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Linguine with Spiced Beef and Feta
This savory pasta dish was inspired by kawarma, the spicy ground beef topping spooned over hummus in Israel. We decided it would work equally well over noodles with just a few adjustments. The result is a ground beef sauce seasoned with fragrant spices and generous amounts of onion and garlic, all lightened with a good dose of mint at the end. Rather than sprinkle the feta as a garnish, we toss the just-cooked noodles with most of the cheese so it melts and coats the strands. If you like, you could serve the sauce with warmed flatbread instead of on noodles.
4
Servings
Tip
Don't use ground beef fattier than 90 percent lean or the sauce will be greasy.
45 minutes
Ingredients
-
1½
pounds 90 percent lean ground beef
-
2
tablespoons ground cumin
Directions
-
01In a medium bowl, combine the beef, cumin, paprika, cinnamon, 1 teaspoon each salt and pepper and ¼ cup water. Mix with your hands until homogenous.
Reviews
October 6, 2025
Easy and quite flavorful
The title of this reviews says it all. I always question the validity of reviews that immediately make substitutions and then ding the recipe. I believe that's unfair. I was initially concerned about cooking the meat without any additional oil but it worked beautifully. There have been lots of comments about the reserved pasta water. I added a bit to the pasta/feta as I mixed them together because the mixture was too dry. It worked well and the consistency seemed to be just right. I will put this in our pasta rotation.
December 21, 2023
Everyone had seconds
This was a huge hit with a skeptical crowd. I used lamb instead of beef (not greasy at all) and a specialty purple basil that I got fresh from the farmers' market (don't remember the name) instead of the mint. The onion does seem like a lot going in but by the time the tomatoes break down and the sauce thickens, it all blends beautifully. I don't think that grating the cheese in necessary -- I just mushed it with my hands and in it went. An easy, true crowd pleaser.
June 1, 2022
Question
What happens with the reserved pasta cooking water?
August 18, 2025
Phenomenally simple and fast!
I slightly increased the meat to 2 pounds and the pasta to 1 lb, and I left the feta out- I will experiment with grating/shaving some other cheeses I have, as I am not a fan of feta. It was rather easy, and tastes quite good! I think I need to come up with a way to add slightly more flavor, but the recipe is pretty good as it stands! I will be giving it 4 stars instead of 5 solely because I feel like it needed additional flavor in the meat- obviously the cheese helps quite a bit, but I still think the meat needs some more.
April 6, 2023
Easy on the onions, please!
I love onions, but two large in this recipes is serious overkill.
I only put about 3/4 of a large onion rather than 2 whole ones as that seemed excessive. Glad I did as there were plenty of onions - anymore and I think it would have been overwhelming for my tastes. Otherwise, made as directed and it was a very good combination of flavors. And super easy to make.
Hi Dwayne -
We often recommend reserving pasta water in our recipes in the event the sauce needs to be loosened up or made saucier. I agree that it should state this more clearly in the recipe and will recommend to our editorial team that we change it. Thanks for pointing out the confusion.
Best,
Dwayne
This was good! I also thought 2 large onions would be overkill and used one 253 g onion. There would not have been room for more anyway - as is, this was a very tight fit for my 12" skillet. I reduced the cinnamon to 1 t for my OH's palate and he asked for next time to reduce the cumin as well. When I first read the recipe I was reminded of my ATK Cincinnati Chili recipe and the flavor profile is indeed similar. I believe I do prefer CC though.
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