Chili Mac (Ground Beef Recipe) (2024)

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BY Karina PUBLISHED May 1, 2018 UPDATED December 19, 2019 | 18 Comments

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Chili Mac and Cheese is the ultimate mash up of TWO favourites — Chili PLUS Mac and Cheese!

Easy Homemade Chili Mac and Cheese loaded with beans is the ultimate casserole, ready and on the table in less than 30 minutes! A pasta recipe with a KICK of spice and incredible flavours that the whole family will go crazy for!Great for using up leftover chili OR make straight from scratch!

How To MakeChili Mac

Two comfort foods combine together in one pan for the best thing you’ll ever eat in your life — well apart from this Tuscan Chicken Mac and Cheese. This one is on a whole other level of greatness.

With many one pot Mac and cheese recipes on the inter-webs, this recipe is different in that you have the option of using leftover chili (something like this Chili recipe, for example), OR make an incredibly tasty chili from scratch! This Chili Mac is RICH with favour! There’s so much of it in this casserole we found ourselves eating it straight out of the pan! Plates are way overrated with something like this.

Chili Mac Ingredients

First, you’re going to get your pasta boiling while you start on your Chili. Lord help me this Chili is so good! The main ingredients in this recipe is the usual:

Ground beef — I use lean beef in this. You can also use ground chicken or turkey.
Beans — Both red kidney beans and black beans, but you can substitute with any you like.
Tomato based ingredients for the best Chili sauce — crushed tomatoes AND tomato puree (aka Passata in Australia). I also add in tomato paste in this recipe to get the thickness and richness happening faster without having to wait hours!

Seasonings:

Ground cumin
Smoked paprika (or hot or sweet paprika also taste good in this)
Red chili powder (or Cayenne)

The ingredients list may look a little long BUT you can’t have a really good flavoured Chili and skimp out on seasonings!

Cheese

I used a mixture of American cheddar and mozzarella in this recipe just for the flavour and texture of those, but you can use Monterey Jack or a Mexican blend. You could also use Provolone or any other cheese you love!

Once you’ve mixed your cooked pasta together with your chili, broil (or grill) the cheese topping for a couple of minutes to get it bubbly and melted!

Garnish with some jalapeno slices and chopped cilantro, andENJOY!

Chili Mac and Cheese with beans is the ultimate mash up of TWO favourites -- Chili PLUS Mac and Cheese! Using leftover chili OR chili made from scratch, this casserole is ready and on the table in less than 30 minutes! Incredible flavours that the whole family will go crazy for!

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Prep: 10 minutes mins

Cook: 20 minutes mins

Total: 30 minutes mins

Serves: 8 servings

Ingredients

8 oz (250g) dry weight elbow or macaroni pasta, cooked to al dente and drained
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
1/2 green pepper (capsicum), seeded and diced
4 cloves garlic, minced (or 1 tablespoon minced garlic)
1 pound (500g) lean ground beef
1 tablespoon each ground cumin and red chili powder or Cayenne (adjust to your tastes)
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika (or sweet paprika)
1/2 teaspoon salt
7 oz (200g) crushed tomatoes
7 oz (210g) tomato puree (or Passata, condensed tomato soup for Aussies)
1 cup (250 ml) beef or chicken broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
14 oz (400g) red kidney beans, drained
7 oz (200g) black beans, drained
1 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese (or Monterey Jack)
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Instructions

Heat oil in large heavy-based pot (or casserole pot) over medium-high heat. Add onions and sauté until transparent, then add the green peppers (or capsicum) and garlic, sautéing for a further minute until the garlic is fragrant.
Add beef and cook until browned, breaking up any big chunks with the end of your wooden spoon. Stir in the cumin, chili powder, paprika and salt and mix through until beef is fully coated in the seasonings.
Mix in the crushed tomatoes along with the juices, tomato puree, broth, tomato paste and beans. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and allow to simmer while stirring occasionally, until the chili thickens (about 10 minutes).
Preheat oven broiler (or grill) on medium heat.
See Also
40 Whole30 Instant Pot Recipes: Healthy Recipes Made Easy - Whole Kitchen Sink Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Meatballs Recipe - Momma Fit Lyndsey 30-Min Chicken Soup Recipe w or w/o Noodles Whole30 Recipe Roundup: Best of Summer - The Whole30® Program
Add the cooked pasta and toss well to combine. Top with cheese, transfer to oven and broil for 2 minutes, or until cheese is bubbling and melted.
Garnish with sliced jalapeños and chopped cilantro (optional).
Serve with sour cream.

Notes

*The chili can be made up to 2 days ahead using this recipe(you will only need half of the recipe). After cooking, allow to cool completely, cover and refrigerate.

**If using leftover chili, you will need 4 cups of cooked chili! Mix it through the cooked pasta, top with cheese and ENJOY!

