Bowtie Pasta with Ground Beef

Bowtie Pasta with Ground Beef is a rich, comforting one-pot meal that brings together tender ground beef, creamy cheese sauce, and perfectly cooked farfalle pasta in under 30 minutes. This family-friendly dinner delivers maximum flavor – everything cooks together in one skillet, making busy weeknights so much easier!

Love More Dinner Ideas? Try My Ground Beef Stroganoff or this Fiery Steak and Creamy Garlic Rotini next.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

This is the kind of recipe that saves you on those hectic evenings when everyone’s asking “what’s for dinner?” and you need something delicious FAST. I adore this dish because it reminds me of the creamy pasta dishes my grandmother used to make, but it’s way simpler. The pasta cooks right in the beef broth and cream, soaking up all those savory flavors while you go about your evening. Plus, cleanup is a breeze – just one skillet!

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Ingredient List

For the Beef Mixture:

• 1 lb (≈ 450 g) lean ground beef
• ½ cup onion, diced
• 2 teaspoons garlic, minced
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 teaspoon paprika

For the Pasta:

• 3 cups beef broth (low-sodium preferred for better control)
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 3 cups dry bowtie pasta (farfalle)
• 1½ cups shredded cheddar cheese

Optional Garnish:

• Fresh parsley, chopped
• Extra shredded cheese

Substitution Notes:

• Swap bowtie pasta for penne, shells, or mini rigatoni
• Use ground turkey or chicken for a lighter option
• Try half-and-half or whole milk instead of heavy cream (sauce will be thinner)
• Mix in Monterey Jack, mozzarella, or pepper jack for different flavor profiles

Why These Ingredients Work

So lean ground beef saves you from having to drain grease mid-recipe. I used 80/20 beef once and there was SO much grease I had to stop everything, drain it into a can, and the whole thing was a mess. Never again. Lean beef just browns and you move on with your life.

Beef broth and cream are basically doing magic here. The broth makes it savory and the cream makes it rich and together they cook the pasta AND become sauce without you doing anything extra. It’s like the lazy person’s dream which is me, I’m the lazy person.

Bowtie pasta is what we use because Emma (my seven-year-old) declared three years ago that it’s the only acceptable pasta and now we’re stuck with it. But honestly the little ridges do grab sauce really well. I tried making this with smooth penne once and it wasn’t the same.

Sharp cheddar cheese is the only way. My husband bought mild cheddar by mistake once and I made the whole recipe and we could barely taste the cheese. It was so bland we ended up stirring in extra sharp cheddar after the fact. Don’t make his mistake.

The paprika looks like such a tiny amount but it adds this warmth that makes the whole thing taste less like “I threw this together in a panic” and more like “I’m a competent cook who planned this.” My neighbor keeps asking what my secret ingredient is and acts shocked when I say paprika.

Essential Tools and Equipment

• Large skillet with a lid (at least 12 inches works best)
• Wooden spoon or silicone spatula for stirring
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Cheese grater (if using block cheese)
• Cutting board and knife

How To Make Bowtie Pasta with Ground Beef

Step 1: Brown the Beef Mixture

Get your skillet going over medium heat and dump in the beef, onion, and garlic. Use your spoon to break up the beef while it cooks—I really mash it around so it’s crumbly not chunky. Takes like 5-7 minutes till there’s no pink and the onions are soft and starting to smell amazing. If there’s grease sitting there (shouldn’t be much with lean beef), pour it off into a can. Then dump in your salt, pepper, and paprika and stir it around.

Step 2: Add Liquids and Pasta

Pour in the beef broth and cream. Give it a good stir. Now here’s where it gets weird—you take your DRY pasta and just dump it right in. My mom still calls me every time she makes this going “you’re SURE I don’t cook the pasta first?” YES MOM. Just dump it in. Make sure most of it’s under the liquid. Turn up the heat till it starts bubbling.

Step 3: Simmer the Pasta

Once it’s boiling turn it down to like medium-low and stick a lid on it. Okay so this is important—you can’t just leave. I tried that once while I went to help with homework and came back to pasta cemented to the bottom of my pan. Set a timer for 10-12 minutes but come back every 3-4 minutes to stir. You’ll see the liquid slowly disappear and the pasta getting softer. It’s weirdly satisfying to watch actually.

Step 4: Add Cheese and Finish

When the pasta’s cooked and there’s still a little bit of saucy liquid (not dry but not soup either), turn your heat down to low. Like really low. Then add your cheddar and stir it gently. If you do this on regular heat the cheese breaks and gets grainy and there’s literally no fixing it—I know because I’ve tried. Low heat, patient stirring, beautiful smooth sauce. Taste it and add more salt if you need it.

Step 5: Serve

Scoop it into bowls. I dump parsley on top sometimes to trick people into thinking I tried harder. Extra cheese on top is required according to my family but you do you.

You Must Know

Okay real talk you HAVE to stir this. Every few minutes. I know you don’t want to. I know you have seventeen other things to do. But if you walk away the pasta will stick and burn and then you’re ordering pizza while you scrub your pan. I spent an hour last Thursday scrubbing because I got distracted folding laundry.

