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??
This dish was aaaaaaamazing! Especially for a newly vegetarian family. Thanks for sharing.
I made this recipe once before and LOVED it! I am planning to make it again, but I have some picky eaters who do not like diced tomatoes (it’s a texture thing). What do you suggest as a substitution?
You can definitely leave the diced tomatoes out without affecting the dish too much (I don’t think you’d need to replace them with anything), but I’d still use the tomato sauce if possible. That one is a bit more integral to the recipe and would take some work to find a sub.
I always have trouble at the roux stage of this recipe. Once I add the flour and chili powder, everything gets coated but very dry looking, and I’m pretty sure things get quickly to burning rather than toasting. Is it possible I should maybe add more oil with the powders? Next time I might even try starting off with vegetable oil instead of olive.
You can try adding a splash more oil, and also try reducing the heat a bit so it doesn’t burn so fast.
Has anyone froze this? What is the best way to reheat?
Holy moly, this is tasty. As a born-and-raised meat-and-potatoes Midwesterner turned vegetarian, it can be hard to find those dishes that are casserole-y and creamy and protein-y and cheesy, that can be a whole meal (well, okay, we should probably have salad too), but that are vegetarian. Thank you so much!
I made this and the beefy chili mac. This didn’t quite stick with me enough, and the beefy chili mac seemed lacking. I combined the two and it is PERFECT! I use canned corn instead of frozen (its cheaper for me) and fresh tomatoes. I make it spicy by adding chipotle pepper in adobo paste and cayenne. I also omitted the flour, as it didn’t add anything. One of my new favorites for sure!
This was awesome! I’d been craving some comfort food and this hit the spot. Paired it with a side of green beans and felt like a kid again.
I have made several of your recipes and my family has loved them all. Thank you so much for all the recipes!
This is A-MAZING! Even my picky son had the first mug full!
You can do this in a slow cooker too! Just saute the onion and garlic then throw everything in the slow cooker till the macaroni is done. I do it that way so I don’t have to watch it LOL! I am lazy like that.
Made this tonight using all ingredients I already had in my pantry. All 4 kids ate it up and 2 had seconds. Will make it again but maybe stir in some jalapeño.
I was looking for a recipe to make this type of meal – I had all the ingredients on hand with a few minor tweaks and it is in the crockpot minus the pasta and cheese which I will add later! It looks great so far! Thanks for posting!
I love Amy’s Bowls Chili Mac I tried this recipe because it looked really close and it was, but better!! I followed the recipe with slight adjustments in my amounts; my two cloves of garlic were huge and I added cayenne pepper powder and paprika with the chili powder. I thought it was too hot, but the spice turned out perfectly in the end when I added the sharpe cheddar, I opted for 2 cups and it really toned down the heat. I’m excited to eat this again tomorrow – thank you!
5 stars!
Simple and delicious!
This recipe seems completely unreal! I had already planned and bought the ingredients to make your burrito bowl, which I’m about to starting making for supper tonight. I will make sure to go out and get the ingredients tomorrow! I love your site! Especially the fact that you post pictures for ever step, as a timid cooker, I am very grateful of this!
I’ve made this twice now and it’s amazing. Definitely a new go-to recipe for me!