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
Video
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
I modified this to be vegetarian, using Boca crumbles and vegetable broth. It was so easy and so delicious! Definitely a hit with the whole family!
This is soooo good!! I love how easy it is to modify – I only have fusilli and red lentil pasta so I used a combination of that, white kidney beans, added cumin, more broth, and no cheese!! So happy I now have lots of food for the weekend :) thank you!
This was delicious. We’ve been working through the pantry meals since the quarantine stuff started. We made this for Saturday night’s supper. This and the white bean chili are so filling that I can only deal one bowl and I’m full so we get leftovers. This was our 5th one out of the 15.
How could i do this in an instant pot
The warning about the chilli powder needs to be much more prominent. In the UK this essentially means cayenne. What I have ended up with is almost inedible.
There’s an entire paragraph about this… I don’t think the warning could be any more prominent.
Really great recipe! Cheap to make and versatile. I conveniently had 1/2lb of ground turkey in the freezer so I used that instead. Used a little less cheese and also threw in a bag of spinach at the very end that needed to be used up. :)
Great work using what you have on hand Sara!
Can you freeze leftover portions of this?
Yep. :)
Same as someone before when they said the recipe was bland but I tasted the sauce as it developed and added more chili powder. I did not use onion, only onion powder but I am happy with the finished results. Thanks Beth!
The first time I made this, the 2 Tbsp of chili powder severely overpowered any other flavor. The “smokey” flavor was overwhelming. I made it again last night, only putting in 1 Tbsp of chili powder this time (I learned my lesson), and then gradually adding more in as it cooked as I tasted throughout the 15-minute simmer. Definitely better than the first time!
Made this (twice!) last week and really enjoyed it! After my first time making it, I ended up adding more corn and a few helpings of hot sauce. Sour cream after serving is yummy too!!
What a delicious, economical recipe! Thank you! I had never thought of making this type of dish and adding flour to the browned meat, but, wow, great idea. It thickened things beautifully. I used Wondra, which I really like for the convenience of the shaker jar packaging.
Husband and I loved this! I made it vegan by subbing Beyond Meat crumbles and Edward and Sons’ bouillon ‘beef’ stock. Then dumped some yummy nooch on top in place of cheese. Yum! It was so easy, filling and perfect for a weekday night after work. Thanks!
How much nooch did you use?
One of our family’s stand-out favorites! It’s so comforting, satisfying, and delicious.
We are vegan, so make a few simple substitutions – vegetarian “crumbles” instead of ground beef, veggie broth with added miso for the beef broth, vegetarian cheese. We also like it with taco seasoning in place of the chili powder.
It’s so scrumptious! Even my picky son (who “hates tomatoes”) scarfs it up. I won’t tell him if you don’t. :-)
Followed recipe accordingly and came out super blan has potential tho.
But it’s so easy to adjust the seasonings – more chili powder, add paprika, hot sauce, salt – you name it. Have fun!
Yum! I’m gluten free so I made this with oat flour and black bean pasta (extra protein!) and it turned out delicious. Quick, easy and inexpensive meal prep for the week.
Made this again tonight and it reminded me how much we enjoy it. It’s a meal the whole family likes, even our 3 and 1 year olds devoured it and the 3 year old asked for seconds. I like to switch between this version and the 3-bean version depending on if ground beef is available for a good price. Also, I made the 3-bean chili mac over the summer during the family’s reunion-like annual vacation and shared it with relatives (because the batch is so big). They all loved it and grandma asked for the recipe.