One Pot Cajun Beef Pasta with lots-of-veg

Name: One Pot Cajun Beef Pasta with lots-of-veg
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 40 min
Cuisine: Mediterranean, European, American, Italian, Southern
Ingredients: 1 tbsp olive oil; 2 garlic cloves (, finely minced); 1 onion (, chopped); 500g/ 1 lb beef mince (ground beef) ((Note 1)); 1 carrot (, medium, shredded using box grater (I keep skin on) ); 1 zucchini (, medium, shredded using box grater (Note 2)); 1 red capsicum ((bell pepper), chopped (Note 2)); 2 tbsp tomato paste; 800g/ 28 oz canned crushed tomato; 400g/ 14 oz kidney beans (, drained (or other beans of choice, can omit)); 2 cups chicken stock/broth (, low sodium (sub beef stock)); 2 cups water ((just regular tap water!)); 350g / 12 oz (3 cups) elbow pasta (macaroni) (, spirals, penne, ziti, small shells, rigatoni or similar size, uncooked (Note 3)); 1 1/2 cups (tightly packed) colby cheese (or other melting cheese of choice, preferably freshly shredded (melts better)); 1 green onion stem (, finely sliced (optional garnish)); 1 1/2 tsp dried thyme; 1 1/2 tbsp paprika ((sweet/regular, not smoked or spicy)); 2 tsp garlic powder; 2 tsp onion powder; 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (, optional (faintly spicy)); 1/4 tsp black pepper; 1 1/4 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt

Instructions

Prep:15minCook:25min

Recipe video above. A big bubbly beefy pasta in a Cajun flavoured tomato sauce, filled with lots of hidden vegetables, all made in one pot! Love that it's a complete meal, and a great way to stretch 500g/1lb beef to serve more people with the bonus of a stack of "hidden" vegetables (carrot, zucchini ,zucchini, canned tomato and onion - yes, onion counts towards daily veg intake!).Leftovers are excellent! Fridge or freeze.

Updated at: Wed, 24 Dec 2025 00:38:47 GMT