One-Pot Chili Mac

This one-pot wonder tastes like happiness, people.

This is not the classiest of dishes, but it is unbelievably, devastatingly delicious. Eating this chili mac inevitably leads to one of those blissful food moments, where you forget about everything except the awesomeness in your mouth. Tender pasta shells get loaded with sweet corn, green pepper, mixed beans and Mexican spices and then simmered to a bubbling perfection. Finish off with fresh cilantro, creamy avocado and a squeeze of citrusy lime, and you’ve got an easy meal that the whole family will love.

Even better, it’s ready in as little as 30 minutes.

In other great news, this dish can easily be modified to suit your personal tastes and what you have on hand in your pantry. Experiment with different types of beans, or feel free to kick up the heat by adding in diced green chilies or chipotles in adobo sauce. I really love to use shells for this dish, but if you can’t find them due to the recent run on pasta, sub any noodle you like. Farfalle (aka bowties), penne or elbow noodles would all be great alternatives.

Add glass of wine and couch, and you’ve got yourself quite the Saturday night quarantine party.

One-Pot Chili Mac

1 tbsp olive oil
1 yellow onion
1 green pepper
2 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp chili powder
15 oz. can diced tomatoes
15 oz. can tomato sauce
15 oz. can kidney beans
15 oz. can black beans
15 oz. can pinto beans
1 cup frozen corn kernels
2 cups good quality vegetable broth
2 cups uncooked noodles of your choice
Garnish: jalapeno, avocado, cilantro, lime

Dice the onion, green pepper and mince the garlic. Sauté the onion and garlic with olive oil in the bottom of a large pot over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, or until the onions are soft and transparent.

Add the chili powder to the sautéed onions, peppers and garlic. Continue to stir and sauté for about two minutes, or just until the chili powder begins to coat the bottom of the pot.

Drain and rinse the kidney beans, black beans, and pinto beans. Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, all three beans, corn, and vegetable broth to the pot. Stir to combine and to dissolve any chili powder off the bottom of the pot. Add the uncooked noodles and stir to combine. Place a lid on the pot, turn the heat up to medium high, and let the pot come up to a boil. Stir every other minute or so to loosen the noodles from the bottom of the pot as it heats up.

When the pot reaches a boil, turn the heat down to low, or just above low, so it continues to gently simmer. Let the pot gently simmer for 12-15 minutes, or until the pasta is tender and the liquid is thick and saucy. Stir frequently as it simmers to make sure the pasta does not stick to the bottom of the pot. Serve hot.