Yield: 4 servings
Crockpot Chili Mac and Cheese
This easy crockpot chili mac and cheese is the ultimate comfort dinner! A true set it and forget it style recipe, it features hearty ground beef, chili beans, macaroni, plenty of cheese and more. Cheesy, easy, and kid friendly – it checks all the right boxes!
Ingredients
- 1 lb lean ground beef, chicken or turkey
- 1 (27 oz) can chili beans with sauce, do not drain
- 1 (10 oz) can Rotel, mild, original, or hot
- 1 (1.25 oz) packet chili seasoning
- 2 cups beef broth
- 1 ½ cups dry elbow macaroni pasta
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, plus more for serving
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Instructions
- Add ground beef to a 7-quart crockpot and use a spoon to break it up into pieces.
- Mix in the chili beans, Rotel, chili seasoning mix and beef broth, stir and place lid on crockpot.
- Cook on low 6 to 8 hours, or high 3 to 4 hours.
- 20 minutes before serving, add 1 cup of the shredded cheese and the macaroni pasta. Stir to combine, replace the lid, and cook on high for 20 to 25 minutes, until the pasta is al dente.
- Serve warm. Top with more shredded cheese, sour cream, chopped onion.
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Notes
Store: Store leftovers in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Reheat: You can reheat in the slow cooker or the microwave based on your preference. You might need to add a little broth to loosen it up.
Freeze: You can also freeze the leftovers for up to 3 months. If you plan on freezing it, we recommend cooking the noodles separately. Freeze it without the pasta to avoid mushy noodles! Thaw overnight and reheat, then add freshly cooked noodles.
Lean Ground Beef: If you do not use lean ground beef, there will be excess grease from the meat. If you choose a fattier cut of beef, we suggest browning the meat in a skillet first, draining off the excess grease, then adding it to the crockpot.
Brown The Meat: We tested this recipe two ways, browning the meat before and adding the raw meat straight to the slow cooker. There was a very minimal difference flavor wise, with just a slightly deeper beefy flavor to the browned meat version. We don’t feel the extra work is worth it, but you can absolutely brown the beef before if you prefer!
More Veggies: This crock-pot chili mac is also great with frozen corn or even peas. You can also add an extra can of drained kidney beans or black beans.
Spice It Up: Rotel comes in hot, original (medium) or mild. If you like spicy food, give the hot, or extra hot, version a try! I used mild, since we can always add more spice later but can’t take it away. After cooking, season to taste with cayenne pepper, hot sauce or crushed red pepper flakes.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 serving, Calories: 585kcal, Carbohydrates: 57g, Protein: 47g, Fat: 19g, Saturated Fat: 9g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 5g, Trans Fat: 0.4g, Cholesterol: 99mg, Sodium: 2108mg, Potassium: 1725mg, Fiber: 13g, Sugar: 13g, Vitamin A: 4752IU, Vitamin C: 10mg, Calcium: 323mg, Iron: 9mg