Easy Homemade Chili Mac and Cheese loaded with beans is the ultimate casserole, ready and on the table in less than 30 minutes! A pasta recipe with a KICK of spice and incredible flavours that the whole family will go crazy for! Great for using up leftover chili OR make straight from scratch!
How To Make Chili Mac
Two comfort foods combine together in one pan for the best thing you’ll ever eat in your life — well apart from this Tuscan Chicken Mac and Cheese. This one is on a whole other level of greatness. With many one pot Mac and cheese recipes on the inter-webs, this recipe is different in that you have the option of using leftover chili (something like this Beef Bean Jalapeño Chili recipe, for example), OR make an incredibly tasty chili from scratch! This Chili Mac is RICH with favour! There’s so much of it in this casserole we found ourselves eating it straight out of the pan! Plates are way overrated with something like this.
Chili Mac Ingredients
First, you’re going to get your pasta boiling while you start on your Chili. Lord help me this Chili is so good! The main ingredients in this recipe is the usual:
Ground beef — I use lean beef in this. You can also use ground chicken or turkey. Beans — Both red kidney beans and black beans, but you can substitute with any you like. Tomato based ingredients for the best Chili sauce — crushed tomatoes AND tomato puree (aka Passata in Australia). I also add in tomato paste in this recipe to get the thickness and richness happening faster without having to wait hours!
Seasonings:
Ground cumin Smoked paprika (or hot or sweet paprika also taste good in this) Red chili powder (or Cayenne)
The ingredients list may look a little long BUT you can’t have a really good flavoured Chili and skimp out on seasonings!
Cheese
I used a mixture of American cheddar and mozzarella in this recipe just for the flavour and texture of those, but you can use Monterey Jack or a Mexican blend. You could also use Provolone or any other cheese you love!
Once you’ve mixed your cooked pasta together with your chili, broil (or grill) the cheese topping for a couple of minutes to get it bubbly and melted! Garnish with some jalapeno slices and chopped cilantro, and ENJOY!
Looking for more spice? Try these: Spicy Shrimp Fajitas Spicy Garlic Sun-dried Tomato Shrimp Crispy Chicken Buffalo Wings Grilled Chili Lime Fajita Salad
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