Fideo is a quick and comforting traditional Mexican dish. There are several variations but are all based on fideo noodles which are short, thin noodles similar to vermicelli or angle hair pasta. This fideo con carne (fideo with ground beef) is an easy, one pot dish that is perfect for busy weeknight dinners.

When Carl and I lived in Ft. Worth our next door neighbor was a first generation Mexican American family. I learned a lot about cooking from scratch from the mom. She taught me so much about making simple, frugal meals. I’ll forever be grateful to her for taking the time to teach a young mom how important it is to cook from scratch.
To me, fideo is kind of like Spanish rice but with noodles. As I looked over the internet for “authentic” recipes I realized that ,just like Pancit Bihon, people kind of do their own thing when it comes to fideo.
I make fideo with ground beef but will also sometimes add in chopped greens like spinach, kale or swiss chard. For the tomatoes I use our home canned tomatoes, but have also used dehydrated tomato powder from grinding dehydrated tomatoes.
How to Make Fideo
Ingredients for Fideo con Carne
1 pound ground beef
1 pound fideo vermachelli (or broken angel hair pasta)
1/2 medium onion -diced
4-5 cloves garlic -diced
1 – 14oz can diced tomatoes
1 – 8oz can tomato sauce (optional)
1 tbsp cumin
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

In a large pot brown hamburger meat with onion and garlic. Since we use grass fed beef I rarely drain the grease from the hamburger but if you have a lot of grease in the pan you will want to drain some off.

Add pasta, if you have enough room in your pan you can brown the pasta just a bit. I’ve done it with browning the pasta and without and haven’t noticed a difference.

Add tomatoes, about 1 1/2 – 2 quarts of water and seasonings. Stir.
Bring to a boil. Turn heat down to low and cook until pasta is soft.

We like ours kind of dry so we leave the lid off but if you like it more like soup you can add more water and cover the pot while cooking.
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Fideo with Ground Beef

Fideo means "noodles" and this fideo with ground beef recipe is a frugal and tasty Tex-Mex one-pot main dish.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound fideo vermachelli (or broken angel hair pasta)
- 1/2 medium onion -diced
- 4-5 cloves garlic -diced
- 1 – 14oz can diced tomatoes
- 1 – 8oz can tomato sauce (optional)
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Instructions
In a large pot brown hamburger meat with onion and garlic. Since we use grass fed beef I rarely drain the grease from the hamburger but if you have a lot of grease in the pan you will want to drain some off.
Add pasta, if you have enough room in your pan you can brown the pasta just a bit. I’ve done it with browning the pasta and without and haven’t noticed a difference.
Add tomatoes, about 2 quarts of water and seasonings. Stir.
Bring to a boil. Turn heat down to low and cook until pasta is soft.
We like ours kind of dry so we leave the lid off but if you like it more like soup you can add more water and cover the pot while cooking.
Enjoy!
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Phyllis Gray
Monday 14th of September 2020
How much do I make of this for 30 people? Please help
Angi Schneider
Saturday 19th of September 2020
Generally, 1 pound of spaghetti feeds 4 people. So, based on that you would need to multiply the recipe by 6 or 7 to feed 30 people. It just depends on how big their appetites are and how much other food you'll have. Hope that helps.
Summers Acres
Tuesday 30th of July 2013
I love Spanish rice so I am sure I'd love this too. Thanks for sharing!
Please join us again Thursday at:http://summersacres.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-homeacre-hop-30.html
~Ann
Angi Schneider
Thursday 1st of August 2013
Thanks for hosting and visiting us. If you try it let me know how you like it.
Shawna Williams
Thursday 25th of July 2013
Seriously this is a great recipe. I love it when a recipe takes you out of the box and introduces a new unexpected flavor to a traditional dish. Thank you so much for sharing it on our BBQ Block Party.
Angi Schneider
Sunday 28th of July 2013
Thanks for stopping by and for hosting the Block party. There's some seriously great recipes linked up there.
Elizabeth
Tuesday 23rd of July 2013
This is really interesting. Lately, I've been intrigued by cooking the pasta in the pot with the other ingredients. I should give it a try.
Visiting from Tasty Tuesdays,Lizy
Angi Schneider
Wednesday 24th of July 2013
If you try it, let me know how you liked it. Feel free to share any changes you make. Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed your visit.
Sandra
Thursday 18th of July 2013
What a great deal! I love pasta dishes, thanks for the new recipe to try!
Angi Schneider
Thursday 18th of July 2013
I know, it was definitely a case of being in the right place at the right time. Thanks for visiting.