It’s been really cold here (well, cold for me) and that makes me want comfort food. One dish that I absolutely loved in the past but haven’t had a chance to remake is my One Pot Chili Pasta from the SNAP Challenge in 2014. That pasta not only saved my life as far as filling me up on an extremely restricted budget, but it was SO GOOD. I was really excited to make it again this week, but I had already spent a large part of this weeks budget on pork for my Nam Sod, so I decided to transform the old One Pot Chili Pasta into a new Vegetarian Chili Mac and Cheese.
No Beef, More Beans
The new vegetarian version is very similar to the old One Pot Chili Pasta, but it has no beef (obvi), more beans, some diced tomatoes, and uses vegetable broth in place of the beef broth. How did it turn out? OMG still so good. Like, so good that I’ve been eating it for breakfast all this week because I’m so excited to eat it every day that I can’t even wait for lunch. There’s something about the thick, tangy sauce with the smoky chili powder and just a hint of cheddar that is just irresistible to me.
Meal Prep the Leftovers
This recipe makes a huge batch, like around 10 cups. I suggest dividing the pasta up into single portions right after cooking so you have it meal prepped for the next 4-5 days. If you know you can’t finish it all within 5 days, it can be frozen. Pasta does get a bit softer upon freezing and thawing/reheating, but for me that’s negligible for a dish that tastes so freaking good.
Can I Make this Vegan?
Yes, since there is only one ingredient in this recipe that is animal-based, it will be really easy to swap that out and make this recipe vegan. To replace the cheddar cheese you can either use a vegan cheddar substitute, like Daiya Cheddar Shreds, or add some nutritional yeast for a slightly cheesy flavor (it won’t be creamy, but you’ll get that cheesy umami goodness).
One Pot Cheesy Vegetarian Chili Mac
Servings 8 1.25 cups eachIngredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.16)
- 1 yellow onion ($0.31)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 2 Tbsp flour ($0.02)
- 2 Tbsp chili powder* ($0.60)
- 1 15oz. can diced tomatoes ($0.79)
- 1 15oz. can tomato sauce ($0.88)
- 1 15oz. can kidney beans ($0.89)
- 1 15oz. can black beans ($1.15)
- 1 15oz. can pinto beans ($1.49)
- 1 cup frozen corn kernels ($0.44)
- 2 cups vegetable broth ($0.26)
- 2 cups uncooked macaroni noodles ($0.50)
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar ($1.25)
Instructions
- Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Sauté the onion and garlic with olive oil in the bottom of a large pot (5 qt) over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, or until the onions are soft and transparent.
- Add the flour and chili powder to the sautéed onions and garlic. Continue to stir and sauté for about two minutes, or just until the flour and chili powder begin to coat the bottom of the pot.
- Drain and rinse the kidney beans, black beans, and pinto beans. Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, all three beans, corn, and vegetable broth to the pot. Stir to combine and to dissolve any flour and chili powder off the bottom of the pot.
- Add the uncooked macaroni noodles and stir to combine. Place a lid on the pot, turn the heat up to medium high, and let the pot come up to a boil. Stir every other minute or so to loosen the noodles from the bottom of the pot as it heats up.
- When the pot reaches a boil, turn the heat down to low, or just above low, so it continues to gently simmer. Let the pot gently simmer for 12-15 minutes, or until the pasta is tender and the liquid is thick and saucy. Stir frequently as it simmers to make sure the pasta does not stick to the bottom of the pot.
- Once the pasta is tender, add the shredded cheddar and stir it in until melted. Serve hot.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!More Mac and Cheese Recipes:
- Miracle Mac and Cheese
- Creamy Pesto Mac with Spinach
- Jalapeño Popper Mac and Cheese
- White Cheddar Mac and Cheese with Chicken and Broccoli
- Green Chile Mac and Cheese
How to Make Vegetarian Chili Mac and Cheese – Step by Step Photos
Begin by dicing one yellow onion and mincing two cloves of garlic. Sauté the onion and garlic with 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large pot over medium heat until the onions are soft and transparent (about 3 minutes). Make sure you’re using about a 5 qt pot because this makes a large batch.
Add 2 Tbsp chili powder and 2 Tbsp flour. This is a mild chili powder, which is a blend of mild red chiles and other spices. Some brands may have some cayenne pepper (spicy) in the blend, so just be aware of what type you have and how much you’re adding. I use McCormick, which is 100% mild. If you have a mild chili powder and WANT spicy, you can add a pinch or two of cayenne pepper.
Continue to stir and sauté the flour and chili powder with the onions and garlic for about two minutes more, or until it begins to coat the bottom of the pot. This toasts the spices and flour and creates a roux, which helps thicken the sauce later.
Add one 15oz can diced tomatoes (not drained), one 15oz can each of kidney beans, black beans, and pinto beans (all drained and rinsed), and one cup of frozen corn kernels.
Also add one 15oz can tomato sauce and two cups vegetable broth. Stir everything to combine and to dissolve any flour and chili powder that have stuck to the bottom of the pot (you should be able to feel when the bottom of the pot is smooth).
