This chili mac is my family’s favorite one-pot meal! Tender pasta, homemade beef chili, and plenty of ooey-gooey cheese. You know this is in our regular dinner rotation! Two of my favorite foods combined. Fusion food never tasted so good!
This is an absolute must-try recipe. Don’t take just my word for it, just check out the comments below. This has been one of my most popular recipes on Pinterest for almost a decade! Pinterest people know.
Not only is this recipe delicious, but it’s also super quick and easy to put together so it’s fabulous for a busy weeknight dinner. All made on the stovetop in one-skillet. No packet of taco seasoning here, this recipe combines a simple blend of spices that knock this recipe out of the park!
Pasta recipes like this are perfect when you need a satisfying meal without a lot of fuss. Chili mac uses pantry ingredients to spice up a beloved, classic meal. Once your family tries our chili mac recipe, you’ll be making it on repeat!
If you love a one-pot meal as much as I do, I hope you try a few more of my favorites:
Easy Chili Mac Ingredients
- Noodles: We use elbow macaroni because the hollow shape allows the sauce to nestle inside each noodle. Any short pasta with ridges will work, though. Be sure to keep the same ratio of noodles to the sauce if you’re adjusting the recipe. You want to be sure the pasta has enough liquid to cook properly.
- Tomato Sauce: Some types of tomato sauce also have added herbs like basil. We recommend the plain sauce so you can control which flavors go into the dish.
- Cheese: If you don’t have a Mexican cheese blend on hand, shredded cheddar cheese, Monterey jack, or Colby cheese are great substitutes. If your family likes spicier chili, pepper jack cheese would be a fun addition too.
- Meat: Because this dish is so flavorful, ground turkey or a plant-based substitute will be just as delicious as chili mac with beef.
- Onion: Yellow onions have a mild flavor that most kids don’t mind.
- Chili Powder: This is a blend of aromatic dried chiles. My favorite is McCormick-the regular one, not the dark.
- Vegetable Oil
- Cumin
- Salt
- Garlic
- Brown Sugar
- Water
- Black Pepper
- Parsley Or Cilantro
Tips
- Toasting the Spices: Don’t forget to add the spices while you’re cooking the onion. Doing it at this point enhances the flavors of the spices and mellows any harshness in the chili powder.
Storing + Freezing + Make-Ahead
- How Long Can You Keep This In The Fridge? According to Still Tasty, macaroni in tomato sauce can safely last in the refrigerator for 3-4 days once cooked.
- Can You Freeze This? Most chefs agree that freezing pasta can lead to soggy noodles when they’re reheated. You can avoid this by undercooking the elbow macaroni if you plan to freeze the whole batch for 1-2 months. Try cooking the noodles for just 5 minutes. They will finish cooking when you thaw the chili mac and cheese
- Another option is to freeze the meat sauce by itself and add the noodles and cheese after you’ve defrosted it. If you’re making this recipe as part of your meal prep, either method will work to ensure that your chili mac comes out delicious every time.
- Make-Ahead Tips: If you’re short on time and would like to make this in advance, you can brown the meat and make the sauce ahead of time. Cook the noodles in the sauce right before you’re ready to serve your chili mac recipe.
- Cooking the noodles too far in advance could lead to them getting mushy when you reheat them. Don’t forget to add the cheese – it brings the dish together.
- Food Safety: Here’s an article you might want to check out.
Variations
- Add Beans: As written, this is a chili mac no beans version. Beans do indeed taste great in this, so feel free to add a can of drained and rinsed pinto beans, kidney beans, or black beans.
- Add Some Freshness: I like to add a little more nutrition and freshness by adding some fresh diced tomatoes and chopped fresh cilantro. It’s the perfect way to add some vitamin c and lots of phytonutrients. You can also drain a can of diced tomatoes if you don’t have fresh tomatoes. Add them to the top or stir them into the dish right after the pasta is cooked.
- Make it Spicy: As written this cheesy chili mac is fairly mild because I want to keep it kid-friendly. If you want to spice it up you can add a diced jalapeno (include the seed if you want a lot of heat) and or cayenne pepper.
- Different Cheese: If you don’t like to use prepackaged cheese because of the added cellulose, substitute it with shredded Monterey jack cheese or pepper jack cheese.
Serving Recommendation
I serve this with a simple green salad, garlicky sautéed asparagus, roasted broccoli, or my brown sugar glazed carrots.
What Is The Difference Between Chili Mac And American Goulash?
Chili Mac has a thicker consistency and more typical “chili” spices and flavors than its brothier cousin American Goulash.
Is Chili Mac A Midwest Thing?
It is very common to find chili mac throughout the midwest like it’s common to find Johnny Marzetti Casserole. Everyone has their own variation of the recipe.
How To Make One-Skillet Chili Mac
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Saute onion, chili powder, cumin, and salt in a large skillet (I like to use one with high sides).
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Add the garlic and brown sugar and cook.
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Add the ground beef and brown lightly. Remove excess grease it there’s any.
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Add the water, salt, and tomato sauce to the skillet and stir to mix.
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Stir in the pasta and cover, increasing the heat.
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Cook the mixture, stirring often. Continue to cook until the pasta is tender.
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Take the skillet off the heat and add 1 cup of the cheese mixture. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste.
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Top the skillet with the remaining cheese and rest the mixture off the heat for a few minutes or until cheese melts.
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Sprinkle with chopped parsley.
