One Pot Chili Mac and Cheese: Easy, Irresistible, and Done in 20 Minutes!

One Pot Chili Mac and Cheese is easy, irresistible, and fast comfort food! It has simple ingredients like ground beef, crushed tomatoes, kidney beans, elbow macaroni, and melty cheese all cooked together in one glorious pot. This is the kind of recipe that feels like a warm hug on a plate. I absolutely love how this dish brings together two beloved comfort foods: chili and mac and cheese. 

Love More One Pot Recipes? Try My One Pot Cheesy Sausage Pasta or this One Pot Cheesy Taco Mac next.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

A cozy, flavorful dinner that combines hearty chili and creamy mac and cheese all in one pot! Packed with ground beef, beans, tender pasta, and melted cheese, this dish is easy to make and perfect for busy nights.

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Ingredient List

Main Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 500g (1 lb) ground beef (lean)
• 800g (28 oz) crushed canned tomato
• 420g (14 oz) can red kidney beans, drained
• 2.5 cups (625 ml) beef broth (chicken broth also works)
• 250g (8 oz) elbow macaroni pasta, uncooked
• 2 cups (200g) shredded cheese (cheddar, Monterey Jack, or tasty cheese)
• 1/4 cup fresh coriander or cilantro, finely chopped, for garnish

Spices (Homemade Chili Powder Mix):

• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper or pure chilli powder (adjust to taste)
• 2 tsp paprika powder
• 2 tsp cumin powder
• 1.5 tsp onion powder (can substitute garlic powder)
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1.25 tsp salt

I use lean ground beef because the regular stuff leaves grease sitting on top and it’s gross. I’ve made it both ways. Lean is better. And I know some people will judge me for using canned tomatoes instead of fresh, but canned tomatoes are actually better for this—they’re already cooked down and flavorful. Fresh tomatoes are watery. Save the fresh tomatoes for salad.

Why These Ingredients Work

The ground beef is where all the flavor lives. When you brown it right, it gets this deep, rich color that tastes way better than if you just throw it in raw. That’s basic chemistry or whatever—the Maillard reaction makes everything taste better.

I stopped using store-bought chili powder because I kept getting different results depending on which jar I grabbed. One time it was super smoky, one time it tasted like nothing. Now I mix my own spices every time and it’s consistent. Takes two minutes. Worth it.

The canned tomatoes and kidney beans are what make this feel like actual chili instead of just pasta with meat. The beans also make it filling without needing more meat. The broth is just holding everything together so the pasta has something good to absorb while it cooks.

I use elbow macaroni because it’s literally designed to trap sauce in all those little curves. Shells work too if that’s what you have. The cheese has to be real shredded cheese though—the kind that comes in a box with anti-caking agents makes a weird separated sauce that doesn’t coat the pasta right. I’ve tested this. Real cheese is better.

Essential Tools and Equipment

A large pot with a lid. That’s the main thing. You need a wooden spoon for stirring, a knife for chopping, a colander to drain the beans, and measuring stuff you probably already have. The pot itself needs to be at least 5-6 quarts or everything overflows and it’s a mess.

How To Make One Pot Chili Mac and Cheese

Step 1: Start the Base

Put olive oil in the pot on high heat. Add your garlic and onion and cook it for about a minute until it smells good—that’s when you know you’re at the right temperature. Then throw in the bell pepper and let it all cook together for another couple minutes until the onion looks soft and kind of glassy. This should take about 3 minutes total from when you added the garlic.

Your whole kitchen is going to smell like garlic and onions now. If it doesn’t, your heat isn’t hot enough.

Step 2: Brown the Beef

Add the ground beef and break it up as it cooks. Don’t just leave it in a big chunk—use your spoon and keep moving it around and pushing it into smaller pieces. This takes about 5 to 7 minutes depending on how hot your stove is. You’re waiting for it to go from that raw red color to a nice brown with absolutely no pink anywhere.

I rush this sometimes when I’m hungry and the flavor is noticeably worse, so just let it do its thing. Stir it around. It will get there.

Step 3: Add Remaining Ingredients

Dump in your crushed tomatoes, drain and add your kidney beans, and pour in the beef broth. Now add all your spices—the cayenne, paprika, cumin, onion powder, oregano, black pepper, and salt. Stir it really good so you don’t end up with a pocket of straight cayenne somewhere that makes one bite inedible.

Get it bubbling, then turn your heat down to medium. You want to see gentle bubbles breaking the surface, not a rolling boil that splashes everywhere.

Step 4: Cook the Pasta

Add your pasta right into the pot and stir it around so it’s under the liquid. Put the lid on and set a timer for 12 minutes. Now you can actually take a breath and sit down for a second.

When the timer goes off, grab a piece of pasta and bite it. It should be soft but still have that tiny bit of firmness. The whole pot is going to look really saucy, which freaks people out the first time, but that’s correct. It will absorb.

Step 5: Melt the Cheese

Turn your stove completely off. Not lower heat. Off. Leave the pot right where it is.

Stir in half your cheese and watch it melt into this creamy sauce. Taste it. Add more salt or pepper if you need to. Then dump the rest of the cheese on top, put the lid back on for about 2 minutes. The heat in the pot will melt that top cheese and the pasta will soak up any extra liquid.

Step 6: Serve

Take the lid off, give it a gentle stir, sprinkle cilantro on top if you have it, and eat it while it’s hot.

You Must Know

Turn the stove off when the pasta is done. That’s it. That’s the whole thing. If you keep the heat on, the pasta keeps cooking and gets mushy. If you turn it off and let the residual heat do the work, it’s perfect. This is literally the difference between a great dish and a disappointing one.