Finally, add 2 cups (or about 1/2 lb.) uncooked macaroni noodles and stir to combine with the rest of the ingredients. Place a lid on the pot, turn the heat up to medium high, and let the pot come to a boil. Stir every couple of minutes while it’s heating to prevent the pasta from sticking to the bottom.
Once it reaches a boil, turn the heat down to low and let it simmer for 12-15 minutes, or until the pasta is tender and the liquid is thick and saucy. Make sure to keep stirring every couple of minutes to prevent the pasta from sticking while it is simmering.
The chili mac is pretty good at this stage, but it’s about to go to the next level…
Add one cup of shredded sharp cheddar. It’s important to use cheddar because cheddar melts into sauces very smoothly and does not get stringy the way other cheese, like mozzarella, would. It’s also important to get “sharp” cheddar because it’s tangier and more potent than mild or medium cheddar, which means you can use less and still get a good cheesy flavor in the whole pot.
When the cheddar stirs in it will melt into the thick sauce and turn it all creamy and delicious.
This stuff is serious business.
I can not say no to the Cheesy Vegetarian Chili Mac!
Can you??
Thank you! I’ve tried a fair share of chili mac recipes, and this one was the best vegetarian chili mac I’ve ever made. Some “one pot” recipes don’t get the amount of liquids/cooking time right and it turns out either too soupy or too dry by the time the pasta is done, but this one was perfect. Using flour improves the consistency and using vegetable broth instead of cooking the pasta separately in water makes a huge difference in flavor. Will definitely make this regularly.
I make this recipe alllll the time and I love it so much! Even my toddler will eat this. Cheap, easy, cheesy and filling. Perfect for chilly weather!
No salt listed in recipe. This is super bland as written.
There’s quite a bit of salt in the canned tomatoes, beans, vegetable broth, and cheese, but the saltiness will definitely vary depending on what type of broth you use. That’s why it’s wise to always season to taste!
Delicious! I have made this a couple of times. I do prefer to leave the noodles out and cook separately, that way everyone can scoop however much or little they want with the chili. Thanks for the recipe!!!
I’ve made this recipe multiple times. Since there are just two of us, it makes too much and we end up getting tired of it or freezing it (which works ok). Three cans of beans is a lot. I recently found a three bean canned mix of kidney, pinto and black beans and I make a 1/3 or 2/3 reduced size recipe using one or two cans. I use a small can of tomato sauce and saved some of the canned tomatoes for another use. It works great.
I have celiac so I use either jovial gf pasta shells or farfalle or I use Banza shells or elbows. They do take longer to get soft but don’t get mushy in leftovers. I think they taste fine.
This does indeed meal prep like a dream! I usually get three days’ worth of meal prep out of it, plus enough leftovers for my household of four adults to graze off of it for about two or three days. Wonderfully filling and cozy! I have noticed that the flavors get a little muted after a few days, though, so I get a little more aggressive than I otherwise would with the .chili powder
Delicious! Perfect for a fall weeknight.
This was SO good and it made SO much! Definitely will be on rotation. And was heavily approved by our 13 month old.
Super easy, flavorful, and filling, even without meat. I swapped in chicken broth since that’s what I had on hand and added crushed red pepper flakes to my portion since I like a bit of spice.
This really does make a big batch so I’ll be eating it for lunch the rest of the week!
Great recipe that ticks a lot of boxes: Healthy, tasty, not too hard to make, and budget friendly. I used some of the liquid from the beans and mixed it with vegetable broth to make the stew a little thicker and conserve some broth.
I plan on trying your beef recipe using impossible meat next time!
This is one of my favorite recipes. I usually add about 1 cup more broth and some cumin and cayenne. So filling and comforting!!!
How could I adjust the recipe if I actually wanted to boil the pasta separately first? I use brown rice pasta because of food allergies and it never cooks through with these kind of one-pot recipes. Would I just use less broth, what would you recommend?
It’s tough to say without testing it first, but my first test would probably be to just eliminate the broth altogether, make the chili with the remaining ingredients, and then stir in the cooked pasta at the end. But, of course, then you’re missing the flavor from the broth, so you may need to add more salt and seasoning to compensate.
My kids and I really enjoyed this meal! I made a chili with ground beef and then this chili Mac….. we all preferred the flavors in this recipe. Thanks so much! This will be on repeat in our house.
I love this recipe!!!! I did add some Cumin, more Chili powder, salt. Pepper and some Smoked paprika. I also added 1 red bell pepper. Made enough for my all my lunches for the week.
This is absolutely delicious. My go-to recipe!!
I found this recipe to be filling, tasty, and easy — with the huge caveat that I needed to add a fair amount of salt to taste to bring the flavors out. I was looking for a recipe that is vegetarian and good for meal prep and this fits the bill.
I may experiment with things like chipotle peppers or beer instead of broth in the future but it’s honestly pretty good as is (plus salt alone).