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.
This post contains some affiliate links, which means that we make a small commission off items you purchase at no additional cost to you.
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??
I had made up a big batch of black beans for this and another recipe, and realized I had exactly two cups of bean water leftover. I was going to use veggie bouillon for the veggie broth anyway, so I mixed the bean water with the bouillon. It was AMAZING — the bean water was thick and starchy, and the final product had a wonderful gooeyness to it. Even though my brain knew the gooeyness was just the bean water, my mouth has been interpreting it as like that beautiful gooeyness you get in a really cheesy, butter-y dish of perfect mac and cheese. Highly recommend!
Oooh, great thinking!!
This was extremely bland for me. I do appreciate the high yield and low cost. Next time, I would probably add some cumin and salt, and maybe a jalapeno.
Loved this recipe! Since it did make a lot i froze half for a busy day. Pulled it out for tonight, put it in a casserole pan, covered with cheese and baked for about 12 minutes. Delicious this way as well.
Do you think this could be done in the crockpot? If so, what, if any, modifications would you suggest?
Nope, this one won’t work in a crock pot.
Made this for dinner last night, officially a favourite in our house!
I made this today for this first time. I didn’t have fire roasted tomatoes so I used a can of diced chili tomatoes. I found it quite bland so I added a couple of teaspoons of cumin and paprika, a tsp of salt and 1/4 tsp of cayenne. Yum!
I substituted pinto beans for chickpeas and the corn for peas and carrots. Excellent recipe.
Wow….delicious. I am so glad this made so much food. Looking forward to eating it all week.
Can I use whole wheat pasta?
This is a great recipe. I made it as is and thought was a bit bland, so I added cumin, paprika, and a lot of extra garlic, and it was a huge hit with everyone, toddlers and adults alike.
You can’t call this vegetarian because it does have cheese in it, otherwise It’s amazing!
Vegetarian eat dairy and eggs, vegans don’t. In other words, this is, indeed, vegetarian.
As someone who has been a vegetarian for fourty years, I can assure you that this is a vegetarian recipe. Vegetarians eat eggs and dairy.
Vegans don’t eat any animal products at all.
I used fire roasted tomatoes and chicken broth because that is what I already had. I drained and rinsed the beans ahead of time and combined them, along with the corn, in the fridge. I also prepped the onion and garlic do all I had to do was assemble before dinner. We ate it with pumpkin cornbread. The chili mac was tasty enough, but not a favorite. We will most likely get through the leftovers, but not sure we’ll remake this one. It is very budget friendly though and will feed a lot of people!
I’ve just made this for my lunch and it is so good! Even better than I thought it would be.
I made this a couple of weeks ago and now I’ll be making it again. I love that you update your recipes as questions come in from the readers.
I made this and it was a big hit with my family. Even better, I turned the leftovers into soup tonight: I added some home-canned stewed tomatoes, salt, cumin, chili powder, a little broth, and topped with crumbled queso blanco. Delicious!