Chili Cheese Beef n’ Mac
WARNING: Comfort food ahead! This dish contains pasta, beef, and cheese. It’s hearty and delicious. Proceed at your own risk! ;)
Say you grew up on Hamburger Helper (no shame), but now that you’re an adult and all classy and stuff, you just can’t bring yourself to buy one of those cardboard boxes with the mystery powdered cheese sauce. THIS recipe is your grown up “I actually know how to cook now” substitute!
This recipe is still really easy, really fast, and only requires one pot. Like Hamburger Helper, it’s hearty and rich, so I would suggest serving it with a sizable side of something green. I’m going for some simple steamed broccoli with just a pinch of salt and pepper. Broccoli pairs famously with both beef and cheese, so it’s a natural.
If this recipe is still too rich and cheesy for your tastes, stay tuned. I’m sure that by the weekend I’ll be in the mood for something super light, fresh, and uber healthy! It’s the yin and the yang y’all!
Chili Cheese Beef n’ Mac
Chili Cheese Beef n Mac
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.19)
- 1 lb. ground beef ($4.13)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.10)
- 1 small onion ($0.55)
- 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour ($0.02)
- 1 Tbsp chili powder ($0.15)
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano ($0.02)
- 1 8 oz. can tomato sauce ($0.48)
- 2 cups beef broth** ($0.22)
- 2 cups 1/2 lb. dry macaroni ($0.65)
- 1 cup 4 oz. shredded sharp cheddar ($1.25)
Instructions
- Brown the ground beef in a large pot over medium along with 1 Tbsp of olive oil. Once browned, drain off the excess fat. While the beef is browning, dice the onion and mince the garlic.
- Add the diced onion and minced garlic to the browned and drained beef. Continue to cook and stir over medium heat until the onions are soft and translucent. Once the onions have softened, add 2 Tbsp of flour and cook for one minute more while constantly stirring. It’s okay if it coats the bottom of the pot, just make sure the heat is not so high that the flour burns.
- Add the chili powder, smoked paprika, oregano, tomato sauce, and 2 cups of beef broth (or beef base/bouillon cubes and water). Stir to dissolve any bits that are stuck to the bottom of the pot.
- Add the dry pasta, place a lid on top, and allow it to come up to a simmer. Once it reaches a simmer, reduce the heat to low, and let simmer for about 15 minutes or until the pasta is soft and has absorbed all of the liquid. Stir every few minutes to make sure it’s not sticking on the bottom of the pot. If it gets dry before the pasta has fully softened, add a touch of water.
- Once the pasta has finished cooking, turn the heat off and stir in the shredded cheese. Serve hot.
Notes
Nutrition
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Step By Step Photos
This is the ground beef that I used. You can use a leaner ground beef if you’d like, you’ll just have less fat to drain off.
Brown the ground beef in a large pot. Use about 1 Tbsp of olive oil to keep it from sticking. If it does stick a little, it’s okay because the liquids added later will dissolve it off of the bottom (this is called deglazing). Drain the beef well once it is fully browned.
While the beef is browning, dice the onion and mince the garlic. Once the beef is browned and drained, add the onion and garlic to the pot and continue to cook.
Once the onion and garlic have softened, add the flour. The flour will combine with the residual beef fat to create a roux that will help thicken the sauce. Stir the flour in and cook for one minute while continually stirring. This will slightly cook the flour to get rid of that “floury” taste. It may coat the bottom of the pot, but that’s okay. Just make sure it doesn’t burn (turn the heat down if it starts to smell burned).
Also add the chili powder, smoked paprika, and dried oregano.
I took this picture before adding the liquids so that you could see how the flour (and spices) kind of coat the bottom of the pot. The liquids in the next step will dissolve all of that off of the bottom.
The liquids that create the sauce (and cook the pasta) are tomato sauce and beef broth. I like this brand of beef base because it tastes better than the beef bouillon cubes and is far less expensive than buying cans or cartons of beef broth. But, you can use the cubes or broth if you’d like. Just make sure to have 2 cups worth.
Add the 8 oz. of tomato sauce and two cups of beef broth. Stir this mixture until all of the flour and spices are dissolved off of the bottom of the pot (you should be able to feel it with your spoon).
Stir in two cups of dry pasta. Place a lid over the pot and allow it to come up to a simmer. Once it reaches a simmer, reduce the heat to low and let it continue to simmer for about 15 minutes. Stir every so often to make sure it’s not sticking to the bottom of the pot.
