After going through a week of hunger in week one of the SNAP Challenge, I knew I had to rethink my strategy. Luckily, the hunger allowed me to pinpoint certain ingredients that really keep me full and satisfied for a large part of the day. For me, that’s pasta, beans, and cheese. I wanted to do a “one pot” dish because they’re easy and I don’t have to bother planning side dishes. Everything that I’m eating is in one easy-to-reheat bowl. So, the first thing that came to mind was my Chili Cheese Beef n’ Mac. I love that stuff, but decided to add a few extra ingredients, like beans, diced tomatoes, and corn, to make it more chili-like and a little more well rounded as a meal. The result? This DEEE-LICIOUS One Pot Chili Pasta.
And after eating this all week, I’m a happy camper this week, for sure.
P.S. Click here for a vegetarian version of this recipe: Cheesy Vegetarian Chili Mac
Can You Freeze One Pot Chili Pasta?
Yes! I find that this dish freezes very well. I suggest dividing the recipe into single-serving portions first, then cooling completely in the refrigerator before transferring to the freezer. Once frozen, you can keep this One Pot Chili Pasta for about three months.
How to Reheat One Pot Chili Pasta
To reheat from the refrigerator I suggest using the microwave, heating on high for 30-60 seconds at a time, stirring between, until heated through. To reheat from the freezer, either first let it thaw in the refrigerator over night, then use the refrigerator reheating instructions, or reheat straight from the freezer using your microwave’s defrost function.
One Pot Chili Pasta
Servings 9 1 cup eachIngredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.16)
- 1 yellow onion ($0.42)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 1/2 lb. ground beef ($2.46)
- 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour ($0.02)
- 2 Tbsp chili powder ($0.30)
- 1 15oz. can tomato sauce ($0.79)
- 1 15oz. can diced tomatoes ($0.79)
- 1 15oz. can black beans ($0.99)
- 1 15oz. can kidney beans ($1.09)
- 1 cup frozen corn kernels ($0.60)
- 2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni ($0.85)
- 2 cups beef broth* ($0.08)
- 1 cup shredded cheese ($1.00)
Instructions
- Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Cook both in a large pot with olive oil over medium heat for 1-2 minutes, or until soft and transparent. Add the ground beef and continue to stir and cook until it is fully browned. If using a high fat ground beef, drain off the excessive after it is browned.
- Add the flour and chili powder to the pot and stir to coat the meat. Continue to stir and cook the coated meat for 1-2 minutes more. The flour and chili powder may coat the bottom of the pot, but that’s okay. Just be careful to not let it burn.
- Drain and rinse the black and kidney beans. Add the beans, tomato sauce, diced tomato, and corn kernels to the pot. Stir well and dissolve the flour/chili powder mixture from the bottom of the pot.
- Add the dry macaroni and two cups of beef broth to the pot and stir to combine. Place a lid on top, turn the heat up to high, and let the pot come to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, give it a quick stir to loosen any pasta stuck to the bottom of the pot, replace the lid, and turn the heat down to medium-low. Let the pot simmer on medium-low for about 15 minutes, or until the pasta is soft and has absorbed most of the liquid. Stir the pot one or two times during the 15 minutes to loosen any pasta stuck to the bottom.
- Once the pasta is fully cooked, turn the heat off and add the cheese. Stir the cheese into the pasta until it has melted in and become slightly creamy. Serve hot.
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Notes
Nutrition
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Scroll down for the step by step photos!
How to Make One Pot Chili Pasta – Step by Step Photos
Start by dicing one medium onion and mincing two cloves of garlic. Cook the onion and garlic in a large pot with 1 Tbsp olive oil over medium heat for one to two minutes, or until softened.
I used 1/2 lb. of ground beef and promptly froze the other half for later use. Add 1/2 lb. to the pot and continue to sauté until the beef is fully browned. If you’re using a higher fat beef, drain off the excess fat after it is browned.
To the browned ground beef add 2 Tbsp all purpose flour and 2 Tbsp chili powder. The flour will help thicken the sauce later. The chili powder is NOT cayenne pepper or hot chile powder, it is a mild blend of spices that is sold in the U.S as “chili” powder, not “chile” powder. If they don’t sell that where you’re at, you could actually also use a single packet of chili or taco seasoning.
Stir and cook the flour and chili powder with the browned beef. It will begin to coat the bottom of the pot, but that’s okay because it will dissolve off in the next step. Just be careful that the heat is not so high that it will burn it. Cook this mixture for about two minutes more (this cooks out that raw flour-y flavor).
These are the canned goods that go into my chili (no time to cook my own beans this week). It’s one 15-oz. can each of tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, black beans, and kidney beans. Drain and rinse the beans before adding to the pot.
Add the drained and rinsed beans to the pot along with the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and one cup of frozen corn kernels. Stir this mixture well and dissolve the flour off the bottom of the pot as you do so.
At this point you already have a pretty damn good lookin’ chili, but we’re going to go one step further and add some pasta to help make it an entire meal in a bowl.
I used whole wheat pasta just to add a bit more fiber. You’ll need to add 2 cups of uncooked elbow macaroni and 2 cups of beef broth. I was out of my beloved Better Than Bouillon and a recent price hike meant that it didn’t fit in my weekly SNAP budget. Luckily, this powdered bouillon was on clearance and I got it for $2! Score.
