This cheeseburger pasta is a hearty recipe of ground beef, shells and cheese in a savory tomato sauce, topped off with bacon and pickles. All the flavors of a bacon cheeseburger in a comforting pasta dish!
If you love a good bacon cheeseburger, you’ll adore this unique pasta dish! It’s packed with meat, cheese, tender pasta and of course bacon for a satisfying dinner the entire family will go crazy over.
My kids love cheeseburgers, and they also happen to love pasta. I combined their two favorites to make this hearty bacon cheeseburger pasta. Let me just tell you, at first I was a bit skeptical of how this would all come together. But after I had one bite, I could not stop eating it, this pasta is totally addictive!
HOW DO YOU MAKE CHEESEBURGER PASTA?
Begin by boiling your pasta according to package directions. While the pasta is cooking, fry up your bacon until crispy. Brown your hamburger in the pan with the bacon grease, adding tomato sauce, ketchup and seasonings after the beef is done. Toss everything together with plenty of cheese and enjoy one of the most delicious and savory dinners you’ve had in a while.
I like using 90% lean ground beef simply because it contains a lot of flavor with less grease. You can use any of your favorite cheeseburger toppings along with the bacon and pickles if you like. Any of them will fit perfectly; if it goes well on a cheeseburger, it goes well with this pasta!
Other toppings that might be good are
- Diced tomatoes
- Onion
- Shredded lettuce
- More cheese!
I love using cheddar cheese in my cheeseburger pasta simply because it’s a classic when it comes to meal like this. However, a colby jack cheese or another mild cheese that melts easily would work great as well. This dish is easily customizable so don’t be afraid to mix things up to match your preferences.
WILL ANY PASTA WORK IN CHEESEBURGER PASTA?
If you aren’t partial to shells, any short pasta will work in their place. Other great options are penne, rigatoni or fusilli pasta.
CAN YOU USE VELVEETA IN CHEESEBURGER PASTA?
I personally don’t use Velveeta because I don’t think it’s as flavorful as cheddar cheese. That being said, it melts smoothly and gives a creamy texture to this pasta, so if you prefer to use it, you’ll still get great results.
We love taking some of our other favorite recipes and turning them into pasta dishes like this incredibly delicious cheeseburger pasta. It’s a quick and easy dinner everyone will be asking for again and again.
OTHER CHEESY RECIPES YOU’LL LOVE
- Philly Cheesesteak Pasta
- Stove Top Mac and Cheese
- Broccoli with Cheese Sauce
- Sausage Cheese Balls
- Wisconsin Brat & Beer Cheese Dip
Cheeseburger Pasta
Ingredients
- 8 ounces shell pasta
- 6 slices bacon diced
- 1 pound ground beef I use 90% lean
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 16 ounces tomato sauce
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup diced pickles
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Instructions
- Cook pasta in salted water according to package directions.
- Place the bacon in a large pan over medium high heat. Cook for 5 minutes or until bacon is browned and crisp.
- Remove bacon from pan and set aside.
- Drain off most of the fat from the bacon, leaving approximately 2 teaspoons in the pan.
- Add the ground beef to the pan and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Cook, breaking up the meat with a spatula, until browned, 4-5 minutes.
- Add the onion and cook for an additional 4 minutes, or until onion has softened.
- Add the tomato sauce, ketchup and mustard to the pan. Stir to coat the beef with the sauce.
- Drain the pasta and add it to the pan with the beef mixture.
- Add the cheddar cheese to the pan with the pasta; stir until everything is combined and cheese is melted.
- Sprinkle with reserved bacon, pickles and parsley, then serve.
Sheri says
My entire family loved this and were thrilled to have the pickles on top!
Michelle Boulton says
My ENTIRE family loved it! That’s very rare! Definitely saving this one! Thank you!
Brianna says
Made this recipe for my family. My three kids are under 10 years old and loved it.
Technical Writer says
So…leave the fat in with the browned beef? I see so many recipes that do not indicate you should drain ground beef after browning. I have to assume you should, since you’d have a big ol greasy mess if you didn’t. Clarification?
Sara says
I use 90% lean beef which generates very little fat. If you’re using a type of ground beef with a higher fat content then you should drain it!
Anna-Marie Traylor says
Outstanding! Turned out even yummier than I imagined. 🙂 Will definitely keep in my recipe file! The grandkids loved it, too.
Katie seamons says
This was a big hit for all of us. Adding to my tried and true recipe book!
Sara says
So glad you enjoyed it, thanks for reporting back!
Debbie says
What a fun family recipe sure to please everyone!
Tiffany Haywood says
This looks delicious!! I love one pot meals and this looks yummy on top of being easy to pull off…
Becca Talbot says
My goodness, this looks and sounds like heaven in a bowel! I love literally all of the ingredients included here, so would definitely be having second helpings if I made it 😉 x
WhatLauraLoves says
Ooh yummy! This sounds lush and such a different take on pasta! xxx
LavandaMichelle says
What a cool post! I don’t think I’ve ever had cheeseburger pasta. I’d love to try it though. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Heather says
My Nana used to make something very similar when I was younger. This totally brought back memories for me.
Karly says
Yum! My family will love this!
Marcie says
We just had dill pickles on a pastrami pizza this weekend and it was so tasty! I’m excited to try this recipe with my family!
Kim says
this look so yummy. This pregnancy im craving everything cheeseburger so I’m definitely going to have to give this a try!
Mary says
I love this recipe and so thrilled about the diced pickles in it! Will try this with the grandkids.
Tara says
I have never thought to add pickles to my baked macaroni, which is a very similar cheeseburger pasta type recipe. That would probably be a nice touch since everyone but me loves pickles in the house. Saving your recipe to make later.