Southwest Beef Cavatappi Skillet has a smoky, creamy sauce made with roasted red peppers, sour cream, and beef broth. But I'm also cooking ground beef with a southwest spice blend, then finishing everything with melted Mexican cheese.
The beef gets deeply browned in the pan, and it all gets tossed together with cavatappi in a skillet that never really cools down until it's on the table. Hello Fresh!
This isn't just a fancier version of Hamburger Helper, even though the two get compared constantly. Ground beef and pasta is not a new idea - you've made some version of it since college. What makes this one taste like a restaurant are roasted red peppers blended smooth with sour cream and smoked paprika, then stirred into the pasta at the very end instead of cooked down with everything else. It's messy in the pan and clean on the plate, which is the trade I'm always willing to make on a weeknight.
Southwest Beef Cavatappi Summary
- 🥩 Brown poblanos first, then beef with southwest spice, in the same skillet
- 🍅 Cook tomato paste directly in the pan before adding any liquid
- 🍝 Cook cavatappi in minimal water for extra-starchy pasta water
- 🥣 Simmer beef with bouillon-spiked pasta water until slightly reduced
- 🧈 Stir in sour cream, butter, and hot sauce, then fold in the crema last
- 🧀 Melt cheese over the top off heat before serving
Why You'll Love This Cavatappi Skillet
- One pan, 35 minutes, no meal-kit box required
- Poblano brings mellow heat without overwhelming the dish
- The crema is made from scratch, blended smooth in minutes
- Starchy pasta water does the work of a heavier cream sauce
- Easy to double for a crowd or halve for two people
Recipe Tips
The pasta water matters for sauce. I only use enough water to cover the cavatappi, which makes it starchier, and that starch is what lets the sauce grip a ridged noodle shape instead of pooling at the bottom of the bowl.
I brown the beef in two stages instead of dumping it all in loose. The poblanos go into the empty side of the pan first so they blister a little before the beef ever touches the heat, which keeps them from steaming into mush once the meat starts releasing liquid.
I spoon out the extra grease after the beef browns instead of leaving it in the pan. The sauce still ends up rich from the cheese, sour cream, and crema, so the fat from the beef isn't doing anything except sitting there.
The tomato paste goes in before any liquid, not after. Cooking it directly against the hot pan for thirty seconds brings out a deeper, almost roasted flavor that just stirring it into broth never gives you.
Keep the crema separate from the sour cream until the very last step. Combining them earlier makes the sauce look uniform, but you lose the contrast that makes the crema taste like its own thing instead of getting swallowed by everything else.
If your poblano turns out spicier than expected, split it open and scrape out the ribs more thoroughly than usual. That's almost always where the extra heat is hiding, not in the flesh of the pepper itself.
How to Make Southwest Beef Cavatappi
Step One (cook the pasta)
Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil, using just enough water to cover the cavatappi. Cook one minute short of the package's al dente time, then scoop out two cups of the pasta water before draining. Set the pasta aside.
Step Two (blister the poblanos)
Heat oil in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sliced poblanos, season with salt and pepper, and cook until softened with some color at the edges, about 5 to 6 minutes.
Step Three (brown the beef)
Push the poblanos to one side of the pan. Add the ground beef and scallion whites to the empty side, season with the spice blend, salt, and pepper, and break the meat into small pieces as it browns, 6 to 7 minutes. Tip the pan and spoon off any excess grease once it's fully cooked.
Step Four (build the base)
Stir the tomato paste directly into the beef and cook for about 30 seconds, just until it darkens and smells toasted. Pour in the reserved pasta water along with the bouillon paste, bring it to a simmer, and let it reduce slightly for 2 to 3 minutes.
Step Five (bring it all together)
Lower the heat, then stir in the drained cavatappi, sour cream, and half the cheese until everything is coated. Stir in the butter and hot sauce, then fold in the crema at the very end so it stays smooth instead of breaking. If the sauce looks tight, loosen it with a splash more of the reserved pasta water.
Step Six (melt and serve)
Scatter the remaining cheese over the top, cover the pan, and let it sit off heat for 1 to 2 minutes until melted. Taste for salt, top with the scallion greens, and serve straight from the skillet.
