Description
This easy one-pot Bowtie Pasta with Ground Beef combines seasoned ground beef, tender farfalle pasta, rich cream sauce, and melted cheddar cheese all cooked together in one skillet. Ready in under 30 minutes, this comforting family dinner requires minimal ingredients and cleanup. The pasta cooks directly in beef broth and heavy cream, absorbing all the savory flavors for a restaurant-quality meal at home.
Ingredients
Main Components:
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1 lb (≈ 450 g) lean ground beef
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½ cup onion, diced
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2 teaspoons garlic, minced
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Salt and pepper, to taste
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1 teaspoon paprika
Liquids & Pasta:
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3 cups beef broth (low-sodium recommended)
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1 cup heavy whipping cream
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3 cups dry bowtie pasta (farfalle)
Cheese & Finishing:
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1½ cups shredded cheddar cheese
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Optional garnish: fresh parsley, extra cheese
Friendly Notes:
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Choose lean ground beef (90/10 or 93/7) to avoid swimming in grease
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Can’t find bowtie pasta? Penne, shells, or mini rigatoni work beautifully!
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Low-sodium broth gives YOU control over the salt – trust me on this one
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Heavy cream is what makes this gloriously rich, but half-and-half will work in a pinch
Instructions
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Notes
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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.
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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.
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Don’t skip paprika thinking it won’t matter. I tried once. It mattered. Everyone asked why it tasted different.
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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.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stovetop, One-Pot
- Cuisine: American