After about 15 minutes, the pasta should be very tender and have absorbed most of the liquid. If you use a different pasta shape (especially a smaller one), it may soak up more liquid than mine did. If you find that the mixture becomes dry before the pasta is soft, you can add a little water as needed.
Stir in the shredded cheddar cheese. I like sharp cheddar for this because I feel it has more cheesy flavor.
And then it’s creamy, cheesy, and delicious!
It’s Hamburger Helper’s older, more mature cousin.
Are you drooling yet?
Made tonight and it was simple to execute but very well received 💗
I needed to feed my family of six (4 huuuungry boys!) so I doubled the spices and added cumin, doubled the flour, doubled the macaroni and broth and then instead of tomato sauce I used a big can of four cheese pasta sauce. It was pronounced Ah May Zing! so thanks kindly for this recipe :)
I am making this right now and I tasted it while it’s cooking. It is sooooo good. I added a heaping teaspoon of sugar cuz well, we like a little sweetness in our lives. I also didn’t have tomato sauce but I used a 28oz can of crushed tomatoes. I made it with ground beef and ground turkey and seasoned it well. Ground turkey is gross if it’s not seasoned well so I did that first. I have a ton of mushrooms and my kids hate mushrooms but I cut them up so small and I added them to it. You can’t even notice. Haha. It is soooooo good. I love this recipe. The smoked paprika is what makes it what it is. Sooooo good.
Exactly what I was looking for!! I wanted to make a fast, easy, tasty chili Mac and this fit the bill perfectly!! Hubs loved it as much as I did and that says it all. Thanks so much for sharing this one with us. I’ll be making this whenever that hankering for chili Mac hits us!
What a wonderful recipe. Thank you for sharing.
SOOO delicious and easy!!!
10 stars! I did hold off on mixing in the cheese, putting slices on top for complete control of the cheese. And greatly appreciate the advice to keep stirring occasionally while the pasta is cooking. Don’t remember eating Hamburger Helper but this is the best help my hamburger ever got!
Ugh so delicious. This is the perfect camping meal!
Hi There, Budget Byters~
I have a question about this recipe. I want to make it ahead (say, about 24 hours in advance). Should I just undercook the noodles a bit and then allow them to come to al dente when I’m reheating? Should I adjust the liquid measurements at all? Any thoughts or suggestions?
Thanks!
The noodles in this recipe are a bit hearty and it’s not so liquid that the noodles will get soggy as if it were in a soup. You should be just fine!
If you go in expecting it to taste like Hamburger Helper, you’re going to be disappointed on the first bite, but *in love* by the second or third! To me, this recipe has more of a “dark” spice palate and leans closer to the chili than the mac and cheese side of the balance … but it is really *addictively* good!!! Definitely a grown-up version to serve as comfort food for your new squeeze or yourself after the day from hell that wouldn’t end. Five stars!!
absolutely! This is GREAT… but obviously not the same as Hamburger Helper.
On the other hand, my wife loves it because we have control of salt etc.
If you want to add one thing… think of cumin…. that may move it toward the original… but a little goes a long way! Doug
Agree Doug. While enjoyable, it needed a bit more kick. Haven’t decided exactly what, but I will definitely be adding some zing next time.
This looks delicious and super easy to make. Gonna make it for my lunch meal prep next week. I think I’ll add a bag of broccoli florets and some spinach to it!
Great idea Sara!
Loved this recipe! I make it regularly and I love putting my own twist to it. Don’t have beef? Ground turkey, sausage, or chicken breast works too. Don’t have paprika? Sub in some cumin! My favourite thing to do is to add mushroom and spinach to it.
The fact that everything cooks in one pot is a glorious bonus. Highly recommended!
I LOVE hearing stories like this Vivien!
omg cumin sounds like such a good sub. I will have to try that next time I make it!
I love this recipe with All the onion and garlic :) I used Kroger rainbow twirled enriched macaroni made with tomato macaroni and spinach macaroni .I topped It off with some baby green spinach . Thanks so much for sharing your yummy recipes with us.
Thank you Cathy!
This is by far the BEST Chili Mac I have ever tasted! Last night was the second time this year I’ve made this. Thank you for your recipe.
I added diced tomatoes and some baby spinach to this to make me feel more grown up about it. Twas excellent
I have been making a recipe similar to this one since 1970. I love that you use Better than Bouillon Beef Base as that is all I have used for years due to it not having MSG and being low sodium. Thanks for sharing this easy and great recipe.