One Pot Chili Mac and Cheese
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our privacy policy for details.
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.
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
I just have one question. What size of Dutch oven did you use? I have a 5 Qt. So, I can make the adjustments needed in the ingredients. Thank you!
I used a 3.5qt Dutch oven.
I just made this tonight! Crazy!
It was delicious. Even my kid who HATES chili loved it.
One of the best I have ever tried my self. Loved how easy it was to make. Thumbs up for this fantastic recipe.
This was great and easy I did add green bell peppers and extra garlic but liked it with crusty bread!
I can’t wait to make this today, perfect for a chilly fall Sunday while we watch some football!!!
This looks like a winner. Especially since I’m looking for comfort food this time of year. Many thanks for posting.
We had 2 or 3 helpings each (just the two of us) and it was so delicious! I’m sending it to my daughters. I know my grandkids will love it! Thanks so much.
This is in our regular rotation (I make it at least once a month)! It makes a lot…way more than the 4 servings that is indicated in the nutritional information.
This is completely delicious. Can I substitute turkey meat for the ground beef?
Yes, absolutely.
I’m thinking of making this with fake (veggie) ground “beef” (Quorn brand). Has anyone tried this? Does it still work? Thanks in advance!
I was going to give this a try in my crock pot – i tried looking through the comments but didn’t see anything, do you know if anybody has tried it that way?
Would I totally ruin this recipe by using while wheat elbows?
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
Do you think left over pulled pork would work instead of the ground beef?
Yes, absolutely. What a great idea!
Hi! We made this tonight without meat and subbed veggie broth. It was great! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
I love that sweet little dog…so cute, but I would be a dog hoarder if my husband would let me.
As it is, I am looking forward to trying this soup…sounds yummy and I bet the men in my house would love it. Thanks for taking the time to post.
Love the look of this mac chili! yumm!
So when I first saw this recipe I too assumed it was a mac and cheese with some chili elements added, not a chili/mac and cheese hydrid-which is what this is. If I hadn’t dug around the comments as I usually do I’d have been pulling my hair out thinking I messed it up. I also didn’t love the odd measurements, as others have commented on as well. I have a small fridge right now and I’m lucky to cook anything, let alone deal with odd leftover portions of meat and canned beans. So, comments in mind, I used a little over 1 lb of ground beef, 1 full can of beans for each-white and red, 16 oz of elbow pasta (whole box) and the whole packet of grated cheese (2 cups). Because I have a 2 and 4 year old I only used 1 tsp of chili powder but otherwise I kept it all the same. It was, as advertised, DAMN DELICIOUS!! As is everything I’ve tried from this site. As I hoped much of the chicken broth absorbed so it was closer to a mac and cheese. I ladled it into a large bowl and put cheese between layers and left it in the bowl a bit longer than the 2 min it would have taken otherwise.
The bottom is a bit saucy so I don’t know how leftovers will be but there are PLENTY and I’m glad for it. The flavors are amazing and I’m glad it took to the tweaking I, and many others, ended up doing to it. I hope Chungah isn’t bothered by all of our adjustments. With little kids “saucy” doesn’t mix! I LOVE this site so much I will GLADLY be buying her cookbook- one, to have pretty pictures and not having to have my latop open in the kitchen and two-to say “THANK YOU” for the blog and the delicious meals I’ve cooked because of it. First time commenting- longtime reader. 🙂
This was delicious and very filling! I didn’t even touch the crusty french bread I served with it. It was a bit soupy at first but good enough for a second helping and since it got to sit and thicken a little I thought it was fabulous! Will definitely make again. Thumbs up all around our table! Thank you!
This recipe is Damn Delicious! I’ve made it several times, and is one of my go-tos. Im a strict vegetarian, so I take out the meat completely, and instead add 2 full cans of beans. One of them kidney beans, the other chili beans with the sauce. I’ve discovered serving this with nacho doritos,which sends it over the top! Thank you for an awesome recipe!
I decided to make this for dinner tonight. I added some bell pepper as well as the diced tomatoes with green Chile’s since we like our chili spicy. I used hot chili powder as well. It tasted delicious! I will definitely make this again. I think next time I might add some lentil beans.