The whole family will love this easy weeknight dinner.
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Table of Contents
❤️ Why you'll love it
- Hearty pasta recipe feeds the whole family for cheap
- Chili beans and cheesy cheddar noodles taste great on a cold day
- Everything cooks in one pot (or a large skillet) so you don't have to spend all night cleaning dishes
Cheesy chili mac casserole is the perfect comfort food to prep in advance for lunches or dinners throughout the week. Though it's made with simple ingredients, this homestyle dish is packed with a whole lot of flavor and fun.
🧾 Ingredients
This is an overview of the ingredients. You'll find the full measurements and instructions in the green recipe card (printable) at the bottom of the page.
🔪 Instructions
This is an overview of the instructions. Full instructions are in the green recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Saute onions and peppers in a little oil in a pan. Add the ground beef and cook.
- Add beans, RoTel, and seasoning.
- Add beef stock and bring to a simmer.
- Add the uncooked macaroni and the Velveeta. Cook, stirring constantly, until macaroni is tender. You may need to add a bit more broth to keep it from drying out.
- Spoon into a greased casserole dish and cover with the shredded cheese. Bake until cheese melts.
🥫 Storage
I always make an extra-large batch of family-favorite recipes like this one. That way, everyone eats the leftovers and I don't have to cook!
Let the cheesy chili mac casserole cool, then spoon the extras into an airtight container or freezer bag. You can use smaller storage containers to portion out individual servings for easy grab-and-go lunch options.
Refrigerated, the leftovers will last for 3-4 days. You can also freeze the easy chili mac for up to 3 months.
Reheat the leftovers in the microwave until piping hot. It might get a little dry as the pasta absorbs the moisture, so just stir in a splash of water, olive oil, butter, or beef/chicken broth—if you want.
I do recommend letting large portions of leftovers thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating. However, you can get away with using the defrost setting on your microwave to quickly enjoy smaller servings.
📖 Variations
- Pick Your Protein: Instead of beef, ground turkey or sausage will work. You can also use a beef mixture that includes pork or something similar.
- Cheese, Please: Shredded cheddar or a Mexican cheese blend works fine for flavor if you don't have Velveeta, but it's not as smooth and creamy without it. A jarred cheese sauce works okay, too.
- To Beans or Not to Beans: If you can't find ranch-style beans, use regular kidney beans, pinto beans, or black beans. Don't like beans? That's fine, just omit 'em. (In either case, you'll want to add a little bit more seasoning to make up for what the ranch beans provide.)
- Noodle Notes: You can swap any small pasta shape for the elbow macaroni. Or, go gluten-free and use instant-cook rice, instead.
- Make it Stretch: Sometimes I'll throw in extra beans since they're cheap and filling. You can also add extra peppers or a bag of frozen corn!
- Chili Flavor: If you don't want to buy a jar of chili powder, you can use a chili seasoning packet in its place. Or, make your own chili powder!
- Add More Heat: Toss in some jalapeno slices, a can of green chilies, or a few tablespoons of hot sauce to give the chili mac some more kick. For extra heat, cayenne pepper will do the trick!
💭 Things to know
Expert Tip: Cast iron and stainless steel pans are best for browning ground beef without making it too tough. Bonus points if you let the beef come to room temperature before cooking it!
- If you're scraping the veggies off the cutting board, aim away from your body, rather than toward it. Otherwise, hot oil may splash right onto you!
- Don't drain the ranch-style beans—they're stored in a delicious chili sauce that'll help flavor your chili mac.
- Grab a container of diced onions and peppers from the produce section to cut down on prep time.
- If you like a golden-brown, cheesy finish, use an oven-safe skillet. At the end, top it with extra cheese and broil it in the oven for a few minutes.
- Double the batch and store the extras in a freezer-safe foil casserole or baking dish. This is a perfect way to meal prep for a future busy day!
- Sometimes we'll serve cheesy chili mac casserole with a scoop of sour cream and some fresh cilantro on top, but there are plenty of other options. The best part about this ultimate comfort food recipe? You can get creative with toppings!
👩🍳 FAQs
Sure thing! Sweet, white, or yellow onions add great, subtle flavor. Red onions are okay too, but some people don't like their sharper kick.
Crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, and tomato sauce will all taste okay in this recipe—but they aren't the best. Rotel tomatoes have special seasonings and spices added, so if you swap them out your chili recipe might taste a little bland.
I'm all for using leftovers in creative ways, but pasta is a bit tricky because it soaks up liquid in a recipe. If you want to use cooked pasta, stir it in at the end. Also, instead of using two cups of beef broth, just add enough until the consistency is to your liking. (Without the pasta soaking it up, you may not need any at all.)
📚 Related recipes
- Packed with flavor and texture, Hamburger Helper Cheeseburger Skillet is quick, easy, satisfying, and tastes worlds better than the boxed stuff!
- Chili Soup (Cowboy Soup) is a midwestern delicacy! It's made with spicy beans, beef, and noodles in a slurpable soup-style chili.
- Anything flavored with ranch and bacon is good, but this Crockpot Crack Chicken Chili takes creamy and delicious to a whole new level!
- Zesty, crunchy, gooey, satisfying—there aren't enough good words to describe this Ground Beef Dorito Casserole. Okay, two more: must-try!
🍽️ Serve with...
- Frito Corn Salad adds a fresh, crisp element to dinner. Plus, with salty corn chips in it, no one will complain about eating veggies tonight!
- Candied Jalapenos are an ideal topping to just about any Tex-Mex dish you can think of. They're the perfect balance between sweet and spicy!
- Chocolate Chip Gooey Butter Bars are full of decadent, rich, and classic flavor—a great way to end a hearty meal!
📞 The last word
I like to use an iron skillet for this so that I can put the whole thing in the oven for the last step. However, it's so great for potlucks that sometimes I make it in a casserole dish.
Either way it's delicious!
We love cheesy pasta recipes like this, old fashioned baked macaroni and cheese, and so many others! They're easy to make, budget friendly, and usually picky-eater friendly, too.
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need. Don't forget that you can click on "add to collection" to save it to your own, private recipe box!
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖 Recipe
Cheesy Chili Mac Casserole
Print Pin Recipe Save Recipe Rate RecipeIngredients
- 1 cup onion, diced
- ½ cup bell pepper, diced
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 26 ounces Ranch Style beans, don't drain
- 21 ounces Rotel tomatoes, don't drain
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 2 cups beef stock
- 1 cup elbow macaroni, uncooked
- 1 cup Velveeta cheese cubed
- 1 cup Cheddar cheese, shredded
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375℉ and grease a 13x9-inch casserole dish. Set aside.
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot.
- When it's nearly shimmering (watch carefully!) add the onion and bell peppers.
- Saute for a few minutes until the vegetables start to soften.
- Add the ground beef and cook, stirring often, until it's cooked through.
- Drain any fat that accumulates.
- Add the Ranch Style beans and Rotel to the pot, may substitute chili beans.
- Stir in in the seasoning.
- Add the beef stock and bring the mixture to a boil over high heat.
- Add the pasta and Velveeta.
- Return to a boil over medium heat.
- Cook for 7 to 10 minutes, or until pasta is tender, stirring constantly. Add more beef stock if needed to keep it from drying out and scorching.
- Spoon into a greased casserole dish, top with shredded cheese, and bake about 10 minutes - just until the cheese melts.
- Top with sliced green onions before serving, if desired.
Notes
- Cast iron and stainless steel pans are best for browning ground beef without making it too tough. Bonus points if you let the beef come to room temperature before cooking it!
- If you're scraping the veggies off the cutting board, aim away from your body, rather than toward it. Otherwise, hot oil may splash right onto you!
- Don't drain the ranch-style beans—they're stored in a delicious chili sauce that'll help flavor your chili mac.
- Grab a container of diced onions and peppers from the produce section to cut down on prep time.
- If you like a golden-brown, cheesy finish, use an oven-safe skillet. At the end, top it with extra cheese and broil it in the oven for a few minutes. Double the batch and store the extras in a freezer-safe foil casserole or baking dish. This is a perfect way to meal prep for a future busy day!
- Sometimes we'll serve cheesy chili mac casserole with a scoop of sour cream and some fresh cilantro on top, but there are plenty of other options. The best part about this ultimate comfort food recipe? You can get creative with toppings!
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
This recipe has been tested several times. If you choose to use other ingredients, or change the technique in some way, the results may not be the same.
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