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 had the one pot meal recently and it was delicious! I am making this for a large group while traveling in a small RV. I need to cook in a crock pot. ( I can brown meat, onions, garlic on cooktop) Has anyone done this and can recommend how long to cook so noodles are done but not mushy?
So easy to make and both my husband and I love it. He always looks forward to taking leftovers for lunch.
My family liked this meal. I used black beans and northern beans because that was what I had. I had two cups of cheese on top, but after eating the meal, my family decided we needed to mix in more of the cheese as well. We will be keeping this one!
I just made a double batch of this. I didn’t have diced tomatoes so I used 2 cans of tomato sauce. Comfort in a bowl. Thanks for the recipe!
This was fantastic! I hate when people say, “this was so good” but have changed nearly all the ingredients, but I did make just a few adjustments based on what my pantry had available. I used 1lb ground beef instead of 8oz, a 14.5oz can or pinto beans, a 14.5oz can of navy beans, and 1tsp each of salt and pepper. Everything else the same. Huge hit and we will totally make again!
This was really quick to make and delicious! It will b we in the rotation for sure! Will have to make a good loaf of crusty bread next time too.
This has become a family favorite! My kids love it and my husband and I think it’s delicious. Made it just like the recipe says, but used the whole box of elbows and so added a little more broth. So, so good!!
I’m just curious – why kosher salt specifically? And not “plain” salt? Asking as kosher salt is hard to find in Europe.
It was good the day I cooked it. I would recommend it; however, it wasn’t nearly as good reheated the next day.
Decided to make this tonight and it was delicious. Instead of adding the cheddar directly to the pot I made a roux so the cheese would be creamy like traditional Mac n cheese!
OMG! So delicious! Thank you for sharing this recipe. My husband ate 2 gigantic bowls and said thank you for supper 3 times, lol.
We liked this but ignored some of the amounts and went with the spirit of the recipe. I used 1 lb of ground beef, a full can of white beans, drained & rinsed, and 1 can chili beans with gravy since I was out of kidney beans. (I don’t need a bit of unused beans in the fridge) I used I can of Rotel tomatoes and a cup of fresh chopped. By the way, 10 oz of macaroni is just a bit less than 3 cups in case you buy in bulk. This recipe makes quite a bit and kept well in the fridge for 2 days. Don’t be afraid to customize if your ingredients don’t match perfectly. The onion and spice ratios are very nice.
This is DELICIOUS, we love it!!!!
Do you drain the tomatoes?
Great dinner option. Made it tonight. Family loved it. I used 16oz of ground Turkey and 8oz sour cream based on another review. I also decreased broth to 3 cups so it wouldn’t be too soupy. Delicious!
Just got a Dutch Oven and this is the first recipe I tried. Sooo yummy! My husband loved it. Will be making again!
It’s a wonderful and easy dish that’s hits every single time. The question I have have you tried slow cooking the chili Mac and roni can be all place it in a slow cooker.
Easy and delicious! Had all the ingredients to make tacos, but switched to this at the last minute due to easy-ness. I tasted after it cooked and increased the spices just a bit. Was great! An easy meal for a cold night!
This was so delicious and easy to make! I used 16 oz of ground beef bc I knew the other 8oz. would’ve gone to waste in my freezer. Seems like just the right amount of meat to broth and beans ratio. I will definitely make it again!
Super easy and delicious. Thank you for the recipe! 🙂