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 made this and it was very good! Even though it tasted delicious it came out very dark in color (like dark gravy color). It did not look bright and colorful like the photo. Any suggestions on what I may have done for it to turn so dark? My kids were not impressed with the presentation. Any thoughts would be welcome!
Angi, I’m not entirely sure why it came out so dark in color. Did you follow the ingredient list as is? If all else fails, you can always top it off with a little bit of grated cheese – extra cheese always get me more excited about my meal 🙂
Maybe she forgot to drain and rinse the beans? That would darken it some, if you forgot to do that.
Have you tried freezing this recipe? Would you add the cheese before freezing or after it’s been heated once it’s been thawed out?
Michelle, unfortunately I have not tried freezing this (there were no leftovers to freeze 🙂 so I cannot answer this with certainty. I recommend using your best judgement for freezing/reheating options.
Made this tonight – an easy, impromptu dinner. Really enjoy it. Thanks for the recipe!
I made this tonight and it was DELICIOUS!!! I add our favorite toppings just like we were having chili, delicious. I could’t believe how easy this was.
Thanks so much!
Cuteness overload! And, we’re making this for dinner.
Thanks!
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I have 2 Pem’s named Buttercup and Wesley…I call Buttercup, Butter! They are the BEST dogs in the world! You will never pee alone or do anything alone for that mattter…always under your feet!
Yes, the peeing alone has definitely come to an end! 🙂
Making this for the 2nd time tonight-it’s been a huge hit with everyone. I watch a little girl who is dairy free-I scoop out her portion first and then add the cheese. The first time I made it with bacon and that was really good, going with the beef today.
I have looked at several grocery stores nearby (Walmart and Kroger) and haven’t found white kidney beans so I’m just going to make this tonight with all red. And since I had a bag of dried I’m going to soak and cook those instead of canned. If anyone else knows where to find the white ones please tell me where I’m missing them!
Megan, I was able to find them at Trader Joe’s and my local grocery store. If all else fails, you can always order from Amazon.
Walmart/Kroger both carry great northern beans and cannellini beans which are both white and can be used in this recipe.
I added fresh cilantro…used rotel tomatoes, and the shredded Mexican blend cheese….delicious…the fresh cilantro, if you like it, is a huge flavor enhancer in this meal!
I made this for dinner last night and it was delicious! I vegetarianized it by swapping the ground beef for a vegetarian substitute and chicken broth for vegetable broth. It was so good! I ate a bowl and a half for dinner and just ate another for lunch today. Yum!
Made this tonight and it was delish!! I did use turkey instead of beef and added a can of corn. A little too soupy but I will add some tomato sauce next time to thicken it up a bit. Very very tasty I will be making this again, thank you so much for sharing!
Yes, canned corn contains a lot of fluid, even if you drain it first, so some adjustment is necessary. What I always do is have on hand a box of very small pasta (orzo, acini de pepe, or those little Mexican stars), and about halfway through if my chili or spaghetti sauce is looking like it will be too soupy I throw in a tablespoon or two of the tiny pasta to absorb the excess liquid. Because they’re so small they cook faster than the other pasta so as long as you don’t wait too long to add them it should all come out fine.
did you drain the ground beef after cooking it? That might be a crazy question but just making sure.
Yes, I recommend draining the ground beef.
thank you
Holy smackeroni and cheese Batman!! I just saw this on someone’s board on pinterest, came here, found your crazy awesome site, and have made this for supper. This is so deliciously easy and yummy! As a mommy cooking for 7 people, this is so much appreciated!
What possibly got in your mind to create this? You inspire me!
Out of 6 kids 2 adults only had one not like it and I think he was just having a bad day and didn’t want nothing but his corn bread. I did have to play with it alittle since I was cooking for 8 and I wanted left overs for the weekend. I had hot Mexican chili powder so I was scared to add more so I added some of my homemade taco seasoning. I wanted a little deeper red color so I added two T of tomato paste. Next time I will add green peppers and might try it with corn.
I made this Monday and my husband & I loved it. Thank you for this recipe!
I made this tonight and it was kind of bland. I added more cumin and chili powder and in the end added a spoonful of salsa which gave it more flavor. If I were to make it again, I would double the ground beef and cut the noodles in half. I thought the ratio was a little off. There is definitely room to experiment a little! You have to add more liquid if you want to make it more like Chili. If you want it more like mac and cheese, I suppose you could use the recommended liquid add more cheese and throw it in the oven for a bit.
Molly, it really depends on how you want this to be – more mac and cheese or more chili. This is really a hybrid recipe, so although I could’ve added more spices, I wanted to keep a nice balance without overpowering any of the flavors.
Hi Molly, I completely agree with you! I wish I had seen your comment prior to making this tonight. Way too bland and definitely needed more spices. I ended up also adding a lot more cumin and chili powder.
I made this for dinner last night and it was SOOO good! Such a warm, hearty food after a long day. I subbed whole wheat rotini (because that’s what I had on hand) and just one can of kidney beans rather than partial cans of kidney and white. So delicious! Thanks 🙂
90% of my meals in my recipe book come from your blog. They are DELICIOUS and this one is no exception. You’re fabulous!