Do you ever have a sudden craving for cheesy chili macaroni? If you do, you’re going to love this quick hack to get chili mac in the oven in just a tad bit more than the time it takes the macaroni to cook! Using pantry staples and leftovers, this recipe comes together so quickly and provides a family friendly, hearty and healthy, super delicious dinner.
Okay, the “healthy” part depends on the pasta option you choose. If you use regular macaroni (made with white flour), the health benefits will be less, but if you choose a whole grain, bean or veggie-based option made with whole ingredients and not a ton of preservatives, then you’ve got yourself a hearty, healthy main dish. Serve with a side salad or just some veggies and avocado ranch and you’re golden.
It’s funny that I found myself craving Chili Mac today … this is not a dish that has EVER been a staple in my life. But today, with the cooler temps and shorter days beginning, I just wanted a super comforting cheesy pasta dish smothered in all the good flavors that a good hearty bowl of chili offers. And I didn’t have much time … I was busy with work! When breakfast wore off and I found myself in food emergency, I pulled together a few things I had on hand to whip this up for lunch WHILE I was working. My “lunch hour” is never a time to actually quit working so multi-tasking meal prep while working from home makes me super happy. YES! Thanks to leftovers and pantry staples.
How to Keep Homemade Beans & Taco Meat on Hand
There are just a few of us living here at my house … and each of us have very particular eating habits. Most of the time it’s fend for yourself for meals. We’ve taken to keeping some of our favorite staples on hand in the freezer at all times.
I like to make a big pot of my flavorful Instant Pot beans, keep a cup or so for immediate eating and freeze the rest for later. My youngest loves to make taco salads, so she makes taco meat and freezes whatever she doesn’t eat in her salad that night. We actually have designated freezer spots for our two beloved pre-prepped ingredients.
Just those two simple things mean that she and I both have so many easy meal options on hand at all times … all we have to do is defrost some meat and/or beans and we are SET!
Which pasta is the healthiest?
I’ve been tempted by an increasing number of options for pasta that isn’t made with flour, but instead is made with beans. Recently I even found some macaroni made with cauliflower AND beans! I was immediately drawn to it because I’ve almost completely cut pasta out of my diet lately to ensure I have the fiber and nutrients I need in my heart healthy, low cholesterol diet. But these bean-based pastas appeal to me because they have super simple ingredient lists PLUS they’re high in fiber. Two wins in my book.
But what ARE the benefits of bean-based pasta? Are they truly healthier? Or is there a better option? Which option should I choose?
It depends on what you’re looking for. Time magazine reports that the healthiest option is veggie noodles (spiralized vegetables), which I suppose you could use here, but it might end up kind of watery and zoodles are definitely not macaroni. But it WOULD be healthier. A better option if you want to use veggies in place of noodles is cauliflower. Roast it up and use it in place of the pasta in this dish! (I really need to try that sometime, now that I’ve imagined it.)
But if you’re not going for straight up veggies in place of pasta, the “best” choice depends on your priorities. If gluten free is important to you, then the bean-based pastas are the clear winner because they are not only gluten-free, they are high in protein and also high in fiber and nutrients, plus the carb count is lower. And yes, bean-based pasta is great for lowering cholesterol! Another great gluten free option is quinoa pasta, if you can find it.
If you don’t care about gluten, whole wheat macaroni is a great option. Whole wheat pasta is rich in vitamins, minerals, protein and fiber and it is heart healthy as well.
Regardless, I love this quote from Time Magazine: “Pasta is not a matter of yes or no, it’s a matter of how much and how often.” Today, for me, the answer is “yes”. 🙂
Print
Easy Cheesy Cheater Chili Mac
- Prep Time: 5 min
- Cook Time: 30 min
- Total Time: 35 min
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Quick Dinner
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Tex Mex
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
A quick hack for chili mac whenever the craving strikes! With a few pantry ingredients, leftover taco meat and some shredded cheese, you’ve got yourself a comforting, family friendly meal in roughly 30 minutes.
Ingredients
- 4 oz. uncooked macaroni (preferably whole wheat or bean based for heart health)
- 1/2 cup pasta sauce (I used my homemade vodka sauce (sans cream – recipe here), but a marinara or a nice chunky pasta sauce would also work really well)
- 1/2 cup leftover taco meat (here’s my favorite recipe for taco meat)
- 1 cup cooked, seasoned beans, with juices (I used my Instant Pot beans)
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- Your favorite salsa or hot sauce, to taste
- 4 – 5 oz. shredded Mexican blend cheese
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to package directions.
- While the pasta is cooking, in a bowl or medium saucepan, stir together the sauce, taco meat, beans and seasonings. Taste and add salsa or hot sauce to your liking. This is the chili which will be the hearty “sauce” for the dish, so feel free to add anything you really love in your chili. Heat in the microwave or on stovetop until hot.
- When the macaroni is done, drain off all the water. Pour the pasta into an oven-safe small casserole pan. Pour the chili over top. Gently fold to coat the macaroni in the chili. Add about 1/3 of the cheese on top and fold a little more to get some of the cheese right down in with the pasta, then top with the rest of the cheese.
- Bake at 400 F. for about 15 minutes or until the cheese is nicely melted and a little browned in some spots. Garnish with avocado, cilantro or parsley or whatever else makes you happy with your chili mac. Time to eat!
Notes
Feel free to adjust the proportions of the sauce, meats and beans to your liking … and to add whatever you love in your chili mac to this recipe! For vegetarian, leave out the meat and add extra beans … or substitute lentil taco filling for the meat. For vegan, use vegan cheese shreds in place of regular cheese.
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Nutrition information assumes chickpea pasta, which is the closest I could find to what I actually used in this recipe.
