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!
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.
I clicked on this for the recipe but I am commenting on Butters! I grew up with Corgis and never knew anyone else who owned one. My heart melts whenever I see one. They are the best dogs!
This looks so good!!! I can’t wait to make this. Butters is absolutely adorable and Congratulations on the new addition.
Thanks for posting. This was a great week night meal. The only thing I changed was to use a full pound of burger.
Can I just take a moment to tell you I love you! lol. Seriously, you have made my life so much easier. I’ve tried tons of your recipes and all but one have been loved by all of us. This recipe is now one of my go to meals that I always have the ingredients for in the house and we make at least twice a month. Super delicious!
Hice esto para mis hijos hoy y solo puedo decir ¡wow!
I made this and it was delicious! Tasty, easy, inexpensive, and it’s also great the next day. I added some Frank’s red hot to my bowl to give it an extra kick (but also because I am addicted to Frank’s.) With or without Frank, I’m keeping this in my rotation forever! Thanks 🙂