One Pot Chili Mac and Cheese
One Pot Chili Mac and Cheese is hearty, delicious and super budget friendly. You only need a few things out of the pantry and a little cheese! Keep this recipe on hand for your next family dinner night, kids love it!
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One Pot Dinners
One pot dinners are always great to keep in mind when you are a busy mom with kids. They make everything a little bit easier when cooking and when dinner is finished you only have 1 pot to clean! What can be better than that?
Try my other one pot/pan dinners for busy nights
One Pot Chili Mac and Cheese
This chili mac and cheese recipe is so easy and I bet you have most the ingredients already on hand. I don’t use any meat for this recipe because it saves money. If you are trying to cut back on grocery spending try making some dinners without meat, meat is usually the most expensive thing in a recipe. That’s why my One Pot Chili Mac is so budget friendly.
I also really love this chili mac dinner because my kids love it! We all know how picky kids can be sometimes, so when they love a dinner, you have to keep it in your recipe arsenal forever.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 T olive oil
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1.5 T cornstarch
- 2 T chili powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp salt
- 8 oz tomato sauce
- 1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
- 1 15 oz can chili beans
- 1 15 oz can black beans
- 1 15 oz can corn, drained
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups macaroni noodles, uncooked
- 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
Most of these ingredients come from the pantry. Keeping a stocked pantry is so helpful when getting dinner together. Pasta and beans are a must have in the pantry.
How to make One Pot Chili Mac and Cheese
In a large pot that has a lid (I used my beautiful pink dutch oven) heat up olive oil over medium heat. Add onions, cook 2-3 minutes until translucent.
Add in cornstarch, garlic powder, cumin, and chili powder. Stir around and cook 1 minute.
Add in beans with the liquid, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and chicken broth. Put the lid on and bring to a boil, be sure to stir every couple minutes.
Once boiling, add the macaroni noodles and cook 10 minutes uncovered. Make sure to stir! The noodles will try to stick to the bottom and we don’t want that.
After the chili mac and cheese has cooked uncovered for 10 minutes, put the lid on a cook 5-6 more minutes until the pasta is tender. Be sure to stir every minute!
Once the pasta is tender, turn off the heat. Add the cheddar cheese and let sit for 5 minutes to thicken and come together.
Topping Ideas: extra cheese, jalapenos, sour cream, parsley, green onions, whatever you like!
I like to serve this up with some healthier cornbread, just like I do with chili.
Chili Mac and Cheese Substitutions
Gluten Free: I use cornstarch for my thickener instead of flour. So the only thing you have to do to make this recipe gluten free is use gluten free pasta! My favorite kind is Ronzoni because it taste EXACTLY like regular pasta.
Vegetarian: My one pot chili mac and cheese can easily be made vegetarian. It doesn’t have any meat so you only need to make a one change. Use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.
Vegan: Change the chicken broth to vegetable broth and eliminate the cheese. You can use a vegan cheese if you like.
Chili Mac and Cheese Serving Size and Storage
The serving size for the delicious One Pot Chili Mac and Cheese is a rounded cup full. It is a large hearty portion and under 350 calories!
You can store leftovers in the refrigerator up to 7 days.
If you try this recipe, please leave a rating and let me know in the comments below. I hope you love this as much as we do!
Be sure to tag #cakestokale on Instagram and Facebook if you make any of my recipes, I love to see them and share them!
One Pot Chili Mac and Cheese
One Pot Chili Mac and Cheese is hearty, delicious and super budget friendly. You only need a few things out of the pantry and a little cheese! Keep this recipe on hand for your next family dinner night, kids love it!
Ingredients
- 1 T olive oil
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1.5 T cornstarch
- 2 T chili powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp salt
- 8 oz tomato sauce
- 1-15 oz can diced tomatoes
- 1-15 oz can chili beans
- 1-15 oz can black beans
- 1-15 oz can corn, drained
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups macaroni noodles, uncooked
- 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions, cook 2-3 minutes or until translucent.
- Add in cornstarch, garlic powder, cumin, and chili powder. Stir around and cook 1 minute.
- Add in beans with the liquid, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and chicken broth. Put the lid on and bring to a boil, stir every couple minutes.
- Once boiling, add the macaroni noodles and cook 10 minutes, uncovered. Stirring every 2 minutes.
- Put the lid on a cook 5-6 more minutes until the pasta is tender. Stir every 2 minutes.
- Once the pasta is tender, turn off the heat. Add the cheddar cheese and let sit for 5 minutes to thicken and come together.
- Top with more cheese or your other favorite toppings.
- ENJOY!
Notes
Serving size: 1 mounded cup
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 313Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 9mgSodium: 906mgCarbohydrates: 52gNet Carbohydrates: 40gFiber: 12gSugar: 9gSugar Alcohols: 0gProtein: 15g
Nutrition is calculated with products I use, therefore it is not always accurate.
Social Media Images One Pot Chili Mac and Cheese