Nutrition

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Comments

Sylvia Stanisa says
June 23, 2023 at 9:25 am

Absolutely grand! The perfect comfort food that’s easy to make & fills your up! Great spices & flavor!
Reply
Kristine Mathews says
June 17, 2023 at 3:03 pm

This was absolutely delicious, I will be making it again for sure
Reply
Felicia Thayer says
December 18, 2020 at 11:45 pm

Really really good! I let my chili simmer for 1 hour though. 10 minutes is never enough time for all of the flavors to meld, in my opinion.
End result…scrumptious!
Reply
Jen K says
October 31, 2020 at 10:55 am
My boyfriend has been talking about me making chili Mac for a while. When I saw your re pie I thought I’d give it a try. It was sooo good! A little spicy for me, so I’ll cut that back a little next time. But not so spicy I couldn’t eat it.
Only one problem. For some reason I decided I should double it??? There are only two of us. Soooooo much leftovers! Good thing we loved it! 🤣🤣🤣
See Also
Good for Your Gut: A Plant-Based Digestive Health Guide and Nourishing Recipes for Living WellPaperback
Reply
Jessica says
September 25, 2020 at 7:26 am

A great thing to throw together with stuff you have. I omitted the beans; I only had chickpeas and I feel that pasta, meat and cheese is filling enough on its’ own! I can’t believe some of the people on here had room for cornbread with such a heavy meal! I didn’t have any crushed tomatoes, so I used an adobo sauce chili/tomato mix I was using for fish along with more tomato sauce. It gave it a unique complexity.
Reply
Kiki Plesha says
March 02, 2020 at 3:05 am

I add some frozen corn to the recipe. My family loves the added crunch and the sweetness of the corn. I also will add some Jalapeno Juice (from the jar of sliced Jalapenos I have in the fridge) to give it added kick. My son likes to crush Doritos over it. There are many variations, but we always have corn kernels in our Chili Mac. I serve Jalapeno Cheddar Cheese Cornbread with this.
Reply
Jenny R says
March 19, 2019 at 10:35 am

Definitely my new favorite chili mac recipe! I made a couple of changes but only in quantities. I’m in the US and used full 14 oz cans of beans, 14 oz diced tomatoes instead of purée (couldn’t find a small enough can), 14 oz can of crushed tomatoes and extra beef broth because I added the uncooked pasta with the beans to save a bit of time and let it cook in the same pot. Left the other ingredients the same and it was sooo yummy!
Reply
Lydia says
November 29, 2018 at 9:51 am

Love love love love it!!!
Reply
- Keener says
  September 16, 2019 at 8:57 am
  
  Made this tonight, very good. I used shaved steak, for the cheese used 4 blend Mexican cheese. Use all spices definitely a great kick of flavor. Keeping this one.
  Reply
  - S. Evans says
    May 03, 2020 at 12:14 pm
    
    This was very good. I followed it almost exactly. I didn’t have any paprika so I omitted that. I added a little bit of sugar to cut the tartness of the tomatoes. Used sharp cheddar and mozzarella for my cheeses. So good
    Reply
Lydia Rhoads says
November 29, 2018 at 9:48 am

I’m having it for dinner tonight! So easy to make and it tastes sooo good as you must sample as you go! I made some corn bread to go with!! Thankyou for the delicious recipe!!!❤
Reply
Clynnf says
November 22, 2018 at 4:06 pm

This was delicious! The whole family scarfed it down lol..made it exact, wouldn’t change a thing! Thanks!
Reply
Lizze Lynne says
October 27, 2018 at 1:28 pm

I made this tonight for dinner and It’s really good and super easy to make! I’m not sure what I was thinking, but I added an entire tablespoon of cayenne and it was a bit too hot for me. I was able to reduce the heat by adding some more broth and tomato sauce, along with a couple pinches of sugar. I’ll use a combination of chili and cayenne next time.
This is the first time I’ve been to your website and I subscribed to your RSS feed. Thanks for sharing so many delicious recipes with us! 🙂
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Brett says
July 21, 2018 at 10:26 am

Pretty damn good, only thing I would add next time is a small drained can of corn and a diced jalapeno. Give a little something extra.
Reply
- Karina says
  July 22, 2018 at 2:42 am
  That is great to hear! Thank you so much!
  Reply
Alexis says
May 29, 2018 at 3:29 pm

Very easy to make (my chili is super simple). Who knew pasta and lots of cheese would be such a yummy transformation to chili. I’ll be making this again!
Reply
- Karina says
  May 29, 2018 at 11:17 pm
  That is great to hear! Thank you so much for sharing! XO
  Reply
Abby says
May 06, 2018 at 11:12 am
Oh my gosh this looks SO delicious! My whole mouth just filled up with saliva! I will definitely have to make this on our next rainy day here! Thanks so much for sharing
Reply