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.
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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??
Made this last winter and it has become a staple in our house! We love it!
We call it “Beanie Mac”!
Made this last night and enjoyed it for lunch, looking forward to leftovers throughout the week. My tweaks – halved the cheese to lower the fat and also subbed some extra veggies in place of 1 can of beans (I chose celery and zucchini instead of corn). I didn’t find it as spicy as I hoped but no worries, next time I’ll add more. Nothing a little sriracha couldn’t fix today :D
Because I’m a super lazy cook, I made this in my slow cooker – omitted flour and pre-sauteed the onions before throwing everything in my slow cooker approx 2.5 hours on high. (except zucchini which I sautéed separate and added at the end to avoid it becoming soggy. Thanks for a simple, delicious, and flexible recipe – I’ve written it down to keep in my regular rotation :D
This is delicious. However, I added a few teaspoons of sugar to balance out the often acidic tomato taste. I also doubled the cheese and use whatever beans I have on hand. lol very delicious!!
I love this recipe so much. I’ve made it once a month for like a year.
That said, it does not make 10 cups. I measure the final product into bowls with a measuring cup and it comes out to about 6 usually, making each 1 cup portion 416 calories based on my most recent count.
I want to try this recipe, but what type/kind of tomato sauce are you using in this recipe?
It’s just called “tomato sauce” and can be found near other canned tomato products, like diced tomatoes or tomato paste. (It’s not the same as pasta sauce.) It’s basically a smooth tomato purée with a little salt and other spices in it.
I made this last week and IT IS SO GOOD! I was pleasantly surprised to see that it was fairly healthy too (I’m on Weight Watchers and it is only 3 sp per cup with cheese, 2 sp per cup without). I added a bell pepper I had that needed to be used with the onion and used radiatore pasta, which has been hanging out in the pantry for a while. I added some cayenne pepper for a little spice. It was gone within 2 days.
I think this recipe is one of the only things keeping me going in this brutal winter! Because I have a lactose intolerant boyfriend, I leave the cheese out of the larger batch and just add it to my bowl, and the flavors are to die for even without the cheese. We both love it!
LOVE this! My boyfriend has been begging for it since I made it last week. I’m making a double batch tonight so we can have leftovers for lunch tomorrow! Definitely a keeper! THANKS!!!
So good. I have been craving this again ever since I made it a few weeks ago. I added a bag of vegetarian Morningstar crumbles (vegetarian meat). Making again today. Such an easy and comforting dish to make for cold winter nights. Plus any excuse to make a one pot meal in my new Dutch oven is a win.
Taste really good! Thanks 😁
My kids loved this! Cheap, fast, easy, lots of protein= great week night meal for my vegetarian kid and the non-vegetarian loved it too.
I made this for dinner last night and it was DELICIOUS! Even my husband, who hates chili, said that it was tasty. Definitely going to be making this again.
So yummy. My hubby just became a vegetarian and this was a score for us. I added 1 teaspoon hot sauce and cumin to add a little spice to it but everything else combined was so yummy. Thank you.
Excellent although I used penne pasta and drained the canned tomatoes in error.
139 comments – where are they hiding?
Made this on Tuesday – froze two servings and I’m amazed that we polished it off today – there are only two of us.
Next time I will pull out 1/2 cup of macaroni and sub in a cup of veggies. I would have liked more veggies. Will make it again. Hmm – can’t get the enter key to work either.
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