Chili Mac and Cheese (one pot dinner)

Chili mac and cheese is a simple one pot dinner that combines two of the most beloved, cozy comfort foods: chili and macaroni and cheese.😍

chili mac and cheese in a red pot with blue towel from overhead

Yes, internet fam, it’s true. Two of your favorite comfort foods had a baby. And isn’t she lovely?! 😍 I am SO. Here. For. It!

As if that deliciousness isn’t enough on its own! I’ve got a little cherry on top for you, friends.😉 It all cooks in one pot. 😎 Yassss. Hallelujah and amen. Fewer dishes means you get to live your best life at dinner time. 👊🏻

👉🏻Side note: check out my entire one pot dinner collection here if you are into that.👈🏻

This chili mac and cheese resembles a casserole type situation, y’all.

chili mac and cheese on white plate with fork

But! The entire thing is made on the stove top. It is kind of like one of those store bought boxed helper thingies, but waaaay tastier. And no ingredients you can’t pronounce. 🙌🏻

chili mac and cheese overhead on white plate with blue towel

It makes a huge batch too. It will easily feed eight hearty servings. If you have some kids or light eaters, you could get away with feeding several more than that.

I thought about halving this chili mac and cheese recipe. But this is the cozy season where lots of gatherings are happening. So I made it a big batch.

If you are feeding four or fewer, and you don’t want to have leftovers, you could totally half this recipe using the slider in the recipe card below.

Quality ingredients, y’all

As always, use the best ingredients you can find.

ground beef, chili powder, cumin, green chilies, macaroni pasta and tomatoes on marble counter

We buy as manny organic things as we can find, within reason. Super chill over here.

We also LOVE ButcherBox (affiliate links) ground beef. It is grass fed, grass finished, raised humane and tastes better than any ground beef we’ve ever had. They are running a special where you get a FREE 10 to 14 pound Thanksgiving turkey in your first box. What?! Yes.

How to make one pot chili mac and cheese

Start with a large pot or Dutch oven. Sauté up the beef and onions until the beef it done. Then add garlic, and cook a minute more.

After that, you just add the remaining ingredients (except the cheese!), and cook it until the pasta is done. It should look like this.

stirring macaroni beans and tomatoes in a red Dutch oven

I used regular elbow macaroni, which took about 8 minutes. You can use larger macaroni or a different type pasta, but it might require a little longer cook time (and possibly an extra splash of broth).

After that, I taste it for saltiness. I add more salt until it tastes good. I give it a good stir, and then sprinkle cheese on top.

sprinkling cheddar cheese on top of pasta dish in a red enameled cast iron Dutch oven

If you are one of those people who chooses to measure cheese with your heart, I feel ya! 😂👌🏻 Knock yourself out. If you are more into measurements, I recommend anywhere from a cup to a cup and a half of cheese. I used a cup and a half here.

If you want even more cheesy goodness, feel free to stir some into the mix first (about a half cup, or more if you measure with your heart😜). Stir that to combine, and then add your cheese topping after that.

Finally, just put the lid back on for another 3 to 5 minutes until the cheese melts. I topped mine with green onion, but honestly I only do that for blog photos. So you get to choose if you want to bother with a sprinkle of green. Cilantro would also be good on this.

Now you are ready to dig in to the glorious chili mac and cheese!

spooning chili mac and cheese out of red Dutch oven

I hope you enjoy this as much as we did! The leftovers are fantastic too.

Chili Mac and Cheese Recipe

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