Slow Cooker Chili Mac Recipe

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This slow cooker chili mac is a hearty, filling and wholesome meal that has the perfect savory, salty and spicy flavors.

Whether you’re looking for a comfort food to dig into or just a low effort meal that the entire family can enjoy, this is one recipe you can turn to.

Another plus is the fact that you can actually turn this recipe into a one pot version too! So even if you don’t have a crock pot, you can easily whip up a nice one pot chili mac and cheese using just a simple tweak.

What I Love About the Recipe

If there’s one single recipe my whole family loves and is obsessed with, it is this one!

My favorite part about it, apart from the fact that it is absolutely delicious, is that it is actually a very easy recipe.

All you need is 5-10 minutes of prep time to get everything together, and then it’s pretty much dump and go in your slow cooker or crockpot.

Slow Cooker Chili Mac Cooking Times

• Serves- 8
• Prep time- 10 minutes
• Cook time- 4 hours

Ingredients For the Slow Cooker Chili Mac Recipe

To make the slow cooker chili mac and cheese, here’s what you’ll need.

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 2 cups frozen peppers and onions
• 1 (1 ounce) envelope chili seasoning
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (4 ounce) can of diced green chiles
• 1 (10 ounce) can tomatoes with green chiles
• 1 (15 ounce) can of red kidney beans, undrained
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (6 ounce) can of tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 cups water or beef broth
• 8 ounce macaroni noodles
• 2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded, divided
• Scallions for topping

How to Make the Slow Cooker Chili Mac Recipe

Once you have your ingredients ready, here’s what you’ll need to do to make the chili mac in your crock pot or slow cooker.

Step 1: Brown Ground Beef

In a medium skillet or Dutch oven, over medium high heat, brown and drain your ground beef.

Step 2: Add Ingredients to the Slow Cooker

To your slow cooker add the ground beef, onion and bell peppers, garlic, green chilies, tomatoes, tomato paste, red kidney beans, black beans, sugar and beef broth. Sprinkle on your chili seasoning. Stir to combine.

Step 3: Add Pasta and Cheese

Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours. 20 minutes before serving add the elbow macaroni. 5 minutes before serving stir in half of the shredded cheese.

Step 4: Top with More Shredded Cheese

Top with the remaining cheese. Cover and let the cheese melt. Top with your favorite toppings, serve!!

Tips & Tricks to Make the Slow Cooker Chili Mac Recipe

While making the slow cooker chili mac is super easy, having these little tips and tricks handy can help.

• You can use almost any shredded cheese you can get your hands on. I love using Monterey Jack and shredded sharp Cheddar cheese for their flavor.
• I’ve used kidney beans to make the Chili mac recipe, but you can also use pinto beans or chili beans if you want to.
• I also like to add a bit of chili powder and some tomato sauce to the pot to bring some extra flavor to the dish. Chili powder lends a nice bit of heat to the dish, and the tomato sauce balances it out with its sweetness.
• If you don’t have tomato paste needed for the recipe, you can use a combination of tomato sauce and diced tomatoes or crushed tomatoes.
• I also like to bring some variation to the dish and use ground turkey instead of ground beef. Remember though that ground turkey takes less time to cook than ground beef.
• You can also swap the beef broth that the slow cooker chili mac and cheese recipe calls for with chicken broth.
• I also like to add in other ingredients like ground cumin, cayenne pepper, hot sauce, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, chopped green peppers, chopped bell pepper, red peppers and green onion.
• You can also add some extra sour cream to the dish to bring in some more tanginess and creaminess in addition to the cheese.
• Make sure you add the pasta only towards the end and let it cook for about 15-20 minutes until the pasta is al dente- you wouldn’t want to end up overcooking it.
• Another great idea is to cook the pasta separately and add the cooked pasta into the crockpot later towards the end. Just adjust salt before you serve.
• You can also store leftover slow cooker chili mac in an airtight container and refrigerate them until you’re ready to serve again.

Can I Make this in a Pot?

You sure can! It is actually pretty easy to make a one pot chili mac too!

It can be a great one pot meal to try your hands on.

To make the one pot chili mac, all you’ll need to do is cook the ground beef in a large soup pot, and then add all the ingredients together and cook on medium heat until it is all well done.

Can I Prep the Recipe in Advance?

You can! You can cook the ground beef up to 2 days in advance and refrigerate it until you’re ready to put the slow cooker chili mac and cheese recipe together.

Just remember to store it in an airtight container to keep it fresh.

How Do I Serve the Slow Cooker Chili Mac?

You can serve your slow cooker chili mac and cheese with your favorite chili toppings.

In addition to the shredded cheddar cheese, you can also top it with some sour cream, chopped green onions and some freshly cracked black pepper.

I also love serving this with some corn chips for that extra crunch factor.

More Pasta Recipes

Enjoyed making this flavor packed pasta recipe? Ready to try out some other recipes that can be a family favorite? Here are some good handpicked ones you can check out.

• Instant Pot Cacio E Pepe Pasta
• Stovetop Jamaican Jerk Shrimp Pasta: A Great Family Recipe
• Instant Pot Marinara Pasta
• Instant Pot Taco Pasta Casserole