one pot recipes
Keep dinnertime cleanup easy by making your entire meal in one dish!
One Pot Beef and Macaroni
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ cup red wine
- 2 roma tomatoes, diced
- 8 ounce can tomato sauce
- 2 cups macaroni or cavatappi noodles
- 2 cups beef broth
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese, grated
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot, or dutch oven, on the stove over medium-high heat.
- Add diced onions and cook for 4-5 minutes. Add minced garlic and cook for an additional minute. Place the ground beef in the skillet, crumble and cook until no longer pink. Drain any grease from the pot, then place it back on the stove.
- Add the cinnamon, cayenne pepper and ground cloves, cook for 3-4 minutes.
- Add the red wine, diced roma tomatoes and tomato sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes, then add the noodles.
- Pour the beef broth over the noodles and stir everything together, making sure the noodles are fully covered in liquid.
- Cover the pot, reduce the heat to low, and cook for 20-25 minutes, or until the noodles are tender and the liquid has cooked down.
- Serve topped with grated parmesan cheese.
Notes
- Gluten Free Option: Substitute gluten-free macaroni noodles to make the recipe gluten free.
- Leftovers: Store any leftover spiced beef and macaroni in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat the leftovers in the microwave or on the stove.
Nutrition Facts
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7 Comments on “One Pot Beef and Macaroni”
Thank you, I have that too I will try it ☺️
Hi I want to make this tonight, I have everything except the Redwine. Can you use red wine vinegar?
Hi Dawn, I would not replace the red wine with red wine vinegar, it will be too acidic. Instead I would use about 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar. Enjoy!
Hi there! I want to try making this tonight. Can you tell me what type of red wine you used?
Hi Jasmine! I used cabernet. Enjoy 🙂
Hi again! Thanks for responding. I did use cabernet and the dish turned out delicious! I will be making it again for sure! Also, wanted to let you know I’ve done several of your other recipes, and have loved each of them, but never commented. Thanks for sharing them! 🙂
Oh great, thank you so much for commenting Jasmine! I love to hear that! Please keep me posted of what other recipes you make and love 🙂