One Pot Chili Mac and Cheese
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Two favorite comfort foods come together in this super easy, 30 min one-pot meal that the whole family will go crazy for!
So after 2 long months of waiting and waiting, I finally brought our new puppy home today. Here is the newest member of the Damn Delicious family – Butters, our 10-week old Pembroke Welsh Corgi.
It’s been a very long day as I sit by hyperventilating each time he whines, but apparently that’s quite normal in the puppy world. So forgive me for today’s short post!
So about this mac and cheese. Now it’s definitely not your ordinary mac and cheese. It’s mac and cheese combined with a super easy homemade chili using pantry ingredients, combining two of your favorite kind of comfort foods in a single one pot meal. It’s quick, easy and sure to be a hit with the entire family. You can’t beat that!
One Pot Chili Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 8 ounces ground beef
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
- ¾ cup canned white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- ¾ cup canned kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon cumin
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 10 ounces elbow macaroni
- ¾ cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add ground beef and onion, and cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the beef as it cooks; drain excess fat.
- Stir in garlic until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Stir in chicken broth, tomatoes, beans, chili powder and cumin; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Stir in pasta. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat and simmer until pasta is cooked through, about 13-15 minutes.
- Remove from heat. Top with cheese and cover until melted, about 2 minutes.
- Serve immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired.
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Made this today, used beef bone broth and a full 14 oz can of Dellalo Italian bean medley (my only adjustment). Turned out delicious, my only adjustment next time will be to use half the amount of pasta that it calls for, it soaked up all of the delicious bone broth.
This makes a delicious chili that my whole family enjoys. The one thing that bugs me is the weird amounts of ingredients. Instead of using whole cans of beans, for example, you call for 3/4 cup. Please adjust the recipe to use up the whole cans… I never seem to use up the remaining dribs and drabs leftover.
Love all your recipes
This is one of our family’s favorites! I make it again and again, everyone loves it!
Made this last night. We loved it. I used a lb of ground beef rather than 8oz and put a little less pasta. Came out super good and a nice easy dinner.
Whoa! This is a winner and is being added to our monthly rotation. Thank you!
I love this recipe and have made it so many times! It’s super simple and a family favorite. Comfort food to the max.
You listed the beans twice
There are two types of beans in this recipe – white kidney beans and kidney beans.
I cut the broth to just one cup and cooked the macaroni separately to al dente. I increased the chili powder by a few sprinkles. Topped with Parmesan cheese too.
Sooooo good! We added a bit more chili powder and cumin. I used cavatappi noodles. Delish!!!
I doubled this recipe but still wish it had more meat. Used a little bit less broth as it was too “soupy” and not chili like. Expect a soup more or less. Cooked my macaroni separately for 5-6 min. and added to our bowls before pouring the soup over it. I also added chipotle chili powder for spice. The soup was simple but we both really enjoyed it!
It wouldn’t have been soupy if you had cooked the macaroni with the chili the way the recipe instructed. The macaroni would’ve absorbed the liquid and released starches to thicken the chili.
This was so good! Thank you. I will definitely make it again.
I make this all the time. We love it!!! So simple and so delicious.
It really is damn delicious. Only thing I would suggest is undercooking the noodles and letting them absorb the broth off heat for about 10-15 minutes so they don’t become too soggy. Oh, and definitely a whole lb of ground beef. Knock out recipe!
I made this and followed the recipe exactly. The pasta got soggy. Too much liquid and not enough spices. I would make it again and cook the pasta separately and add more spices to it.
Have made yet but I will definitely add more chili powder and not quite qualified th call mac and cheese. I think its usually a good idea to cook pasta separately to control the liquid and pasta will continue to absorb the broth. Otherwise sounds really good.
Delicious! I’ve made it several times now. Since I eat leftovers all week long I do not cook the pasta with the chili. I add cooked pasta to the bowl when I reheat the chili for lunch at work. I have also frozen this recipe without the pasta and it works beautifully -when ready to eat thaw the chili then cook the amount of pasta you need and add it as you reheat the chili.
Not as mac n cheesy as I had hoped. More like a soup, like a pasta fagioli. Maybe use half the broth to get it more like a chili consistency. But it was totally easy, totally edible. I added 2 diced jalapenos and tossed them in, with a dollop of creme fraiche in each serving. Tasted great; my dining partner loved it. I like the ideas in other comments to add more beef. I have a ton left over, but worry the pasta will be limp tomorrow.
Damn delicious! I added two beef bouillon cubes and used an entire pound of ground beef and it was perfect. Great meal for a crisp fall night.
So I’ve made this many times. We love it. I add 1lb ground beef and 16oz Mac noodles. I omit the beans because I love beans but they don’t love me. I add 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper just for a minor kick. We top it off with sliced avacado and sour cream at the end. Delicious!
Loved it instead of seasoning I just used a pk of chili seasoning. A defiant redu