In a large pot (or saucepan), heat cream, enchilada sauce, cumin and salt on medium heat. Whisking often, heat until mixture just begins to bubble.
Reduce heat to medium low and add in cheese. Stir until smooth. Mix in the cooked ground beef and the cooked noodles.
Serve hot and enjoy immediately!
Notes
This is a great use for any leftover ground beef you have in the fridge from taco night. If you have the pasta and ground beef ready to go, the enchilada mac and cheese is ready in just about 15 minutes. Don’t worry if you have to cook ground beef just for this recipe, it adds just a couple minutes of extra time and it’s well worth it!
We really like using shell pasta for our macaroni and cheese. Feel free to use any kind of pasta noodles you have on hand. Elbow macaroni, penne and bow tie pasta are all great options.
If you want to add a little more color to this dish, feel free to throw in some chopped bell peppers or other veggies you like in your mac and cheese. (Creamy pasta is always a perfect vehicle for sneaking a few more veggies onto your kids plates.)
I’ve used both jarred enchilada sauce and Homemade Red Enchilada sauce for this recipe. Both are equally tasty!
Leftover enchilada pasta keep well for a few days covered in the fridge. I love making a double batch of this and sticking leftovers in tupperware containers for easy reheating throughout the week.