Easy Chili Mac Dinner

This easy Chili Mac is a cozy, filling dinner made with ground beef, elbow macaroni, chili seasoning, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and beans. It has that chili flavor, but the pasta makes it feel like a full one-pan comfort meal. It is also a great way to stretch ground beef and use simple pantry ingredients you probably already have.

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs ground beef
2 cups elbow macaroni, uncooked
1 Mild chili seasoning packet
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can tomato sauce
1 can chili beans, undrained
1/2 to 1 cup pasta water, beef broth, or regular water, as needed
1/2- 1 8 oz block shredded cheddar cheese,
Salt, pepper, garlic powder, or extra chili seasoning, to taste

Directions

Cook the elbow macaroni according to the package directions. Before draining, save about 1 cup of the pasta water in case you need it later.
While the pasta is cooking, brown the ground beef in a large skillet or pan over medium heat. Drain the grease if needed.
Stir in the chili seasoning packet, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and undrained chili beans.
Let the meat mixture simmer for a few minutes so the flavors can come together.
Add the cooked macaroni and stir everything together.
If the chili mac is too thick, add a little pasta water, beef broth, or regular water until it is as saucy as you like it.
Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed. Add a little salt, pepper, garlic powder, or extra chili seasoning if it needs more flavor.
Top with shredded cheese if desired and serve warm.

Melanie’s Time-Saver Tip

This recipe is perfect for using ground beef you already cooked earlier in the week. You can also brown extra ground beef when making this recipe and freeze it for another busy night.

Having cooked meat ready to go makes it so much easier to throw dinner together when the day gets away from you.

You can also use leftover taco meat or plain cooked ground beef. Just warm the meat with the chili seasoning, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and beans, then stir in the cooked pasta.

Make It Stretch

Beans are an easy way to make this dinner go further. I used undrained chili beans because the sauce adds extra flavor and helps make the Chili Mac saucy.

Short on meat? Add an extra can or two of beans to bulk it up and help stretch the meal.

You can also use black beans or kidney beans, but I would drain and rinse those first. Since they do not come with seasoned chili sauce, you may need to add a little extra salt, chili seasoning, garlic powder, or onion powder so the flavor does not get watered down.

Like It Spicy?

Want even more flavor?
Use a Hot chili packet seasoning mix or use fire-roasted diced tomatoes.

Want it spicier? Use tomatoes with green chilies, like Rotel, or add pepper jack cheese on top.

Why This Works for a Busy Night

This is one of those dinners that uses basic ingredients but still feels hearty and filling. The pasta helps stretch the meal, the beans help the ground beef go further, and the sauce brings everything together without needing a lot of extra steps.

It is also easy to adjust based on what you already have in the pantry.