One-Pot Chili Mac
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Chili meets mac and cheese in this one-pot dinner that’s cozy, kid-approved, and easy enough for a weeknight. This is chili mac at its best!
Photo by Johnny Miller (Clarkson Potter, 2021)
A regular menu item in the school cafeteria when I was growing up, chili mac is one of those nostalgic dishes that reminds me of my childhood. When my kids were younger, it was one of my go-to weeknight dinners. Nowadays, I make a big batch when my young nephews come for dinner. I mean, with pasta, cheese, and ground beef, how can you go wrong with kids?
This dish comes together in less than 45 minutes. Serve it with tortilla chips for dipping or crushing over the top.
“Full of familiar flavors, but miles away from school cafeteria fare.”
What You’ll Need To Make Chili Mac
- Yellow onion and garlic: The flavor foundation—sautéed first to build depth and aroma.
- Spice blend (ancho chili powder, ground cumin, smoked paprika, cayenne, and oregano): Brings that classic chili flavor. It’s mild as written, but you can bump up the cayenne for more heat.
- Lean ground beef: Adds richness and heartiness without being too greasy. Feel free to use ground chicken or turkey.
- Chicken broth & canned tomato sauce: These form the saucy base—broth cooks the pasta right in the pan, and tomato sauce adds tang to balance the beef and cheese.
- Macaroni: A chili mac staple that holds onto all the saucy goodness. Feel free to swap in another short pasta like rotini or shells.
- Evaporated milk & Mexican cheese blend: These team up for a creamy, cheesy finish. The cheese blend typically includes cheddar, Monterey Jack, and other mild melty cheeses.
- Scallions: Sprinkled on at the end for a fresh, oniony crunch and pop of color.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Sauté the onion. Heat the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until it softens. It should take 3 to 4 minutes.
Step 2: Add garlic and spices. Stir in the garlic, spices, and salt. Cook for about a minute, just until fragrant—be careful not to let the garlic brown. Toasting the spices now helps bring out their best flavor. Just be careful not to burn them, or they can take on a bitter flavor.
Step 3: Brown the beef. Add the ground beef and cook, stirring and breaking it up with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Breaking the beef into smaller crumbles as it cooks helps it mix evenly with the pasta later.
Step 4: Add the liquids and pasta. Add the broth, tomato sauce, oregano, sugar, and pasta and give it a good stir to combine. (Make sure the pasta is mostly submerged so it cooks evenly in the sauce.)
Step 5: Simmer and stir in cheese. Bring everything to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover, and simmer until the pasta is tender, 9 to 12 minutes. Take it off the heat, then stir in the evaporated milk and shredded cheese until melted and creamy.
Step 6: Serve. Spoon the chili mac into bowls and top with scallions. Serve with extra cheese and tortilla chips for dipping or crumbling over the top.
Video Tutorial
More Kid-Friendly dishes You May Like
Easy One-Pot Chili Mac
This cozy one-pot chili mac is everything you want on a busy night—hearty, family-friendly, and quick to pull together.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon Ancho chile powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1½ teaspoons smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional; omit for less heat)
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- 1 pound 85 or 90% lean ground beef
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 8 ounces (about 2 cups) elbow macaroni
- 1 cup (8 oz) evaporated milk
- 1½ cups (one 6-oz package) shredded Mexican cheese blend, plus more for serving
- 3 medium scallions, dark green parts only, thinly sliced
- Tortilla chips, for serving
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic, chile powder, cumin, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper (if using), and salt and cook, stirring often, about 1 minute more. Add the beef and cook, stirring and breaking apart the meat, until no longer pink, 3 to 5 minutes.
- Stir in the broth, tomato sauce, oregano, sugar, and macaroni and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer, stirring every so often so the macaroni doesn't stick to the bottom, until the pasta is al dente, 9 to 12 minutes. Use a soup spoon to skim any grease off the top, if necessary.
- Off the heat, add the evaporated milk and cheese and stir until the cheese is melted. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. Ladle the chili mac into bowls and sprinkle with the scallions. Serve with more shredded cheese and tortilla chips.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (4 servings)
- Calories: 918
- Fat: 46 g
- Saturated fat: 20 g
- Carbohydrates: 70 g
- Sugar: 18 g
- Fiber: 6 g
- Protein: 55 g
- Sodium: 1489 mg
- Cholesterol: 155 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Omgosh this was a hit! Hubs is vegetarian/pescatarian so I used a pack of beyond meat burgers and a packet of beyond meat sausage. Made vegetable broth from previously trimmed vegetables odds and ends and added a bit of soy and fish sauce – I know sounds weird but turned out yumm! Followed directions for everything else and yummy! Another Once Upon a Chef recipe for rotation!
This is amazing! We all loved it — including my picky 8 and 11 year olds! I just omitted the cayenne, doubled the recipe and added a can of kidney beans! It was perfect! Thank you!!!
Hi Jenn,
Our family has some dairy intolerance challenges. Can you recommend a substitute ingredient for the evaporated milk, which is heavily concentrated with lactose and casein? I have been able to find some cheese substitutes to replace all or part of the grated cheese.
Love your recipes and own your book😊. Keep us your fabulous work!!
Hi Carol, glad you like the recipes! I’d actually just leave the evaporated milk out. It won’t be quite as creamy but will still be delicious. Please LMK how it turns out if you try it!
Thank you, Jenn! This is SOOO good! I followed the recipe to a ‘T’ and it turned out perfectly! Honestly, any recipe I have tried of yours has been a hit; all starting with your Pumpkin Bread recipe a few years ago (which I have shared with many friends and family along with your website)! Let’s just say my taste buds totally get you! The only thing I did differently is serve with cornbread muffins. SO good!
Would regular paprika or chili powder be a good substitute for the smoked paprika? Only got a pinch left!😬
Sure, either should work – enjoy!
This is delicious and so easy to bring together. Perfect for a week night!
The flavors are amazing and the ease of cooking for any night of the week is much appreciated in our busy family.
My family loved this! It was so easy and delicious on a rainy night. Jenn never lets us down!
We’ve always wanted to try chili mac and cheese so I was very happy when this recipe came into my inbox. I’m so impressed!! So delicious, so easy, just spectacular. I added a little hot sauce to my bowl but it’s wonderful without it, too. Thank you, Jenn!
This was tasty, my small kids enjoyed it too. I had a hard time finding ground nacho chili powder (in Southern CA!) so I bought the actual dried Chiles, soaked them in some hot water, blended the water and chilies together and used the resulting paste in the recipe. I used 1 tbsp – not sure if I should have used more or less. I might try 2-3 tbsp next time just to compare. Random note about shredded Mexican style cheese, the bag I bought was 8 oz and was labeled “2 cups”. Was that a misprint on the cheese bag? If yes, I may have but too much cheese in the dish since recipe indicates 6 oz and I threw in the whole 8 oz bag.
Hi Susie, Glad you liked this! The 6-ounce packages of this cheese in my area are the equivalent of 2 cups volume-wise, so you may have used a little extra – but you can’t go wrong with a little extra cheese! 🙂