Garlic Parmesan Beef Pasta
With just a few minutes and a few ingredients, you can whip up this Garlic Parmesan Beef Pasta. So hearty, rich, and filling. An easy dinner!
A Quick Ground Beef and Pasta Dinner
This pasta dinner is so creamy (although my pictures really don’t do justice to showing the creaminess) and it has great garlic parmesan flavor! It combines simple ingredients to make a filling and super flavorful sauce that coats the ground beef and pasta. It’s quick to prepare and perfect for those (seemingly) never-ending, busy evenings where you just want to get something on the dinner table quickly!
Frequently Asked Questions
You can also add spinach, mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, bell peppers, zucchini, red pepper flakes, fresh basil, crushed red pepper, shredded mozzarella, and pine nuts. This is very easy to customize.
You’ll see I served this with Garlic Bread and a side salad to help spruce up the meal. They’re some of my favorite sides for pasta dishes, but you could also grab a frozen bag of vegetables from the freezer and try that too.
A shortcut in making this would be to use a jar of Alfredo sauce instead of the heavy cream. I would cut back on the parmesan cheese also, to maybe about 1/4 cup since Alfredo sauce already has parmesan cheese in it. However, since I measure cheese with my heart rather than a cup (like garlic), I might go a little heavy 😉
Leftover pasta can be stored in an airtight container and can be kept in the fridge for up to 4 days. I don’t usually recommend freezing cream based foods because the sauce can separate and curdle a bit when reheating. Although you can freeze this, just keep that in mind.
Ingredients Needed: (See Recipe Card Below For The Full Recipe)
- rotini pasta– measured before cooking. Any similar shaped pasta will work with this recipe.
- ground beef– ground turkey or ground chicken can be used. You can even make this without the meat, if desired.
- onion – if you don’t like onion, just leave it out. Or to save yourself some chopping time, grab the pre chopped stuff at the store.
- garlic – I really love using fresh garlic. It just gives you the best flavor but I know that can be a pain t deal with when you’re just trying to get a meal on the table quickly so the jarred stuff works in a pinch.
- garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper – this is always my standard go-to seasoning blend. Please feel free to jazz this up and use what you prefer.
- beef broth – to help control the sodium, you can use low or no sodium versions.
- heavy cream – can add more to make it even more creamy.
- freshly grated parmesan cheese– I like the freshly grated stuff when making sauces, but the bottled stuff can be used in a pinch.
- Italian seasoning – I added this in at the last minute when doing this recipe because I thought it just needed a kick of something extra. Again, as I said above, you can season this how you like and have fun experimenting with other seasoning. I think any kind of garlic and herb or even a cajun seasoning would work here.
How To Make Garlic Parmesan Beef Pasta
Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Add a pinch of salt to the pasta water. Drain and set aside. While the pasta is cooking, move forward with the recipe. To a skillet over medium heat add the beef, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder. Cook for 5-7 minutes or until the meat is no longer pink. Drain the fat if needed. To the skillet, add the beef broth, heavy cream, parmesan cheese, and Italian seasoning. Stir for 3-5 minutes or until the sauce is a little thicker.
Add the cooked pasta to the skillet. Stir until combined. Taste to see if more salt and pepper are needed. Optional: add 1 Tablespoon of parsley and stir.
Top with more parsley. Serve immediately.
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Garlic Parmesan Beef Pasta
Ingredients
- 10 ounces dried rotini pasta (2.5 cups – measured before cooking)
- 1 pound ground beef
- ½ cup finely chopped onion
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ cup beef broth (can use low or no sodium)
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 2 Tablespoons fresh chopped parsley (optional, can use dried)
Instructions
- Cook 10 ounces dried rotini pasta according to the package directions. Add a pinch of salt to the pasta water. Drain and set aside. While the pasta is cooking, move forward with the recipe.
- To a large skillet over medium heat add 1 pound ground beef, 1/2 cup finely chopped onion and 4 garlic cloves, minced. Season with 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper and 1/2 teaspoon onion powder. Cook and crumble the ground beef until the meat is no longer pink. Drain any excess grease if needed and put beef back into the skillet.
- To the skillet (over medium heat) add 1/2 cup beef broth, 2 cups heavy cream, 1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese and 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning. Stir and cook for about 3-5 minutes or until the sauce is a little thicker.
- Add the cooked pasta to the skillet. Stir until combined.
- Taste to see if more salt and pepper are needed. Optional: Add 1 Tablespoon fresh chopped parsley and stir.
- Top with remaining parsley before serving and enjoy!
Notes
- Please refer to my FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
This came out really good. My whole family loved it. It seems like it would also work well with chicken or shrimp.
Thanks so much Raymond! I appreciate you coming back to comment! And yes, it would definitely work with chicken or shrimp!
I meant to leave 5 stars, not 3
I’ll be trying this soon! What do you think of stirring in a dollap of sour cream, and some sauted mushrooms?
Absolutely!