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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I can write an honest review for every single recipe I’ve tried through this website and the cookbook stating that all of them are absolutely flawless and amazing! Thank you Jennifer for sharing all of your wonderful recipes.
I’ve chosen this recipe because it is a frequent go-to. The whole family will eat it (even my two little picky eaters). Not only is it delicious, it requires little time to prepare for a quick crazy week night meal!
This was easy and delicious. It was one of those dishes that I like more the more I ate it.
Would this freeze well? Prepping for my first few weeks as a new (first time) mom!
Congrats on your soon to come addition!! I think the ground beef mixture will freeze nicely but not sure about the whole dish. If you want to partially make it, you could prepare it up to the step right before you add the broth and other ingredients. Hope that helps!
I can attest to this! We froze our leftovers and with the noodles in, it was a bit mushy but frozen separately I’m sure it will be great!
This recipe is great and we absolutely loved it! It was easy to make and cooking it all in one pot made clean up a breeze. I did not have any tomato sauce on hand but used one can of Delmonte Stewed Tomatoes instead ~ it was delicious. Thanks Jen for another outstanding recipe!
I’ve made several of your recipes and this was another winner. It’s so quick, simple and comforting. My family loves chili mac but I don’t like to have them eat processed/pre-packaged foods so I was delighted to find a recipe I could make with fresh, wholesome ingredients. I’ll probably dial the cayenne back a bit for my taste. It was SO good.
Really delicious, easy to make, great reheated the next day. I’ve made it twice, both times a super hit with my husband. Love the crumbled up tortilla chips on the top for crunch. Great comfort food for the winter months.
i have regular chili powder and regular paprika. will it taste the same?
It will taste slightly different, but it will still be good. 🙂
really good! I didn’t have tomato sauce so I used a jar of homemade stewed tomatoes. in place of commercial Mex shred cheese, I used fresh-shred colby-jack cheese tossed with some taco seasoning. we were skeptical about the evap milk, but the results were amazing!! thank you for a tasty dinner! also I don’t like smoked paprika so we used regular… and I don’t have the ancho seasoning or whatev, so we used an adobo seasoning (normally for enchiladas) instead. lastly I only had a cup and a half left of chicken broth so we used that plus homemade vegetable broth to make up for the rest. so good!!
Hello! If I’m making this ahead, should I hold off on adding the evaporated milk and cheese until closer to serving or will it not matter?
Thanks for all of your great recipes! We’ve enjoyed several of them.
Hi Amelia, I wouldn’t recommend making this ahead b/c I think the pasta will get mushy. It’s not much of a timesaver, but you could brown the beef with the spices ahead of time and then finish with the remainder of the recipe when you’re ready to serve it. Hope that helps!
Absolutely loved it! I’m actually making it for the 3rd time right now!
Thanks for this hearty and easy recipe!!!
This is a great recipe. Huge hit with the whole family. Easy to make with clear directions. Will definitely make this again.