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.
Did you make this recipe?
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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.
Wow this looks so yummy! I love chili and Mac and cheese too! This is he perfect mashup!
Made this tonight. Doubled the beef and the seasonings. I added a green pepper. It was delicious. Thank you!!!
This looks delish and can’t wait to try it! I was wondering why so little meat and can I double the meat without adding extra ingredients? Thanks.
Yes, you can double the meat to your liking but the other ingredients will have to be adjusted as well to compensate for this addition.
Made this tonight. I modified slightly by only adding one can of beans, increased the chili powder to 1 tbsp, used whole grain pasta and added a handful of finely shredded fresh spinach. It was delicious. The whole family enjoyed it and I only have a snack size left. So good and so easy to modify to add in extra veggies. I thought it tasted like a homemade hamburger helper. So much tastier and healthier. It will go into the family rotation. Thank you for the yummy recipe!
Can I make this ahead and freeze it (after cooking). I am making some dishes for myself and my niece who just had twins to keep in the freezer.
Unfortunately, I cannot answer this with certainty as I have never tried freezing this myself – there were no leftovers left to freeze! Please use your best judgment for freezing and reheating.
This looks delicious! I especially like that it is cooked all in one pot as that would be great for making in our motor home. I am just wondering how big a “serving” is, so I can adjust accordingly for 2 seniors with no leftovers, as we don’t have much cold storage space when we travel. Also is the nutritional info really just for one serving? I’m going to give it a try for sure.
A serving is roughly 1-2 cups.
What is a recommended side for this dish, if any?
My absolute favorite side dish is the garlic parmesan roasted potatoes. But please feel free to check out all of my side dish recipes here.
I made this tonight for dinner increasing some of the ingredient amounts–will definitely make again. Thanks!
Hello, I have made this chili Mac and my whole family loved it (which is a miracle!!). I just joined a freezer meal club & im looking for a easy but yummy recipe to make. I was wondering if you think this would freeze well? Clearly I would instruct them to thaw in fridge overnight & then reheat. Any thoughts would be GREATLY appreciated!! I scrolled thru at least 100 comments but didn’t see the topic! Sorry if it’s a repeat!!
Unfortunately, I cannot answer this with certainty as I have never tried freezing this myself – there were no leftovers left to freeze! Please use your best judgment for freezing and reheating.
This turned out delicious! Thank you so much. This was honestly the easiest dinner I think I have ever made…. and clean-up was super easy too!! The only changes I made (after tasting the original recipe) was adding an extra 1/4 cup of cheese and adding a can of tomato sauce. I also used 1 large can of cannelloni beans instead of using a little of each type. Thanks again!
Just had to stop by and thank you for this delightful recipe. I pinned it quite sometime ago, but didn’t get around to making it until this past fall. Boy was I missing out! I made one addition originally. The first time I made it, it turned out thicker than I had anticipated. Having a container of leftover whipping cream in the fridge, I added about 1 cup of that, or to the consistancy I preferred. I’ve continued to make it that way everytime because, why not, it was yummo! Try it with some cream if you’ve never done so.
My husband claims the recipe should called loaded Mac and cheese instead.
MMm. What a great recipe, tasty , quick and delicious. I can’t wait to try your other great recipes.
I’m making this now and it smells delicious. I know my family is going to enjoy it.