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    Home ยป Recipes ยป Pasta and Noodle Recipes

    Dutch Oven Chili Mac

    Published: Mar 4, 2025 by Ned Adams ยท This post may contain affiliate links ยท 7 Comments

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    Branded image of chili mac in a dutch oven garnished with freshly chopped cilantro and a dollop of sour cream.
    Split image of chili mac in both a bowl and in the dutch oven.
    Two recipe image collage in a dutch oven for social media.
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    Chili Mac is the combining of two classic favorites, homemade chili and homemade macaroni and cheese into one deliciously hearty meal. The brilliance of this meal is you don't have to cook the macaroni separately. It cooks with everything else truly making this Chili Mac a one pot meal.

    If you can't get enough chili, you'll love our Chili Cheese Dog Bake and of course the blue-ribbon, award-winning Awesome Chili.

    Easy cheesy chili mac in a dutch oven garnished with freshly chopped cilantro and a dollop of sour cream.
    Jump to:
    • Why You'll Love This Recipe
    • Ingredients for this Recipe
    • Variations
    • How to make Chili Mac
    • How to serve
    • Expert Tips
    • More Meat Cheese, and Pasta Recipes
    • Get the Recipe

    Why You'll Love This Recipe

    If you're of a certain age, you probably grew up eating the helper dinner in a box by simply adding some cooked ground beef and water. Basically, fancied-up mac and cheese.

    They were convenience food at its best having dinner on the table in about 30 minutes or less. There was a whole range of flavors from cheeseburger mac, stroganoff, lasagna and of course, Chili Mac.

    Unfortunately those dinners in a box have lots of things we no longer want to serve our families but we still want dinner to be convenient and on the table as quickly as possible. That's where this Chili Mac recipe shines; everything cooked in one pot and ready to serve in about 30 minutes.

    Ingredients for this Recipe

    Ingredients to make the chili mac: corn brown sugar, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, beef broth, salt, cumin, kidney beans, macaroni, onion, diced green chilies, chili powder, granulated garlic, cheddar cheese, Monterey jack cheese, and ground beef.
    • Pantry staples — kidney beans, diced tomatoes, kidney beans, mild diced green chilies, beef broth, and elbow macaroni noodles.
    • Seasonings — salt, granulated garlic, chili powder, cumin, and brown sugar.
    • Cheeses — we used freshly grated Monterey jack and cheddar cheeses.
    • Meat — lean ground beef is the best for this recipe.
    • Veg — frozen corn and a yellow onion.

    See the recipe card below for exact ingredient amounts, nutritional information, and detailed instructions.

    Variations

    Pantry staples — black beans or pintos beans instead of the kidney beans. Use fire roasted tomatoes for a bolder flavor. Spicy diced green chilies to turn up the heat. Use your favorite small pasta like shells or orecchiette.

    Seasonings — fresh garlic or garlic powder instead of granulated. Chipotle or cayenne powder for extra spice or half chili powder and half paprika for a more mild flavor.

    Cheese — use Mexican blend, pepper jack, or mozzarella.

    Meat — any ground meat would be delicious, ground turkey, chicken, or even pork.

    Veg — Add freshly diced bell pepper, jalapeños, poblano, or any other pepper. A sweet onion is a wonderful substitution for a regular yellow onion or the bolder white onion. Canned corn will work in place of frozen.

    How to make Chili Mac

    Ground beef and onions cooking in a dutch oven.

    Step 1 — Over medium high heat, brown the ground beef and onions in the dutch oven until the meat is no longer pink. Drain any renderings.

    Seasonings added to the cooked ground beef and onions in the dutch oven.

    Step 2 — Return to heat and add all the seasonings expect the brown sugar. Mix everything in well.

    All the remaining recipe ingredients except the cheeses added to the dutch oven.

    Step 3 — Add all the remaining ingredients except for the cheeses.

    Everything combined except the cheeses and ready to cook.

    Step 4 — Stir well, cover, and cook until the pasta is done, about 15 minutes. Stir frequently to avoid the pasta sticking to the bottom.

    Half of the cheeses added to the dutch oven.

    Step 5 — Once the noodles are cooked, stir in half of the cheeses over the heat for an additional 2-3 minutes or until the cheeses have melted.

    Remaining cheeses sprinkled on top before serving.

    Step 6 — Remove from heat, sprinkle the remaining cheese on top, replace the lid, and allow to rest for about 5 minutes.

    Don't skip the resting time and serve immediately or you won't have a melted top and it will be molten when you bite into it.

    Just done Chili Mac in a dutch oven with cilantro and sour cream.

    How to serve

    • Finish the dish with freshly chopped cilantro, sour cream, diced green onions, chives, hot sauce, and of course, more cheese.
    • The macaroni and cheese portion screams Garlic Bread but the Homemade Chili portion wants Cornbread, so until we create a Garlic Cornbread to accompany this delicious Chili Mac, you'll have to pick.
    • Sure, there's lots of goodies in that Dutch oven Chili Mac but a crisp green salad would be a wonderful side dish.

