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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Just made this. I think the recipe should read 6 oz. of pasta. It soaked up all the liquid, not like a soup at all. But very tasty.
Mindy, this is not really supposed to be a “soup” per se. This is really a hybrid between mac and cheese and chili, so there should only be a little bit of thickened chili along with some cheesy goodness 🙂
My boyfriend and I (mostly him) are Corgi obsessed even though we don’t have a little puppy of our own yet. Butters is too freaking cute!
I made this last night — I knew our teenaged boy would eat the whole thing as written, so I actually used 2 pounds of hamburger meat and pretty much doubled the rest of the recipe ingredients, except used the same amt of elbow mac and 6 cups of chicken broth. OMG, amazing and delicious. The broth is wonderful! Since the kid almost single-handedly consumed the HUGH Asian quinoa salad I made — we have leftovers of this recipe. Chung-Ah – I am so glad I found your site. Your recipes inspire me! I have made so many of them! This one is a keeper too!
Omg, Chung-Ah… Butters is freaking adorable! I miss my dogs so much. *cries*
Butters sound like a name I’d want to give my future kid. LOL! That and Cookie, Crumble, Cocoa, Berry, Sugar… stuff like that. And mixing 2 food items into one pot? You’re smart.
If you want to make this for a serving of 4, then cut the amount of the ingredients in half. I made this tonight to serve 4 but in reality it is closer to a serving of 8-10. It did taste good though. I substituted tomato sauce for the tomatoes as my wife does not like canned tomatoes.
I think we may have more hungry eaters here. The two of us cleaned this up in 2 sittings!
Did you just use a can of beans each. Or did you measure 3/4 cup. I just threw a cam each. Hoping it works.
Susie, I measured 3/4 cup for each. There is about 1 1/2 cups in a can of beans.
Just made this! It is delicious and so simple! Thank you for sharing it!! Yummmmm!
Oh my that is the cutest puppy ever!!!! My friend has a corgi. I just love that dog. Congratulations!!!!! I hope you post more pictures as she grows and prospers.
This recipe is the cat’s meow—-I used that metaphor for your new baby girl.
I am looking for kid friendly recipe that adults would like also. New grandkids in my sphere of influence, which is prompting my search. This would fit the bill.
Do you drain your beans and/or tomatoes?
Only the beans should be drained and rinsed.
Sorry, I was reading the list on my phone and somehow missed that you did state drained and rinsed. Luckily that’s exactly what I did. Thanks for the quick reply too. I just finished eating this for lunch. I also found that mine did not turn out as “soupy” as the picture like another person stated, more like chili mac because the noodles absorbed the liquid. I still very much enjoyed it! I’m sure you could cook the noodles separately and add them in right before eating, but I like it the one pot meal. I used chicken stock and fire roasted diced tomatoes because that’s what I had on hand. I think it could be cheesier, but I am watching what I’m eating so it’s probably for the best! Thanks!
No worries – I actually just updated the recipe when you pointed that out for other readers with the same question.
I love that name! Such a cutie. This mac looks delicious. Good luck with the new pup.
My son is allergic to tomatoes, I wonder if it would still be good if I omit them?
Susan, the tomatoes here are a crucial part of this dish. You can certainly try to omit them but I cannot speak for how much this will change the taste/texture of the overall dish.
Mine is too. I actually add corn instead to give it a little sweetness. It still comes out amazing. It’s one of his favorite meals.
Having grandchildren with a variety of food allergies, it can be a struggle at times to adapt recipes to their needs. I am going out on a limb here, to suggest jarred red peppers (not brined) diced. Maybe try using 1 cup… a smaller amount than the tomatoes called for because of the little bit stronger taste of red pepper. It will be a different taste but looking at the ingredients listed, it could still be delicious.
I love one dish meals 🙂 and the idea of chili mac & cheese sounds amazing!
Wow looks so yummy! I’ll prob use ground turkey (always adding a little worcestershire sauce to help turkey taste richer); I haven’t used ground beef in months! My hubby and kids can’t tell the diff!
Nice way to combine two great dishes!
Loved the whole idea of the one pot wonder, however I thought it was a little bland. I had to up the seasonings! Otherwise a good dish!
One pot dinners are the best! Pinned and shared!
Aww…Butters is adorable! So precious. I bet your hearts are swelling with joy over this new addition to your family. But, this recipe? Perfect! Mac and Cheese Chili. Where has this been my whole life? 😉 Busy moms everywhere will rave and become fans of this recipe. An instant classic! Thanks for sharing. Will pin to group boards at Pinterest! xo
Oh!!! I must say that I am a little blindsided by your adorable pup, that it’s hard to focus on your awesome recipe, but I’ll do my best here. This does look delicious and filling. A perfect meal in my home where I’ve got 3 hungry guys. Corgies are so, so adorable! Congratulations! : )
Yay! So glad you brought your sweet puppy home. I picture lots of snuggles and cozy chili mac in your future. 🙂