Southwest Beef Cavatappi Skillet with Smoky Red Pepper Crema
Equipment
- Large pot
- Large deep skillet
- Blender or food processor
- measuring cups and spoons
- Cutting board and knife
- Liquid measuring cup (for reserving pasta water)
Ingredients
Smoky Red Pepper Crema
- 1 cup jarred roasted red peppers drained and patted dry
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon lime juice
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt more to taste
Southwest Spice Blend
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper
Pasta and Vegetables
- 12 ounces cavatappi pasta
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
- 2 poblano peppers stemmed, seeded, and thinly sliced
Beef and Sauce
- 1 pound ground beef 85/15
- 2 tablespoons southwest spice blend from above or store-bought
- 3 ounces tomato paste
- 4 teaspoons beef bouillon paste or 4 beef bouillon cubes dissolved in 1 cup hot water
- 4 tablespoons sour cream
- 1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- kosher salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
Make Red Pepper Crema
- Add the roasted red peppers, sour cream, smoked paprika, garlic powder, lime juice, and salt to a blender or food processor.
- Blend until completely smooth, about 30 seconds, then set the crema aside.
Cook Cavatappi
- Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil and cook the cavatappi one minute less than the package directs for al dente.
- Scoop out and reserve 2 cups of the starchy pasta water before draining, then drain the pasta and set it aside.
- Heat the cooking oil in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat.
Cook Beef
- Add the poblanos, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and starting to blister at the edges, 5 to 6 minutes.
- Push the poblanos to one side of the pan, add the ground beef to the other side, and season with the southwest spice blend, salt, and pepper.
- Break the beef into small pieces as it cooks and let everything brown fully, 6 to 7 minutes, then tip the skillet and spoon off any excess grease.
Make Sauce
- Add the tomato paste directly to the beef and cook, stirring, for about 30 seconds until it darkens slightly and smells toasty.
- Pour in 1 ½ cups of the reserved pasta water along with the beef bouillon paste, then bring to a simmer and let it reduce slightly, 2 to 3 minutes.
Assemble The Dish
- Lower the heat and stir in the drained cavatappi, the 4 tablespoons of plain sour cream, and half the shredded cheese until the pasta is coated and the sauce clings rather than pools.
- Stir in the butter, then fold in ¾ cup of the crema, reserving the rest for serving or another use.
- Splash in more reserved pasta water, a tablespoon at a time, if the sauce looks tight or dry.
- Scatter the remaining cheese over the top, cover the pan, and let it sit off heat for 1 to 2 minutes until melted.
- Taste and adjust salt before serving.
- Top with the scallion greens and serve straight from the skillet, with the extra crema on the side.
Notes
Notes from making this more than once
The butter is the optional ingredient. Between the sour cream, the crema, and the melted cheese, the sauce doesn't need extra fat to feel rich - leave it out if you want a slightly lighter finish.
Salt more aggressively than feels natural, especially at the very end after the cheese melts in. A bland version of this dish usually just needed another quarter teaspoon of salt, not a fix to the recipe itself.
If poblanos aren't available, a green bell pepper works, though you'll lose some of the earthy edge that makes the dish taste southwest instead of just "beef pasta." Anaheim pepper is the closer substitute if your grocery store carries it.
Leftovers reheat fine in a skillet with a splash of water or milk to loosen the sauce back up - the microwave works too but tends to make the cheese go a little rubbery.
Storage and Reheating
- Cooled leftovers keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. The sauce firms up as it chills, which is expected.
- Reheat in a skillet over medium-low heat with a splash of water or milk stirred in to loosen the sauce back to its original consistency. The microwave works in a pinch, but the cheese tends to turn a little rubbery.
- The crema itself, if you make extra, keeps separately in the fridge for 4 to 5 days. It does not freeze well, since the sour cream base separates once thawed.
- If you're making this ahead for meal prep, slightly undercook the pasta by an extra 30 seconds beyond what the recipe calls for. It will finish softening as it reheats instead of turning mushy.
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