Are you looking for a one pot dinner that’s quick and nourishing? This One Pot Chili Mac is the answer! Made with ingredients you likely already have in your pantry, this chili dinner makes everyone in the family happy.
Easy dinners are one of my favorite specialties. Including this one pan Spinach Alfredo Pasta! Literally dump all the ingredients in a dish, bake, and serve! And don’t forget a copycat Olive garden salad!
Why this Recipe Works
In less than 30 minutes, you can have big bowl of comfort food! This Chili Mac reminded me quite a bit of a copycat Hamburger Helper only with a healthier twist.
Chili mac is exactly what it sounds like. A combination of homemade chili combined with macaroni noodles.
My requirements for this quick and easy dinner recipe were:
- It had to be quick enough to be ready and delivered to my family member within the hour.
- It had to use ingredients I already had on hand. No last minute shopping runs!
- The meal needed to be somewhat balanced with protein, fiber and some vegetables.
- Most importantly. . . it had to taste great.
With this recipe, you can make a healthy and kid-approved dinner all in one pot. No side dishes needed either to make this a complete meal!
Best of all this one pot dinner turned out 100% delicious! My whole family was impressed and I know we’ll be making it again soon.
Ingredient Notes
I can’t pretend to have invented the concept of adding macaroni noodles and beans to ground meat. If you grew up eating Hamburger Helper, this chili mac might seem familiar.
Fun fact: Hamburger Helper is sometimes called “American Chop Suey” because it’s an assortment of foods (often leftovers) cooked together in one pot!
To make this Chili Mac Copycat Hamburger Helper I used:
- Ground turkey– ground beef can be used instead, if preferred
- Yellow onion
- Chicken broth
- Diced tomatoes and tomato sauce
- Beans– we love the combination of kidney beans with cannelini beans, but use what YOUR family loves
- Garlic salt and chili powder
- Shredded cheddar cheese
Sound simple? It is! You don’t even need to drain the beans! I’m all about being able to open a can and toss it right into a pot when I’m in a hurry.
While this recipe is ridiculously easy and the ingredients are nothing fancy, the finished meal is amazingly tasty!
How to make Chili Mac
STEP 1. In a large dutch oven (or soup pot), combine onion and ground turkey over medium high heat. Cook until browned, about 5-8 minutes, making sure to crumble as it cooks.
STEP 2. Add the remaining ingredients other than the cheese, along with 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring occasionally.
STEP 3. Once boiling, reduce heat and simmer for an additional 15 minutes, until noodles are soft and tender. Stir occasionally so the noodles don’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
STEP 4. Add in the shredded cheddar cheese and stir.
To serve, ladle the chili mac into a bowl and sprinkle with additional shredded cheese, if desired.
Substitutions
This recipe is a blueprint that’s easy to adapt based on your needs and what you have on hand.
A few substitution ideas. . .Â
- For the beans: I used the beans I had in my pantry this time, which were cannelini beans and red kidney beans. Black beans, navy beans and pinto beans would all work just as well!
- For the meat: ground beef and chicken are delicious in chili mac as well! You could even try a vegetarian version with crumbled beef substitute, although I haven’t given this a shot and can’t vouch for it. If you try it, let me know how it works!
- For the noodles: Other small noodles taste great here for a fun change. Shells, ziti, penne and rotini would all be perfect!
Whether you refer to this dish as American Chop Suey, Chili Mac, Hamburger Helper or American Goulash, you’ve got to try it!
What are you favorite busy night meals?
Just don’t forget dessert! Our delicious cheesecake dip is the perfect finale!
More Soup and Stews Recipes
- Keto Soup Recipe
- Pasta e Fagioli Soup
- Chicken Pot Pie Soup
- Instant Pot Chili
- Chicken Noodle Soup
- Broccoli Cheddar Soup
- Taco Soup Recipe
- Cornbread– reader favorite!
Family Favorite Dinners
See all Main Dish recipes
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One Pot Chili Mac
Ingredients
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 1 pound ground turkey or ground beef
- 32 ounce chicken broth
- 1 cup water
- 1 can diced tomatoes 14.5 ounce
- 1 can tomato sauce 15 ounce
- 1 can cannelllini beans (don't drain) 15 ounce
- 1 can dark red kidney beans (don't drain) 16 ounce
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1 Tablespoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ÂĽ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 16 ounce uncooked elbows pasta
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese divided
Instructions
- In a large dutch oven (or soup pot), combine onion and ground turkey over medium high heat. Cook until browned, about 5-8 minutes, making sure to crumble as it cooks.
- Add the chicken broth, water, tomatoes, beans, salt, chili powder, cumin, salt, black pepper and pasta. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring occasionally. Once boiling, reduce heat and simmer for an additional 15 minutes, until noodles are soft and tender. Stir occasionally so the noodles don’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Add in one cup of the shredded cheddar cheese and stir into pot of chili.
- To serve, add a ladle of the chili mac to a bowl and sprinkle on additional cheese, if desired. ENJOY.
Notes
- For the beans: I used the beans I had in my pantry this time, which were cannelini beans and red kidney beans. Black beans, navy beans and pinto beans would all work just as well!
- For the meat:Â ground beef and chicken are delicious in chili mac as well! You could even try a vegetarian version with crumbled beef substitute, although I haven’t given this a shot and can’t vouch for it. If you try it, let me know how it works!
- For the noodles: Other small noodles taste great here for a fun change. Shells, ziti, penne and rotini would all be perfect!
- Store leftovers in airtight container in refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- See blog post for more recipe tips and tricks.
Is there a way to change the recipe to make it in a crockpot?
Aimee, what are your thoughts on using a slowcooker for this recipe? Â I take care of an elderly couple and need hearty simple meals like this so I can put together and leave.Â
It would totally work. However, I probably wouldn’t add in the pasta until the last hour of cooking. Let me know if you try it!
What a great one pot meal! Perfect comfort food!
I hear ya on the busy! Â It has been crazy town over here too. Â I am always looking for easy peasy meals to feed this hungry crowd. Â Pasta and chili is always a good combo!
Yessss! I love one pot meals and I am so ready to start making chili nonstop! It’s so exciting when you throw something together and it ends up being a new favorite. This looks like the perfect fall meal 🙂
can you switch to beef broth when making it with ground beef? or would that change the flavor too much?
Nope it would be perfect. I like to use low sodium chicken broth (even in beef recipes). I find low sodium beef broth doesn’t have as much flavor as the chicken version. But you can totally swap out and use beef broth for this recipe, and it will taste amazing 🙂
Chili is one of my go-to meals, especially during the cooler months! It is so easy to throw together!Â
Dear Aimee, delighted to see this recipe this morning. (My children will be too.) I boiled a pot of water the other day, added the pasta, and the water overflowed big time! Never had it happen quite like this. Something crucial must have gotten wet, and strangely, it put my entire oven out of commission. The door locked and the clock display doesn’t even work. Grrrr. I’m waiting on a repairman ’til the end of the week. The good news is the gas cook top miraculously still works and this yummy recipe doesn’t need the oven. Looking forward to dinner!
Your kids are SO busy! But I guess that’s what I was like in high school too! I hope they tell you how much they appreciate you making dinner! 🙂