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.
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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.
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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??
Let’s see, I have most of these ingredients in organic…have to go find the rest in organic, online. Of course my Harris Teeter grocery store has LOTS of organic products throughout the whole store, and my Food Lion has an organic section. Even Walmart and Target are getting on board the organic bandwagon! Everyone jump on, and lets not eat anymore chemicals, and GMO’s! Put Monsanto out of business!
Made this tonight with brown rice pasta and it was so heavenly! The flavor was perfect and it’s such a filling comforting dish. It will be perfect when I make it in the fall, too. My husband and I have put this dish “on rotation” at our house. Thank you for posting!
I actually served this to a friend of mine who is a vegetarian and she loved it.
Thank you for the recipe-it was great! The only change I made was adding cumin for more flavor. I’m definitely going to make this again.
This is a great cold weather meal! Thanks Beth!
This is such. a. good. recipe! My ten year old and seven year old can make this themselves (with frozen chopped onions and jarred garlic). The whole family loves it, and no one misses the meat. We make it every week. Thanks, Beth!
How many calories is this recipe?
Last time I made this, with the addition of broccoli and carrots and as 6 portions as opposed to 8 it came out to 553 calories a serving according to myfitnesspal. Obviously this may be different depending on how you choose to make the recipe.
Hi Beth!
Thank you for creating such DELICIOUS meals, very helpful for a busy guy trying to stay in shape.
I know that you used to try to put calorie counts/ nutritional facts on your recipes and I have found a website that is SUPER helpful when I make your meals and try to track them.
The website is called CalorieCount.com and simply compying and pasting your recipes gives a rough estimate of the nutritional facts in each recipe. https://www.caloriecount.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php
Thought you might like to give it a try!
Thanks again for all the amazing food, keep up the good work!!
P.S. I am not affilated with CalorieCount.com in any way shape or form nor did I receive anything for this post, just stumbled upon it and thought you’d like to see it :)
Hi James! Thanks for passing that along for the readers. :) I actually have never included calorie counts for my recipes because while those online calculators are convenient, they’re not always very accurate and I don’t feel comfortable offering information that I can’t verify. So, I leave it up to the readers to choose the calculator they trust and enter the info themselves. I appreciate you sharing another option!
My boyfriend and I made this last night and it was DELICIOUS. I made it for a chili cook-off at work but am definitely going to have to save some for myself. I like the versatility of this recipe… you can really add anything you want!
Just made this and had to add an extra cup of broth as it didn’t seem “liquidy” enough when the noodles went in. Came out great though!!
Beautiful, tasty and easy to make recipe.
Loved it👌😍
My family is vegitarian and this is one of our go to meals that everyone loves. We call it “Cowboy Grub” or “”Cowboy Chow.”
This is my new favorite dish! Delicious, freezes well and makes a lot! It’s so cheap and quite filling.
Another great one. My husband loves it and the leftovers are great for lunches. We’ll be putting this in regular rotation at my house. Thanks!
I loved this one! Most of the ingredients are usually in my kitchen, so this was a great quick recipe. I love plain mac-n-cheese but this recipe is more nutritious with the veggies and beans. I like to batch cook and eat the same meal throughout the week, and the amount in this recipe worked well.