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Serve.
See full instructions below.
More One-Pot Easy Recipes
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Chili Mac
This chili mac is my family’s favorite one-pot meal! Tender pasta, homemade beef chili, and ooey-gooey cheese. Add this to your regular dinner rotation!
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- salt
- 4 large cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar, packed
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 2 cups water
- 1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
- 8 ounces about 2 cups elbow macaroni
- 1-8 ounce package shredded Mexican cheese blend
- black pepper
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley or cilantro, chopped
Instructions
- In a 12 inch nonstick skillet, add oil (1 tablespoon) and heat until it's shimmering. Add onion (1), chili powder (1 tablespoon), cumin (1 tablespoon), and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook over medium heat until onion is soft, stirring often so spices don't burn, about 5-7 minutes.
- Add the garlic (4) and brown sugar (1 tablespoon) and cook, continuing to stir, so garlic doesn't burn, for about 30 seconds. Add the ground beef (1 pound) and brown lightly, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon as it cooks, until there is no pink in the meat.
- Add the water (2 cups), 3/4 teaspoon salt, and tomato sauce (1 (15-ounce) can) to the skillet and stir to mix. Stir in the pasta (8 ounces) and cover, increasing the heat to medium-high. Cook the mixture, stirring often and adjusting the heat to maintain a vigorous simmer (not a boil). Continue to cook until the pasta is tender, about 9-12 minutes.
- Take the skillet off the heat and add 1 cup of the cheese mixture. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste. Top the skillet with the remaining cheese and rest the mixture off the heat for a few minutes or until cheese melts. Sprinkle with chopped parsley (2 tablespoons). Serve.
Fans Also Made:
Notes
- Noodles: We use elbow macaroni because the hollow shape allows the sauce to nestle inside each noodle. Any short pasta with ridges will work, though. Be sure to keep the same ratio of noodles to the sauce if you’re adjusting the recipe. You want to be sure the pasta has enough liquid to cook properly.
- Tomato Sauce: When choosing a tomato sauce for this recipe, be sure to check the label. Many varieties have added salt, so you may want to decrease the amount of salt you add. Adjust the seasoning after you’ve tasted it. Some types of tomato sauce also have added herbs like basil. We recommend the plain sauce so you can control which flavors go into the dish.
- Cheese: If you don’t have a Mexican cheese blend on hand, shredded cheddar cheese, or Colby cheese are great substitutes. If your family likes spicier chili, pepper jack cheese would be a fun addition too.
- Meat: Because this dish is so flavorful, ground turkey or a plant-based substitute will be just as delicious as ground beef.
- Onion: Yellow onions have a mild flavor that most kids don’t mind. If you like a more pronounced onion flavor, red or white varieties will work nicely here.
- Chili Powder: Most pre-mixed chili powders have added salt as one of the first ingredients. However, there are a few brands on the market that don’t contain any salt. Be sure to check the label so you can adjust your added salt accordingly.
- Toasting the Spices: Don’t forget to add the spices while you’re cooking the onion. Doing it at this point enhances the flavors of the spices and mellows any harshness in the chili powder.
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Perfect fall meal and leftovers for lunch! Didn’t change anything
That’s fantastic, Nikki! Thank you 🙂
Always good! I recently made with cavatappi, and I would suggest at least 1/2 cup more water and more time so that the pasta softens. This recipe is a staple in our home.
Do u use elbow macaroni or large elbow?
I use elbow macaroni 🙂 Enjoy!
We’ve been making this for a couple years! It’s always on rotation since it’s my son’s favorite meal! We make it as directed sometimes with onions, sometimes with powder when we need something easy and quick and it always turns out amazing! Thank you thank you 🙂 🙂
That’s amazing, Ash! I like that you make this a little different every time you make this. I’m glad it was a hit!
Thank you so much for your positive review 🙂
Turned out great, kids loved it. I loved how amounts of ingredients was included in steps so I didn’t have to constantly scroll up! All recipes should be written this way!!
Wow, thank you so much for your compliment, Sasha. Yes, I scroll up several times before. I’m glad the kids approved this 🙂
I made this as directed other than the onion as we don’t eat them. I did use onion oil and onion powder instead. I was really disappointed in the lack of flavor and that the pasta came out very gummy. I had to add water to get the pasta to soften up and it then was quite gummy. If I made this again I might cook the pasta separately. But I would need to find more flavor, it was just blah. I am sad because I was really looking forward to it!
Hi, Susannah. Sorry, it didn’t turn out well. I hope you’ll try some of my other recipes.
I VEGANIZED this recipe using 4 Beyond Beef patties and Chao Mexican Style shreds. Absolutely DELICIOUS! Thank you!
Hi! Wow, that’s amazing! Thank you for sharing your vegan version 🙂
Awesome recipe!! Thank you! I made it and instead of adding cheese to the pot added it separately to bowls after (The wife is lactose intolerant and wanted to bring some to work). Tried it without cheese myself and it tastes great without it too so thats a huge plus cause that makes it even more budget friendly. I also added kidney beans cause whats chili without beans? lol A spoonful of sour cream on top was also a tasty addition we did as well. Again, thank you for such a great and easy recipe and an amazing recipe blog in general. 🙂
Wow Tristan! Thank you for your lovely feedback. It’s people like you that make me LOVE my job! So happy this worked so well for your family! I hope you try more of our recipes! <3