I have been craving some serious comfort food these days! Beef chili and mac and cheese are among my favourite comfort foods and the combination of the two is even better! That’s right a beef chili with mac and cheese mixed into it! This recipe starts out as a basic beef chili recipe that has macaroni pasta added to it along with some extra broth so that the pasta can cook right in the chili as it simmers. The best part of mac and cheese is of course the decadently creamy cheese sauce which gets made separately with no less than three kinds of cheese including cream cheese, cheddar cheese and Monterrey jack cheese! The cheese sauce is mixed into the cooked chili with macaroni and even more shredded cheese is thrown on top before placing it under the broiler to melt! Yum! This is simply the cheesiest mac and cheese chili around and it;s pure comfort food in a bowl!
A decadently creamy cheese sauce!
Chili Mac and Cheese
The perfect combination of beef chili with decadently creamy mac and cheese (aka macaroni) in one irresistible dish that is super easy to make!
ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 red pepper, diced (optional
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 1 (15 ounce) can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 3 cups beef broth
- 2 cups macaroni (~8 ounces) (gluten-free for gluten-free)
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce (optional)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (gluten-free for gluten-free)
- 2 cups milk (or broth)
- 4 ounces cream cheese , softened
- 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1 cup monterey jack cheese, shredded
For the chili:
For the cheese sauce:
directions
- Cook the beef, onions and red pepper in a large sauce pan over medium-high, breaking the beef apart as it cooks, until cooked, about 10 minutes, before draining off any excess grease.
- Add the garlic, chili powder, cumin, paprika and oregano and cook until fragrant, about a minute.
- Add the tomatoes, beans, broth, macaroni, Worcestershire sauce and soy sauce, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the pasta is cooked, about 8 minutes, before seasoning with salt and pepper to taste,
- Meanwhile cook the cheese sauce and when the macaroni is cooked, mix it into the chili.
- Sprinkle on the cheese and place under the broiler until the cheese has melted before serving garnished with the cilantro!
- Melt the butter in a sauce pan over medium heat.
- Sprinkle in the flour and cook until bubbling and lightly golden brown, about a minute.
- Add the milk, mix well and bring to a simmer and cook until it thickens a bit, about 2-3 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the cheese and cook until it melts into a smooth sauce.
For the chili:
For the cheese sauce:
Option: Use black beans, pinto beans, etc, instead of red kidney beans.
Option: Add more broth to make it more of a soup!
Option: Make this a one pot meal by skipping making a cheese sauce and simply mix the cheese into the chili and let it melt!
This looks awesome! Nice and cheesy
Looks really good! 🙂
I bookmarked this recipe when you first posted it but actually made it when you included it in your 2018 Best Of. I know this sounds like a backhanded compliment (it’s not) but it tasted like something you would get from a frozen meal but without the weird chemical/additive flavor. It makes a ton so great for a crowd. In sum, it was a nice change from the usual chili. It’s the kind of recipe I would want to make once or twice a year.
I am making this tonight for my daughter’s birthday. She requested it as I have made it before. The family loves this recipe! It is now the go-to recipe for chili mac and cheese! Thanks for sharing it!
I made this last week and it was really good. I will be making it again. Thanks.
As the young folk say today, “awesome”. Isn’t that what they say? For many years I made chili with a tomato
base. Good, but sometimes too acidic, even with a touch of sugar. I have been meaning to make my next batch
with beef broth. And here it is with some mac/cheese to take it up a notch.
Kevin, can this be a make-ahead kind of meal? Any details about how best to do that? Thanks much. Phyllis
You can make this recipe ahead of time! Pasta will continue to absorb liquid and get softer so if you cook the pasta ahead of time it will be in less than optimal condition (but still amazing!). You can make it ahead in a number of ways:
1. Make the whole recipe the day before and reheat, adding more liquid, on the day that you serve it.
2. Make the cheese sauce and meat sauce minus the pasta ahead of time. When you are getting ready to serve, heat the cheese sauce and bring the meat sauce to a boil, add uncooked pasta and cook until tender, about 10 minutes, before mixing the cheese sauce into the meat and pasta.
3. Make the whole recipe as written, except do not add the pasta or 2 cups of beef broth. When ready to serve, warm the meat and cheese sauce and cook the pasta separately and mix it into the meat and cheese sauce.