Add the pasta and broth to the pot, place a lid on top, turn the heat up to high, and let it come to a boil. Once it reaches a bowl, give it a quick stir to loosen any pasta stuck to the bottom, then replace the lid, turn the heat down to medium-low, and let it simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the pasta is tender and has absorbed most of the liquid. You’ll want to stir one or two times during the simmering, too, to keep the pasta from sticking.
This is what it will look like once the pasta is cooked. Still a little liquidy, but it will continue to absorb the flavorful liquid.
Add one cup of shredded cheese and stir it in until melted and creamy. I just happened to have “taco cheese”, but plain cheddar or monterey jack would also work well. Just avoid mozzarella, which tends to be more stringy when melted.
And this delicious one pot chili pasta is what has been keeping me full and satisfied all week. I love it! :D
Great recipe! Just wanted to share something I learned – for ground beef, it’s SUPER convenient to buy frozen hamburger patties instead of refrigerated ground meat. That way, the unused portion is already frozen, and it’s already divided into 1/4 lb portions for you!
This is so simple to make and so delicious, I’m amazed. I left out the kidney beans and cheese out of personal preference, and overestimated the capacity of my pot – but the results came out tasty as anything! I think it will re-heat nicely for lunch at work, too, which is a plus. Awesome recipe, I will definitely be making this again!
Made this tonight, it was delicious. Kids devoured it which is the biggest compliment.
This looks really yummy and really easy to do. Love one pot meals.
How would you suggest altering the broth amount if I plan to cook the pasta separately?
Hmm, that’s trickier than it seems. I’d probably just eliminate the flour and beef broth all together, and let the chili powder and tomato sauce create the sauce on their own.
I made this tonight and it was wonderful! I didn’t have any meat so I used two onions and an additional can of kidney beans. My husband loved it and it made a huge pot!
just made this today but it came out far too runny / too much liquid. couldn’t actually find elbow macaroni cos uk shops suck,had to use penne. maybe I didn’t put in right amount of pasta. could you tell me how much pasta in ounces or grams? I tried googling, and best result said 2 cups of uncooked elbow macaroni weighs 8oz.. in the meantime i guess i’ll boil some extra pasta tomorrow to add into the leftovers. otherwise it was very yummy!
Yes, because macaroni is much smaller, there is a lot more pasta than if you were to measure out the same volume of penne (more empty space). It would probably take some experimentation to figure out exactly how much penne is right for that amount of liquid.
So good. I don’t bother buying chili powder anymore, I just make my own spice blend. (Has garlic powder, cumin, paprika, cayenne, salt, and oregano – don’t remember the exact proportions, but I got it from the Humbled Homemaker blog).
I made this recipe for dinner and loved it. Planning on using it for lunch at work for a few days as others have suggested.
My only gripe was the chucks of diced tomatoes. I’m not a fan of chucky tomatoes and ended up just picking them out. Can I use an additional can of tomato sauce instead of the diced tomatoes?
Yep, you could do that. :) Maybe try petite diced tomatoes, too? They’re very small and will probably break down more during the simmering.
This was fantastic! Just made it for the first time. Decreased the cook time to leave the noodles more al dente. Will definitely be in my regular rotation, especially since it doesn’t require too many fresh ingredients or planning ahead.
YUM!! Great recipe that was quick and simple to put together, and gave is plenty of leftovers for work lunches. The only change I made was to swap out the diced tomatoes for a can of hot Rotel, since it was on sale a few weeks ago and I bought many cans to stock our pantry. It gave this recipe a nice little kick too, so I will most likely keep making it with the Rotel. Hubby didn’t even make his usual comment about how the recipe could use more meat (he likes to mess with me sometimes). Apparently he took the leftovers this morning and couldn’t wait to have them for lunch. I just got a text the ‘chili noodle stuff’ made a tasty breakfast :)
I will say since trying your recipes(made around 10 now), I am starting to think about swapping from my faithful pantry staple of organic boxed stock/broth and trying the Better Than Bouillon. I have seen the organic version at my store, and it is a nice perk to make what you need for the recipe. I like the fact too that I have seen it on sale, so in the long run, this will be MUCH cheaper than my boxed brand. Plus it will take up less space in my pantry. Might have to try it sometime soon to see how the taste factor plays a role – hopefully we won’t notice a difference. It’s a thought for sure….
Thanks again for sharing this recipe. It’s a definite keeper!!!
Looks delicious!! If I wanted to cut this in half, would it be possible to use just diced tomatoes or just sauce so I don’t have to use half of both? Thanks!
Yep! I think your best bet would be to use an 8oz. can of tomato sauce.
This looks so yummy, but is this doable without the cheese? I’m living with someone who has lactose intolerance, and would love to try this.
Yes, it still tastes pretty good without the cheese, but the cheese takes it over the top for me. :)
Delicious! I made a vegetarian version with vegetable Better than Bouillon and Morningstar crumbles because I had a bag on hand. There’s enough flavor in here that I think TVP would work well too for a cheaper option. I added a poblano pepper, too, since I had one.
This recipe made enough for lunches for the week. Maybe six or seven generous portions. The only downside is that the pasta, which was al dente the first night, continues absorbing broth in the fridge. If I make it again I may cook the pasta separately and adjust the liquid proportionately, so I can add the pasta when I serve it.
I just made this tonight and it was delicious! I used a full lb of ground beef and less chili powder because I ran out, and it was still great! Thank you for sharing recipes that are easy to make and inexpensive, you make cooking enjoyable and fun!