And when you add the cheese? Heat has to be LOW. Not medium-low. LOW low. I destroyed a whole pan of this once by adding cheese while it was still on medium and it separated into this gross grainy mess that looked curdled. My kids took one look and said no thanks. We had cereal for dinner that night.

Personal Secret: Only buy low-sodium broth. I made this with regular broth once and it was so salty nobody could eat it. We ended up ordering Chinese food. You can always add salt but you can’t un-salt something. Also every brand is different—I’ve had broths that tasted like ocean water.

Pro Tips & Cooking Hacks

• Block cheese melts better than pre-shredded. The bagged stuff has this anti-caking powder that makes it not melt smooth. But I still use bagged cheese half the time because I’m tired and lazy.
• If your liquid’s disappearing too fast just add more broth. My stove runs hot so I probably add extra liquid half the time I make this.
• Don’t skip paprika thinking it won’t matter. I tried once. It mattered. Everyone asked why it tasted different.
• Make sure all your pasta pieces are roughly the same size or you’ll have some that are perfect and some that are mush. I bought bargain pasta once that had like three sizes mixed together and it was a disaster.

Flavor Variations & Suggestions

Italian Style: Throw in Italian seasoning, swap cheddar for mozzarella, add sun-dried tomatoes and fresh basil. My sister makes it this way and thinks she’s Martha Stewart.

Tex-Mex Twist: Use pepper jack cheese, add a can of Rotel, throw in some black beans, top with cilantro and lime. My husband requests this version specifically.

Veggie-Loaded: Whatever vegetables are dying in my crisper drawer go in here. Frozen peas, peppers, mushrooms, spinach—just add them in the last few minutes. This is how my kids eat spinach without complaining.

Three-Cheese Dream: Mix cheddar, mozzarella, and Parmesan together. Can’t go wrong with more cheese ever.

Spicy Version: Add red pepper flakes or use spicy Italian sausage instead of beef. Makes my nose run but worth it.

Make-Ahead Options

Best fresh but I get it, life’s crazy. If you’re meal prepping this, undercook the pasta by 2 minutes so when you reheat it it’s not complete mush. Let it cool all the way before you pack it in containers.

You can brown the beef ahead and refrigerate it. Pre-measure your other stuff. Then at dinnertime you just dump it all together and start from step 2.

Freezing is meh because cream sauces get weird. I did it once when I was pregnant and desperate for freezer meals but you have to add extra cream when reheating to make it edible again.

Recipe Notes & Baker’s Tips

The biggest mistake is not stirring enough. I get that stirring is boring but do it anyway or suffer the consequences.

Too watery? Take the lid off for the last couple minutes. Too thick? Add more cream or broth. Pretty straightforward.

You don’t need room temp stuff like you do for baking which is nice because I literally never remember to pull things out ahead.

Serving Suggestions

This is basically a whole meal but if you’re trying to add vegetables or whatever:

• Green salad with vinaigrette (makes you feel healthier)
• Garlic bread (my kids’ favorite part because sauce dipping)
• Roasted broccoli
• Caesar salad
• Asparagus with lemon

How to Store Your Bowtie Pasta with Ground Beef

Refrigerator: Stick leftovers in any container with a lid. Good for 4-5 days.

Reheating: Stovetop is best—low heat, splash of cream or milk or broth, stir often. Microwave works too, just do 30 seconds at a time and stir or you’ll have spots that are lava and spots that are still cold.

Freezing: Not ideal because cream gets funky but if you need to it lasts 2 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and add extra cream when you reheat.

Allergy Information

Contains: Dairy (cream, cheese), gluten (pasta)

Dairy-Free Options: Use dairy-free cream and cheese. Nutritional yeast tastes cheesy if you skip cheese completely.

Gluten-Free: Get gluten-free pasta and check your broth label. Cooking time might be different depending on the brand.

Common Allergens: No eggs, nuts, or shellfish in here.

Questions I Get Asked A Lot

My sauce looks watery — what did I do wrong?

Either you added too much liquid or the pasta didn’t cook long enough to soak it up. Take the lid off and let it simmer for a few more minutes. Or add more cheese which thickens it naturally. Emergency backup plan: mix a tablespoon of cornstarch with cold water, stir it in, simmer one minute.

Can I make this with a different pasta shape?

For sure! Penne, rotini, shells, whatever short pasta you’ve got. Just needs to cook in 10-12 minutes. Don’t try long noodles like spaghetti—they don’t cook right this way.

The cheese got clumpy and weird — help!

Heat was too high or you used really processed pre-shredded cheese. Always turn heat to low before cheese goes in and keep stirring. If it already happened try whisking in some warm cream. Next time buy block cheese and grate it yourself—melts so much smoother.

Can I add vegetables to this recipe?

Absolutely! I add whatever’s in my fridge. Frozen peas, spinach, peppers, mushrooms, broccoli florets. Hard vegetables go in with the beef. Soft stuff like spinach goes in the last 2-3 minutes so it doesn’t turn to mush.

💬 Did you make this? Tell me how it went! What did you change? Did you add anything? I’m always curious what tweaks people make and honestly your comments help other people figure out what to try!