    Expert Tips

    • If you use extra lean ground beef or ground turkey, you may want to use a tablespoon of cooking oil before adding the meat to brown. Extra lean mean doesn't produce much renderings.
    • Do not leave or store Chili Mac in the cast iron Dutch oven for a long period of time. While cooking tomato-based dishes is perfectly fine in bare metal, extended exposure to the acidity isn't great for the pot.
    A wooden ladle starting to lift a serving of the recipe in the dutch oven.

    More Meat Cheese, and Pasta Recipes

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    • A slice of baked Mexican Spaghetti on a white plate garnished with sour cream and salsa.
      Baked Mexican Spaghetti
    • Skillet Ham Macaroni and Cheese
    • Baked skillet full of bacon cheeseburger casserole.
      Skillet Bacon Cheeseburger Casserole

    If you tried this chili mac recipe or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!

    Get the Recipe

    Just done Chili Mac in a dutch oven with cilantro and sour cream.
    Print Recipe
    5 from 5 votes

    Chili Mac

    Chili Mac is the combining of two classic favorites, homemade chili and homemade macaroni and cheese into one deliciously hearty meal.
    Prep Time5 minutes mins
    Cook Time25 minutes mins
    Total Time30 minutes mins
    Course: Main Course
    Cuisine: American
    Servings: 6
    Calories: 555kcal
    Author: Ned Adams
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Equipment

    • 4 qt. Dutch Oven

    Ingredients

    • 1 lb lean ground beef
    • 1 medium onion diced
    • 1 ½ tablespoon chili powder +/-, to taste
    • ½ tablespoon cumin
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • 1 tablespoon granulated garlic
    • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
    • 15 oz tomato sauce
    • 14 oz diced tomatoes
    • 2 cups beef broth
    • 8 oz elbow macaroni
    • 1 cup frozen corn
    • 4 oz diced green chilies
    • 1 ½ cups Monterey Jack cheese
    • 1 ½ cups cheddar cheese
    US Standard - Metric

    Instructions

    • Over medium high heat, brown the ground beef and onions in the dutch oven until the meat is no longer pink. Drain any renderings.
    • Return to heat and add all the seasonings expect the brown sugar. Mix everything in well.
    • Add all the remaining ingredients except for the cheeses.
    • Stir well, cover, and cook until the pasta is done, about 15 minutes. Stir frequently to avoid the pasta sticking to the bottom.
    • Once the noodles are cooked, stir in half of the cheeses over the heat for an additional 2-3 minutes or until the cheeses have melted.
    • Remove from heat, sprinkle the remaining cheese on top, replace the lid, and allow to rest for about 5 minutes.

    Notes

    Pantry staples — black beans or pintos beans instead of the kidney beans. Use fire roasted tomatoes for a bolder flavor. Spicy diced green chilies to turn up the heat. Use your favorite small pasta like shells or orecchiette.
    Seasonings — fresh garlic or garlic powder instead of granulated. Chipotle or cayenne powder for extra spice or half chili powder and half paprika for a more mild flavor.
    Cheese — use Mexican blend, pepper jack, or mozzarella.
    Meat — any ground meat would be delicious, ground turkey, chicken, or even pork.
    Veg — Add freshly diced bell pepper, jalapeños, poblano, or any other pepper. A sweet onion is a wonderful substitution for a regular yellow onion or the bolder white onion. Canned corn will work in place of frozen.
    Toppings — Finish the dish with freshly chopped cilantro, sour cream, diced green onions, chives, hot sauce, and of course, more cheese.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 555kcal | Carbohydrates: 49g | Protein: 39g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 100mg | Sodium: 1279mg | Potassium: 978mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 1508IU | Vitamin C: 16mg | Calcium: 486mg | Iron: 5mg

    Dutch Oven Daddy is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.

    Did you try this recipe?Leave me a comment and rating below or Tag @DutchOvenDaddy on Instagram to show us your photos!

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      5 from 5 votes

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Dina Miller

      March 05, 2025 at 8:17 am

      5 stars
      Loved the corn and peppers! Yum!

      Reply
      • Ned Adams

        March 05, 2025 at 8:20 am

        Awesome!! Glad you enjoyed! Thank you for the feedback!

        Reply
    2. D

      March 05, 2025 at 8:06 am

      5 stars
      Looks tasty!!!

      Reply
      • Ned Adams

        March 05, 2025 at 8:08 am

        Thank you so much!

        Reply
    3. Edward

      March 04, 2025 at 11:55 am

      5 stars
      What an awesome easy recipe for a busy weeknight! Thank you so much for this recipe!

      Reply
    4. Alison

      December 03, 2022 at 9:17 am

      5 stars
      I thought that this was a fun twist to macaroni and cheese.

      Reply
    5. Travis

      December 03, 2022 at 8:11 am

      5 stars
      We went the beef route and it went very well. Even got the kids to try some of it which is a win for us.

      Reply

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    the Dutch Oven Daddy! Iโ€™m a full-time computer nerd and part-time cook. My passion is cast iron cooking with tips, tricks, and delicious recipes. I love using my recipes to bring together family and friends. I believe everything is made better in cast iron!

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