The sauciness at the end is not a mistake. Don’t panic about it. The pasta absorbs it all while it’s sitting with the lid on. I’ve made this like fifty times now and it works every single time.

Personal Secret: Mix your spices in a small bowl before you dump them in the pot. I learned this the hard way by getting a mouthful of pure cayenne pepper and coughing for like ten minutes. Now I spend thirty seconds mixing them first and everything tastes balanced.

Pro Tips & Cooking Hacks

Make your own chili powder mix. I promise store-bought is inconsistent and making your own takes literally two minutes. You’ll taste the difference.

Start with half a teaspoon of cayenne. Some people love spicy food, some people don’t. You can always add more but you can’t take it out. Taste it first.

If you’re out of beef broth, chicken broth works. It tastes a little different but it’s still good. I’ve done this when I forgot to buy broth.

Drain your canned beans. The liquid in the can will water down your sauce. Just rinse them in a colander for like thirty seconds.

Frozen diced red peppers work if you don’t have fresh ones. Saves you chopping and it tastes the same.

Flavor Variations & Suggestions

Want it hotter? Use more cayenne or throw in some sliced jalapeños. Want it smoky? Add half a teaspoon of smoked paprika. Want it more Tex-Mex? Stir in a couple tablespoons of salsa at the end and put sour cream on top.

Black beans instead of kidney beans is just as good. Ground turkey or chicken works if that’s what you have. Mix of beef and pork is actually delicious.

Some people add frozen corn or diced zucchini. You can use different cheeses if you want—sharp cheddar with Monterey Jack is really good together. Once you understand how this works, you can mess with it however you want.

Make-Ahead Options

Make it through step 4 (when the pasta is done) and then let it cool all the way down and stick it in the fridge for up to 4 days. Don’t add the cheese yet. When you want to eat it, reheat it over medium heat with a splash of milk if it looks dry, then do the cheese step at the end.

You can freeze the whole thing before adding cheese for like 3 months. Thaw it overnight in the fridge and reheat the same way. It stays good. Fresh cheese on top when you reheat makes it taste brand new.

Recipe Notes & Baker’s Tips

The cilantro actually tastes good—it’s not just there to look pretty. It cuts through the richness. If you hate cilantro (I get it, some people do), use parsley instead.

Use actual shredded cheese, not the pre-packaged stuff with powder on it if you can help it. It melts smoother and makes a way better sauce. I’ve tested both and there’s a real difference in how creamy it gets.

Elbow macaroni is classic but shells or small penne work fine if that’s what’s in your pantry. Don’t overthink it.

Serving Suggestions

Serve it with garlic bread because you’re going to want to soak up every drop of sauce. A simple salad with vinaigrette on the side helps balance how rich it is. Cornbread is amazing with this if you want to go that direction. Crusty bread works too.

This is my go-to for weeknight dinners. Leftovers are actually better the next day because everything has sat together and gotten even more flavorful.

Put jalapeños on top if you want heat. Sour cream if you want creaminess. Bacon if you’re feeling extra. Green onions are nice too.

How To Store Your One Pot Chili Mac and Cheese

Eat it right away or let it cool for a couple hours. I learned the hard way not to leave it sitting out all night.

Put leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge and it keeps for about 4 days. It actually gets creamier as it sits because the pasta keeps absorbing sauce. That’s kind of nice.

Freezes great for up to 3 months in a freezer-safe container. Leave some space at the top because it expands when it freezes.

Reheat it in a pot over medium heat, stir it around until it’s warm. Add a little milk if it seems dry. Or microwave it in 2-minute chunks and stir between each one. Stovetop tastes better but microwave is faster when you’re in a rush.

Allergy Information & Substitutions

This has dairy and gluten so if that’s a problem:

Dairy-free: Use dairy-free cheddar. Won’t be quite as creamy but it works. Adding a splash of full-fat coconut milk helps.

Gluten-free: Use gluten-free pasta instead of regular. Cooking time might be slightly different depending on the brand so follow that package, but the rest of the recipe stays the same. Turns out fine.

Vegetarian: Use plant-based ground meat or crumbled tofu mixed with the chili spices. Use vegetable broth instead of beef broth. Still tastes good.

Questions I Get Asked A Lot

Can I use a different type of ground meat?

Turkey, chicken, pork all work. Brown it the same way and keep going. Turkey and chicken are leaner so it won’t be quite as rich but it’s still good.

What if my pasta came out mushy?

You didn’t turn off the heat in time. The point is the residual heat finishes cooking it. Next time, stop the heat the second the pasta is al dente and trust me it’ll keep cooking. That’s the actual trick to the whole thing.

Can I make this in a slow cooker?

You can but it’s more of a pain. Brown everything in a skillet first, then dump it in the slow cooker with tomatoes, beans, and broth. Cook on low 4 hours or high 2 hours. Add pasta the last 15 minutes. Do the cheese thing at the end. It works but honestly the stovetop is easier.

Is this recipe spicy?

With half a teaspoon of cayenne it’s warm and has a kick but it won’t make you sweat. Kids can eat it. If you’re sensitive to heat, start with a quarter teaspoon. If you love spicy food, go up to a full teaspoon or add jalapeños.

Can I use dried beans instead of canned?

You can but you have to cook them forever first. Soak overnight, cook like an hour and a half. For a weeknight? Just use canned. Tastes basically the same and you actually eat dinner before bedtime.

Make this and tell me what you think. Seriously, comment below. Did you change anything? Did your family like it? If you’re into one-pot meals, check out my other recipes.