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??
Just made this and followed the recipe exactly. It was great as is, but for my personal preferences, I added some garlic salt and a few dashes of smoked paprika at the very end. My husband, a person who very rarely finds anything without meat good, loved this. Yay!
I love how so many of your recipes are big batches that can be frozen. I have started caring for my widowed mother and grandmother so I am making these batches and separating them out for everyone.
I’m new to meal prep though. How long are they good for once frozen?
There’s not a definite cut off point for most foods, instead they just slowly degrade in quality over time. I try to limit my food to 3 months in the freezer, although sometimes things go longer. The FDA does have recommended times for different types of food, which you can see on this chart.
This is ultimate comfort food, so it was perfect for a snowy evening! It was tasty, but I found it quite salty; therefore, I will use low-sodium tomato sauce next time. I found it didn’t reheat super well because each time the noodles cooked more and ended up basically turning to mush – reheat in portions, not the whole batch.
Can I make this in the instant pot?
I haven’t tried recipes like this in an IP, so I’m not sure how they’d come out.
Made this for me and my boyfriend at first followed all of the recipe and it turned out very bland. Added cumin and more chili seasoning, added cayenne pepper. Sadly could not make this work there was just way too much beans.
Wow! Gotta say, this was some cheesy decedance. Now I have a whole pot to eat throughout the week! It was still tasty with whole grain pasta, but I think it was missing a fresh zip because I forgot the corn.
Any recommendations for making this in a slow cooker? Not sure how the noodles would be.
Yeah, unfortunately I don’t think this would work in a slow cooker because of the noodles. They’d just turn mushy instead of cooking properly.
I made this in a slow cooker today for a pot luck at work. It isn’t a hands-off, dump everything and leave it method, but if you need to make this without a stove, it is a good option. I did steps 1-2 on the stove in a skillet last night, then scraped the onion/spice/flour mixture into the bowl of the slow cooker. Then I added all of the other ingredients except for the noodles and cheese. I kept the bowl in the fridge overnight and then pulled it out and started the slow cooker on high 3-4 hours before mealtime. I stirred the noodles in about 25 minutes before mealtime, then the cheese went in for the last 5 minutes before we ate it.
This has become a staple in our house for those nights at the end of the week, before I’ve had time to go shopping, when there is “nothing to eat”. I always have the ingredients on hand and it’s a filling meal that everyone enjoys. I like it with some cornbread on the side.
Really easy, fast, cheap, and delicious! I only got 6 servings out of it, but that’s perfect for a weekly meal prep.
Hi! This looks delicious! If I don’t have any canned tomato sauce at home what do I do? I have those small cans of tomato paste, do I mix it with water? How do I make it equal to a 15oz can? I think the paste is 6oz?
Hmm, I’m really not sure how much water you would need to make it the same consistency as tomato sauce. But even if you did that, the flavor would be different because tomato paste is just condensed tomato, whereas tomato sauce has salt and a little bit of onion, sometimes other seasonings. It would probably be best to wait until you can get some tomato sauce.
So good! Thank you!! I stopped eating meat 6 months ago.. and this makes me feel like I’m eating my old chilli recipe… without eating meat!!;)
I have to say thank you for this recipe, I was purchasing a frozen dish similar to this which now costs about $4.19 per 9.5 oz package. I can happily say I won’t have to buy those frozen dishes ever again thanks to this recipe! I now have 10+ servings of this delicious dish to enjoy and couldn’t be happier. Thank you for your fantastic website, I cannot wait to try more dishes!
Do you think this would freeze well?
Yes it will freeze pretty well. :)
I ended up making this without the pasta but it was completely delicious. Will definitely be making this again!
Is there nutrition information somewhere?
No, I’m sorry I don’t have nutrition information.
1 1/4 cup serving size
385 calories
7.6g Fat
60.9g Carbs
17.9g Protein
Calculated with exact ingredients listed using MyFitnessPal app