Chili Mac Recipe: An Easy One Pot Dinner

This hearty, one pot chili mac recipe is the ultimate comfort food. Easy and quick to make, it’s a great weeknight meal choice for your family!

When my mom began cooking for two, after my brothers and I left home, she made several recipes that she never made for our family. One of those dishes was a pot of chili. She put her own spin on it by leaving out the beans and she added pasta instead. So what she was actually making was chili mac. This is her version.

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Ingredients For Chili Mac

• The Base
  • Ground beef: one pound is plenty, but if you like extra meaty chili, up the amount to 1 1/2 lbs. 
  • Sweet onion: definitely don’t skip the onion! It lends the best flavor. 
  • Campbell’s tomato soup: adds a unique tomato taste and helps thicken the chili. 
  • Diced tomatoes: a great way to add a chunky texture.
  • Tomato juice: very flavorful.
• Pasta: mini pasta works best, and our favorite is Ditalini. Other good choices are:
  • mini penne
  • mini farfalle
  • elbow macaroni
• Seasoning
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • chili seasoning packet: I use McCormick Mild Flavor, but use whatever chili seasoning blend your family likes best.
• Cheese: if time permits, freshly shredded colby jack is delicious as a topper on this chili mac. If you’re short on time, the bagged variety works too!

Substitutions

• Meat: equal amounts of ground turkey or ground chicken can be substituted for the ground beef.
• Spices: you can substitute spices for the seasoning packet. Begin with 1 teaspoon of chili powder and 1 teaspoon of garlic powder. Add more to taste. Paprika or a small amount of cayenne pepper can also be added.
• Tomato Juice: for a milder tomato flavor, chicken broth or beef broth can be substituted for the tomato juice.
• Tomato Soup: tomato sauce is a good substitution for the tomato soup.
• Pasta: it would slightly change the taste, but egg noodles can be substituted for the pasta.
• Cheese: definitely use your favorite cheese. Good suggestions are Colby Jack, Sharp Cheddar, Monterey Jack, or bagged 4 cheese blend.

How to Make Chili Mac

• Add olive oil to a large dutch oven. On medium-high heat, add onion. Cook for 2 minutes.
• Add ground chuck. Cook until done.
• Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Drain the excess fat from the pot.
• Add tomato soup, water, diced tomatoes, and tomato juice.
• Bring to a boil.
• Add pasta.
• Bring to a second boil, stirring constantly so pasta doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot. Reduce to medium heat.
• Add 2 teaspoons chili seasoning. Add more until the chili has the taste you desire.
• Stir to combine everything well.
• Cover the pot and turn off the burner.
• Let the chili sit for 30 minutes on the stovetop.
• Serve very hot, topped with shredded cheese.

Cooking + Serving Tips

• After the 30 minute resting time, the pasta may take on a life of its own. If the chili mac gets too thick, add more tomato juice. If more tomato juice is added, taste again, and add more chili seasoning if necessary.
• This one pot chili mac recipe can be easily doubled to feed a crowd. You will need quite a big pot though!
• Serve in bowls, topped with freshly grated colby jack cheese.
• Chopped cilantro or chopped parsley would work great as garnishes.

More Easy Dinner Recipes

• Apple Chicken Sausage Sheet Pan Dinner
• Meyer Lemon Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner
• Rosemary Parmesan Chicken
• Ham and Swiss Sliders for Two

Chili Mac Recipe: A One Pot Meal

By: Ann Drake

This hearty, one pot chili mac recipe is the ultimate comfort food. Easy and quick to make, it's the weeknight meal choice for your family!

5 from 5 votes

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

resting time 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour

Servings 6 servings

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Ingredients

 

½ x1x2x3x

• ▢ 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ▢ small sweet onion (chopped)
• ▢ 1 lb. ground chuck
• ▢ salt and pepper
• ▢ 2 cans Campbell's tomato soup (10.75 oz.)
• ▢ 1 1/4 cups water (or one soup can)
• ▢ 1 can petite diced tomatoes (14.5 oz.)
• ▢ 2 cups tomato juice
• ▢ 1 c. ditalini pasta
• ▢ 1 package chili seasoning mix
• ▢ shredded cheese

Instructions

• Add olive oil to a large dutch oven. On medium-high heat, add onion. Cook for 2 minutes. .
• Add ground chuck. Cook until done.
• Add salt and pepper to taste.
• Drain the excess fat from the pot.
• Add tomato soup, water, diced tomatoes, and tomato juice.
• Bring to a boil.
• Add pasta.
• Bring to a second boil, stirring constantly so pasta doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot. Reduce to medium heat.
• Add 2 teaspoons chili seasoning. Add more until the chili has the taste you desire.
• Stir to combine everything well.
• Cover the pot and turn off the burner.
• Let the chili sit for 30 minutes on the stovetop.
• Serve very hot, topped with shredded cheese.

Notes

Beans can be added if desired. 
If chili becomes too thick after pasta is fully cooked, add more tomato juice, followed by more chili seasoning. 

Nutrition Label

Nutrition Facts

Chili Mac Recipe: A One Pot Meal

Amount per Serving

Calories

480

% Daily Value*

Fat

 

21

g

32

%

Cholesterol

 

54

mg

18

%

Sodium

 

524

mg

23

%

Potassium

 

1233

mg

35

%

Carbohydrates

 

53

g

18

%

Fiber

 

4

g

17

%

Sugar

 

15

g

17

%

Protein

 

21

g

42

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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