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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Can this be frozen?
Unfortunately, I cannot answer this with certainty as I have never tried freezing this myself – there were no leftovers left to freeze! I recommend using your best judgment for freezing and reheating.
This was so good! I mashed some of the beans to make it a little thicker and also added extra chili powder and a little cinnamon for extra flavor. Will definitely make it again.
Thanks for putting this recipe out.
Looks really delicious.
Just made this for dinner. Delish!!!
I made a few additions .
I added more chicken broth, 1 can tomato sauce and 2 tsp of tomato paste.
My version probably tasted more like a hearty soup rather than chili but yummy none the less!!
Is ok to make in a crockpot? And I need to make it for at least 10 people any suggestions on how to adjust for a larger group.
Please understand that it is very difficult to give exact conversion information to translate a traditional stovetop recipe to the slow cooker method without further recipe testing. I recommend using your best judgement to convert this recipe to utilize a slow cooker. Also, this recipe yields about 4-5 servings so please make the adjustments accordingly.
This meal is packed with protein and perfect for a cold evening. I love that cooking it in one pot keeps it hot for a long time. I have braces which forces me to eat slowly, but this stayed warm the whole time and was easy to eat. We probably used more than twice the recommended amount of cheese and it still turned out great. Would it hurt to use a whole pound of beef next time without adjusting the amount of chicken broth? I’m assuming only half a pound is used to keep it healthier.
The recipe really only needs half a pound but if you do decide to add more, the amount of chicken broth will have to be adjusted to compensate for the addition.
This was amazing! I left out the meat because I’m a vegetarian and used gluten free noodles
I didn’t have both types of kidney beans in the closet so I just used black and kidney beans and added more because I left the meat out. I also added a small can of corn and instead of parsley I topped it with avacado.
It was just wonderful!
I made this for dinner tonight, and wow!!! This recipe was amazing. The only thing I did different was use beef instead of chicken broth. It’s great to find such a simple recipe that is still full of flavor. This was comfort food at its finest. Thank you!
This looks AMAZING! I bought the stuff and was just about to make it when I realized…should the garlic be diced, chopped, minced, whatever? Or do I just put the cloves in whole?
Rhonda, the garlic should be minced (or pressed if you prefer).
Thanks for the great recipe! I just made it, and it was yummy! I do have a few questions, though. First, is it a small or medium onion? Second, do you measure your ounces on the net weight of the package or ounces to cups ratios? Why not say 1 & 1/4 C instead of 10 oz.? Why not 1 C instead of 8 oz. of ground beef? And lastly, do you use regular or large elbow? Thanks in advance for all the clarification. I think I may have added a little too much mac, but regardless, it was fantastic! :))
Theresa, you can use either a small or medium or large onion – that really depends on personal preference. I also like to give out the weight of certain ingredients because it’s not like you can go to a meat counter and ask for 1 cup. You can also use regular or large elbow – again, that’s up to you!
WOW!!! I made this for our family and it was really great!! We had some left in the pot and my older son came home from work and finished the rest off. Delicious!!
Wow this looks so good! I can’t wait to try!! Ps. Butters is so adorable!
I made this last night, it was great! The family loved it!! I cooked the meat, and cooked the noodles to al dente and put everything in the crock pot on low for about an hour, then turned it to warm while we were at the gym (another hour), but next time I will be just putting the noodles in uncooked and probably put the crock pot on high. The noodles ended up being a little soft. I also added extra chili powder cause we love a strong chili! This was such a good chili!!! Thank you, Chungah!!!
I found this recipe on Pinterest, and I’m glad I did…it’s yummy AND super easy! One pot, less clean up. *WooHoo* I shared it on Facebook. We’re due to have a cold week here in SC, so I made some to keep our bellies warm. Thanks so much for sharing! (Your dog is so cute! We had a Pembroke Welsh Corgi named Jack {RIP}. He was the best! Absolutely loved–and protected–my son.)
I made thisvtonight and it was awesome! I made only a few changes and only to adjust amounts. I used two full cans of beans, a full lb of pasta (elbows) and inc the stockk by about 1 cup. I also used 2 cups of white cheddar cheese. It came out perfect! We all loved it and we all will love the leftovers I’m sure. I also adjustef the spices as i thought appropriate. Thanks for the great recipe! It truly is a one pot meal! Perfection in a pot!
My whole family loved it (me, husband, my mom, and three-year-old twins)! I used the whole pound of ground beef (drained), the full can of beans, a little extra broth, and added some chipotle chili pepper because we like a little spice. So good! Thank you for sharing!
Made this tonight for dinner. Oh. Em. Geeeeeeeeeeeeee! Tasted fantastic. Very good comfort food, and perfect for the colder weather, although San Diego is still 70 degrees……but very, very tasty.
Can this be frozen and re-heated?
Unfortunately, I cannot answer this with certainty as I have never tried freezing this myself – there were no leftovers left to freeze! I recommend using your best judgment for freezing and reheating.
We are going to try this dish, probably next weekend during the cold cold weather. Love your puppy. We also have a Pembroke Welsh Corgi, he is a little over 8 years old, they are the best dog in the world, even with age. Can’t wait for this dish. Thanks you!!!
I made this for dinner tonight and it was GREAT! My husband, son, and I loved it. It was very easy to make and was very filling. I will be making this again.