This One Pot Chili Mac and Cheese combines two great comfort foods all in one! Delicious and hearty, quick and comforting, perfect dinner for back to school and ready in under 30 minutes.
I can’t believe that summer is almost over, only a couple days left but fall has been in the air now for a couple weeks here. I must say I love it, not so much the colder weather, but the colors of the trees changing. It really is beautiful and as much as I love my summer weather and my flip flops, I do enjoy the short fall we do have here. Which is what brings me to this dish, chili mac and cheese, which I think is perfect for this time of year.
ONE POT CHILI MAC AND CHEESE
This dish is perfect in many ways. It’s made in one pot, it’s done in 30 minutes which makes it the perfect for back to school dinners, and most importantly it’s the epitome of comfort food. It’s one of those dishes that you wish to keep eating once you start. It really is a one pot wonder!
This one pot dinner is for both the chili lovers and the mac and cheese lovers, it’s everything you love in one bowl. There’s just something special and comforting about a piping hot bowl of chili.
CHILI MAC AND CHEESE INGREDIENTS
The ingredients are simple and you probably have everything on hand already, and it’s a great dish to clean up your pantry, use up some of those beans and canned tomatoes, and I know I always always have elbow macaroni in my pantry. Lots of it, not just elbow macaroni but all sorts of pasta.
Sometimes I think I’m obsessed with pasta, because I cannot make a trip to my Italian market without filling up my cart with pasta.
WHAT CHEESE WORKS FOR CHILI MAC AND CHEESE
I prefer to use a good sharp cheddar cheese and lots of it. You could however use a blend of cheddar cheese and mozzarella cheese. Monterey Jack would also work wonderfully in this recipe.
This recipe will also make quite a bit of chili mac and cheese, so there will be plenty of leftovers to take to work the next day. I would also recommend buying a good chili powder and using that because it really does make all the difference. Hope you give this one pot wonder a try!
LOOKING FOR MORE CHILI RECIPES? TRY THESE:
One Pot Chili Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb ground beef extra lean
- 1 large onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp cumin ground
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tsp black pepper ground
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 cup kidney beans drained and rinsed
- 26 oz diced tomatoes (1 can)
- 4 cups chicken broth low sodium
- 10 oz elbow pasta uncooked
- 2 cups cheddar cheese shredded
- 2 tbsp parsley chopped
Instructions
- In a large sauce pan or dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the ground beef and cook until no longer pink. Since I'm using extra lean ground beef there's no need to drain the fat, but if you're using fatter ground beef, drain whatever fat there is.
- Stir in the onion and garlic and cook for about 3 minutes or until the onion softens and becomes translucent and the garlic is aromatic.
- Add the cayenne pepper, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper and stir. Add the black beans, kidney beans, tomatoes, chicken broth and elbow pasta. Stir everything together and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat to a simmer, cover the pot and cook for about 9 to 12 minutes or until the elbow macaroni is cooked.
- Stir in 1 cup of the shredded cheese then sprinkle the remaining cheddar cheese over the top. Cover the pot for about 1 minute just until the cheese melts.
- Garnish with fresh parsley and serve.
Video
Notes
- The elbow macaroni can be replaced with any shape pasta.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
Nutrition
I just made this but modified it and it’s so so good. I added half a big block of velverta cheese! We like extra heat so I added extra chili powder and cayenne. Yum yum yum!
My daughter loves this dish!! Comes out great and it’s so easy to make!
Great post !!
thanks for sharing this amazing post
Has this been tried in an Instant Pot? I know “cook” time is not long, but I’m wondering how much liquid I should put in, less?
I would cook it on high pressure for 4 minutes using 2.5-3 cups of stock instead of 4, depending on how al dente vs tender you want your noodles.
How could I prepare this in the crockpot?
Follow steps 1 and 2 in a skillet. Transfer the meat mixture into your crockpot, and add all ingredients except for the macaroni noodles and cheese to the crockpot. Cook on low for 4 hours, or high for 2 hours. Add the pasta to the pot and cook on high for 15 minutes, or until the noodles are tender. Stir in the cheese, and serve.
Made it tonight. Really good and certainly easy to make. It’s a winner and repeat for sure.
I made this tonight. Only change I made was using all black beans, we don’t like kidney beans! I also used half chipotle chili powder, half ancho Chile powder. It was delicious! I will definitely be keeping this one. Thank you Jo!
Glad you liked this recipe, Tammie!
Absolutely fantastic recipe. Had everything on hand and whipped it right up.
I have been through the video and this shows how wonderfully you made this. I am sure the taste would delight every individuals. Thanks for sharing ingredients. You made it easy for me
Simple and delicious recipe. I followed the recipe to a T and the final product was AMAZING! Can’t wait to have it for lunch tomorrow 🙂
P.S. this is the 3rd fantastic recipe I’ve made from your blog…I’m officially a Fan!
Thanks so much Stephanie! Happy you like it!
I am now obsessed also!
It says how many servings and the calories per serving but no serving size?
No serving size is shown, but it’s about a cup.
Great recipe, great meal! I made a 1/2 recipe for two of us and we’ve got plenty for a second meal, which we’re looking forward to. Adjustments: 1/2 the recommended amount of diced tomatoes (so for a half recipe, that’s 1/4 of the original), because my husband doesnt like tomatoes. I kept the chili powder at one tbsp because we like heat, and upped the cumin because we love cumin. I love a recipe that produces exactly what’s promised, and this is one of those, even with the changes I made. A winner! Thank you for sharing this.
Made this last night and it was a big hit! I increased the meat to 2 pounds and seasonings accordingly. I had beef broth opened so used that instead of chicken broth. I also mashed up the beans to hide them from my son. Will definitely use the recipe again. Thanks for sharing.
Could this be made in the instant pot? If so, how long would you cook it?
My guess would be 3 minutes at high pressure with a natural release of 5-8 minutes depending on how firm you like your pasta. Might need a little less broth since it won’t be boiling off on the stove? I hope this helps, Kira C.
I did 4 min, quick release and the macaroni came out a little soft. So next time I would reducu the time to 3 min.
This recipe was AMAZING. Everyone who tried some was obsessed with it and its even better reheated for leftovers. Will definitely be making this again.
*I was missing some spices so I used a pouch of Chili-O instead and it turned out just as good
I love the way you can change the ingredients to metric (I tend not to make recipes if they are in cups), but you could keep the teaspoons and tablespoons, as it is very hard to measure spices in ml’s. Lovely recipe by the way. Thank you!
Thank you!
I made this with ground turkey and gluten free noodles tonight, it was delicious!
This was absolutely amazing!!! Super easy and makes a ton of leftovers!! Will definitely stay on the menu!!
I just made the One Pot Chili Mac and Cheese and it is soooo good!! I used about half the noodles and didn’t add cheese until serving because I was making it ahead of time. It came out so good with leftover broth.
This was quick, easy and delicious! 👴🏼 Loved it 😊 Win, win !!