One Pot Chili Mac (so easy!)
This Chili Mac and Cheese is loaded with flavour and all made in one pot!
Servings: 6
Cost: £2.50 / $3
Equipment
- Sharp Knife & Chopping Board
- Large Deep Pot & Wooden Spoon (preferably with a lid)
- Jug (for stock)
- Cheese Grater
- Serving Spoon
Ingredients
- Olive Oil, as needed
- 1 medium Onion, finely diced
- 1 medium Red Pepper, finely diced
- 2 cloves of Garlic, finely diced
- 500g / 1lb Minced/Ground Beef (preferably 10-12% fat)
- 1 heaped tbsp Tomato Puree (Tomato Paste in US)
- 720ml / 3 cups Beef Stock, or as needed (see notes)
- 500g / 2 cups Tomato Passata (Pureed tomatoes in US)
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 tbsp EACH: Paprika, Cumin, Hot Chilli Powder (see notes)
- 3/4 tsp Salt or to taste (see notes)
- 1/2 tsp EACH: Ground Coriander, Oregano, Sugar, Black Pepper
- 250g / 9oz Uncooked Macaroni (see notes)
- 1x 400g/14oz can of Kidney Beans, drained
- 200g / 2 cups Cheddar, grated (or more to cover the top!)
- finely diced Coriander/Cilantro, to serve (optional, but recommended if you like it)
- thinly sliced Fresh Jalapeños, to serve (optional)
Instructions
- In a large deep pot over medium-high heat add a drizzle of olive oil. Add the onion and red pepper and fry until soft and just starting to pick up colour. Add the garlic and fry for another minute or so.
- Add the beef and break up it with your wooden spoon until well crumbled and browned. Stir in 1 heaped tbsp tomato puree and fry for a couple of mins, then pour in the passata, beef stock, Worcestershire sauce and all of the seasonings and spices. Give it a stir, then stir in the kidney beans and dried macaroni.
- Bring to a steady simmer and stir occasionally until the macaroni is about 90% cooked through and the sauce has mostly thickened, but still fairly saucy. If the sauce begins to thicken too much before the macaroni cooks, just gradually add in water or stock as needed until the macaroni is al dente.
- Turn off the heat and stir in 1 cup of cheese until it melts. Check for seasoning/spice and adjust if needed, then sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top (measure with love). Pop the lid on and allow the residual heat to melt the cheese. The pasta will absorb more liquid and finish cooking during this. You can also melt it under the grill/broiler.
- Sprinkle over coriander/cilantro and jalapeños (optional) then serve up and enjoy!
Video
Notes
a) Salt - Different stocks will have different salt levels, so 3/4 tsp salt in the chili likely won't be suitable for everyone. It certainly won't be too salty, but just adjust after stirring through the cheese.
b) Spice - 1 tbsp hot chilli powder gives you a good kick of heat, but nothing too overbearing. The added jalapeños will obviously take things up a few notices, but they are optional. You can sub mild chilli powder if you're really not good with spice. Please note that in the UK 'Chilli Powder' is ground chillies, not a mixture of spices like in the US. If you can't find pure ground chilli I’d use cayenne pepper and work to taste (I imagine starting at 1/2 – 1 tsp and working your way up would work well).
c) Cheese - I prefer cheddar, but something like Monterey Jack or a Mexican cheese blend would work. If you're going for cheddar, I recommend a Medium strength. I usually love a strong/sharp cheddar, but you'll find it doesn't melt as well and the strength usually throws the flavour off a little. Go wild and measure with love when adding it on top!
d) Liquid/Timings - Different brands of macaroni will have different thicknesses, meaning they'll differ in the amount of liquid they need to cook and how long it'll take. You certainly won't find it too saucy with the amount of liquid in the recipe (it thickens up quite a lot as it rests) but if the sauce dries up before the macaroni cooks, just add in more liquid (stock or water) a splash at a time until it's al dente.
e) Storage - Allow to completely cool then tightly store leftovers in the fridge. Microwave until piping hot, or reheat on the stove over low heat, adding a splash of water to loosen up the sauce if needed. You can also freeze, just thaw in the fridge then reheat.
f) Calories - Whole recipe divided by 6 assuming 1 tbsp olive oil for frying and 10% beef.
Nutrition
Calories: 573kcal | Carbohydrates: 51.26g | Protein: 37.11g | Fat: 24.43g | Saturated Fat: 10.886g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1.529g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8.299g | Trans Fat: 0.853g | Cholesterol: 88mg | Sodium: 900mg | Potassium: 1066mg | Fiber: 5.3g | Sugar: 8.26g | Vitamin A: 1963IU | Vitamin C: 84.8mg | Calcium: 341mg | Iron: 4.97mg