Name: One Pot Creamy Beef Harissa Pasta
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: North African
Ingredients: olive oil spray; 1 onion, finely chopped; 4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced; 455g (1lb) of extra lean ground beef (mince); 1 bell pepper, chopped small; 2-3 tablespoons of harissa paste (depending on your preferred heat); 2 tablespoons of tomato puree (paste); 4 cups (960ml) of chicken stock; 250g (9oz) of uncooked spaghettini (or use another pasta or your choice); 15 grape (baby plum) tomatoes, halved; 100g (3.5oz) of light cream cheese; 2 handfuls of fresh spinach; salt and black pepper to season

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One Pot Harissa Beef Pasta - an easy all in one pan creamy pasta dish with ground beef, garlic, peppers, tomatoes, spinach and the smoky flavours of Harissa.

Creamy Harissa Beef Pasta in frying pan with wooden spoon

Harissa Pasta

We love the flavour of Harissa and so I often tend to have some leftover Harissa Paste in a jar in my fridge and wonder what to make with it. This week was no problem, as I settled on this yummy pasta dish with some ground beef I had bought to use one night for dinner.

If you love Harissa too, you definitely should check out this great air fryer recipe:

Air Fryer Honey Harissa Salmon

and if there is also a delicious recipe for Harissa Meatballs with Whipped Feta in my new cookbook Slimming Eats Made Simple

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Harissa Pasta
Best Pan to use for One Pot Recipes
Homemade Harissa Paste
Variations on Beef
Dairy Free Variation
Sides for One Pot Harissa Beef Pasta
More One Pot Recipes
Let's Connect!!
Recipe Card

Best Pan to use for One Pot Recipes

When it comes to one pot pasta recipes. I find a deep wide circumference frying pan with a lid is the best option. You don't want a pan that is too small because if all the ingredients are too high in a small pan the heat will not penetrate the food evenly for a one pot pasta dish, meaning some of the pasta may be over cook, some undercooked and liquid that is not cooking off.

One like this Circulon Radiance Deep Hard Anodized Nonstick Frying Pan on Amazon is great and it's non stick too which is great for low calorie cooking where less oil is used. Enameled Cast Iron can be good choices also, if they are wide enough as they are great heat conductors.

close up of Creamy Harissa Beef Pasta in frying pan with wooden spoon

Homemade Harissa Paste

Harissa pasta is pretty much available at most major grocery stores. Also check online too if you struggle to find it in store. However if you have hunted everywhere and just can't source some, it's pretty easy to make yourself.

Here is a recipe for Homemade Harissa Paste from The Mediterranean Dish. I have made this one before when I haven't had Harissa Paste on hand and it's great.

Variations on Beef

Want to try a variation on this recipe? It will work equally well with other ground meats or even some chicken pieces

Some seafood like prawns would be a great variation also, but I recommend pan frying first, setting aside and then adding back towards the end to ensure they are not over cooked.

Creamy Harissa Beef Pasta on teal patterned plate with fork

Dairy Free Variation

Can't have dairy and want to try this recipe? Swap half of the stock for some coconut milk and it will have a delicious creamy silky finish to it. The coconut is not overpowering either, because of the flavours from the harissa paste.

Sides for One Pot Harissa Beef Pasta

I like to pair this with a simple salad with the follow items:

Crisp lettuce (but Baby Greens are great also)
Baby peppers, sliced (mixed colours are great for a pop of colour in the salad)
Baby Cucumber, sliced
Julienned Carrot
Avocado
Red Onion, sliced thinly
Fresh Coriander
you can also add in some chickpeas and feta for additions (but as the pasta dish is great filling, I like to go light with the salad ingredients)

If you don't fancy salad it's equally good with some steamed, sauteed or baked greens like tenderstem broccoli, asparagus or green beans etc.

More One Pot Recipes

Do you love one pot recipes? Here are some others to choose from:

or if you would like more recipe ideas - head on over to the FULL RECIPE INDEX where you will find over 900 delicious recipes with calories and you can search by meal type, ingredients, course, diet and more..

All recipes on Slimming Eats have estimated nutritional information for your convenience.

close up of Creamy Harissa Beef Pasta on teal patterned plate with fork

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Recipe Card

One Pot Creamy Beef Harissa Pasta

Yield: SERVES 4

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

One Pot Harissa Beef Pasta - an easy all in one pan creamy pasta dish with ground beef, garlic, peppers, tomatoes, spinach and the smoky flavours of Harissa.

Ingredients

olive oil spray
1 onion, finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
455g (1lb) of extra lean ground beef (mince)
1 bell pepper, chopped small
2-3 tablespoons of harissa paste (depending on your preferred heat)
2 tablespoons of tomato puree (paste)
4 cups (960ml) of chicken stock
250g (9oz) of uncooked spaghettini (or use another pasta or your choice)
15 grape (baby plum) tomatoes, halved
100g (3.5oz) of light cream cheese
2 handfuls of fresh spinach
salt and black pepper to season

Instructions

Spray a large deep frying pan over a medium high heat with olive oil spray
Add the onion and fry until softened.
Add in the garlic, ground beef and red pepper and fry until beef is browned.
Add in the harissa paste and tomato puree and stir until all coated.
Pour in the 3 cups (720ml) of the stock , add the tomatoes and spaghettini and bring to a boil
Cover with lid, reduce heat slightly (you still want it to bubble) and let cook for about 15 minutes, stir ever 5 mins to ensure even cooking. Add remaining cup of stock if needed to cook pasta until al dente.
Once stock is absorbed and pasta is cooked, stir in the cream cheese, then add the spinach and stir just until wilted.
Taste and season with salt and black pepper as needed.
Enjoy!!

Notes

Please see below for full nutritional info and additional details about recipe:

WW Points: 12 or 9 if you swap ground beef for extra lean ground turkey/chicken
Gluten Free Friendly - use gluten free pasta and stock
Dairy Free Friendly - omit the cream cheese, and replace 400ml of the stock with coconut milk
Calories: scroll down to nutritional info box
SUITABLE FOR FREEZING ❄️ - if you are okay with the texture of pasta that has been frozen and reheated then this is fine to freeze.

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Nutrition Information

Yield 4 Serving Size 1 SERVING
Amount Per Serving Calories 480Total Fat 9gSaturated Fat 2gTrans Fat 0gCholesterol 30mgSodium 679mgCarbohydrates 58gFiber 5gSugar 5gProtein 37g

Nutritional information and values etc are an estimate and is to be used for informational purposes only. Ingredients can vary greatly from brand to brand and therefore it would be impossible to give accurate information. It is always advised that you calculate by the ingredients you use.