We all know that chilli and rice go well together - but have you ever tried chilli with pasta?! This vegetarian chilli mac combines two of my favourite dinners to create something that's way more than the sum of its parts:
mac and cheese + spicy vegetarian chilli = vegetarian chilli mac!
It's packed with vegetables, beans, and of course, plenty of gooey cheesy pasta!
If that hasn't already convinced you to try this recipe, perhaps this will: This vegetarian chilli mac be made in just one pot! If there's one thing that can make a tasty meal even more irresistible, it's knowing that you'll only have one pan to wash afterwards!
The pasta cooks right there in the homemade enchilada sauce, helping to make it thick and luscious.
❤️ Why You'll Love This Recipe
- It. Is. Delicious!
- It's the perfect one pot dinner - so there's minimal faff, and minimal washing up!
- You can adjust the spices and vegetables to your own preferences - you can use it as a bit of a fridge clearer.
- This chilli mac is irresistible comfort food, but it's still full of vegetables and protein-rich beans - the best of both worlds.
- It's hearty enough to serve on its own, but just like all the best Tex-Mex meals, it can also be dressed up with your favourite toppings, like avocado, sour cream or tortilla chips!
🥗 Ingredients
Here's what you'll need to make this recipe. You'll also need some kitchen staples, like oil, salt and black pepper.
A few ingredient notes:
- pasta - I used fusilli, but any similar shape will work, e.g. penne or spirali.
- onions - I actually used frozen diced onions, but fresh onion would be great too!
- bell pepper - I used a few mini ones, because that's what I had on hand. One large pepper would also be great - red, yellow or orange would be the tastiest.
- mushrooms
- garlic
- kidney beans - black beans would be great too.
- spices - smoked paprika, ground cumin, and mild chilli powder. Use more chilli if you like it spicy!
- passata - this is a tomato sauce that is literally just made from sieved tomatoes. If you can't find passata, any other similar tomato sauce will be fine.
- grated cheese - I used the pre-grated stuff, but cheese grated from a block would be even better.
See the printable recipe card below for detailed ingredient quantities.
👌 Top tip
I love using frozen vegetables in this kind of meal. Frozen peppers, frozen onions and frozen mushrooms would all work well! They're just as nutrient-rich as the fresh versions, but there's no peeling or chopping involved, and frozen vegetables help to reduce food waste too!
🔄 Ingredient Swaps
Here are a few ways you could adapt this recipe:
- Swap the vegetables for whatever you already have in the fridge. Sweetcorn, courgette (zucchini), aubergine (eggplant), tomatoes, etc. would all work well.
- You could try using wholegrain pasta if you prefer. It usually takes a few more minutes to cook than white pasta, so may also need an extra splash of water.
- If you like things really spicy, swap the cheddar cheese for your favourite kind of spicy cheese - or, use something like mozzarella if you want your chilli mac to be mild and gooey.
- Mix through a dollop of cream cheese just before serving to make an extra creamy chilli mac.
- Black beans would work really well instead of kidney beans, if you prefer.
📋 Instructions
Here's how to make this recipe - see below for the printable recipe with detailed ingredients and instructions.
Step 1: Start by cooking off the onions, peppers and mushrooms for a few minutes, until they're beginning to soften.
Step 2: Add the spices and kidney beans. The spices will begin to create the rich, spicy sauce as they coat the vegetables.
👌 Top tip
If you find canned beans are sometimes a bit sludgy and get stuck to the inside of the tin, try giving the can a good shake before you open it. This will dislodge any beans that are stuck, and makes them much easier to tip out!
Step 3: Add the uncooked pasta and the passata. Bring to a simmer.
Step 4: When the pasta is cooked, stir through some of the cheese to make the whole dish nice and creamy. Melt the remaining cheese on top.
Step 5: Serve with your choice of toppings or side dishes. I chose fresh parsley and sliced avocado.
🌶 Chilli Mac FAQs
I served my chilli mac with some sliced avocado, which worked beautifully - the creaminess cut through the rich, spicy sauce perfectly. Some garlic bread would also be amazing, to dip in the enchilada sauce!
This meal is great for batch cooking, as it can easily be prepared in advance. If you know you're going to be reheating your chilli mac, make sure you don't overcook it the first time round, or the pasta might become mushy.
It's best reheated in the microwave, to help keep it moist. You can also reheat in a pan on the stovetop, but you may need to add a splash more water to stop it from drying out.
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📖 Printable Recipe
One Pot Vegetarian Chilli Mac
If you've cooked this recipe, don't forget to leave a star rating!
Print Pin CommentIngredients
- 1 Tablespoon oil
- 75 g frozen diced onions (~ ¾ cup, or 1 regular onion)
- 1 bell pepper, diced
- 4 medium mushrooms, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon mild chilli powder (adjust to taste)
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 400 g tin kidney beans, drained and rinsed (240g, or ~ 1 ¼ cups, when drained)
- 500 ml (~ 2 cups) passata or tomato sauce
- 250 ml (~ 1 cup) water
- 200 g (~ 7 oz) uncooked pasta (I used fusilli)
- 100 g (~ 1 cup) grated cheddar cheese
- To serve, your choice of toppings (optional): sliced avocado, fresh coriander (cilantro) or parsley, sliced spring onions, sour cream, etc.
Instructions
- Heat a splash of oil in a pan (I used a large, deep frying pan), and add the onions, peppers and mushrooms. Cook for a few minutes over a medium heat, until slightly softened.
- Add the garlic, spices, and plenty of salt and pepper, along with the kidney beans. Cook for a couple more minutes. The spices should become fragrant, and begin to coat the vegetables in a rich sauce.
- Add the passata, water, and uncooked pasta. Mix well to combine, and bring to a simmer. Stirring regularly, allow the dish to cook for around 10-15 minutes, until the pasta is cooked al dente. I covered my pan in between stirs to prevent the sauce from spitting. You can add an extra splash of water to help cook the pasta, if needed.
- When the pasta is cooked, stir through half of the grated cheese to make the mixture slightly creamy. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top, cover with a lid, and leave it to melt for a couple of minutes.
- Serve topped with your choice of toppings - I used fresh parsley and sliced avocado.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is approximate, and will depend on your exact ingredients. Please calculate your own nutritional values if you require accuracy for health reasons.
Alison says
Do you think this could be made in a crockpot? I’m really asking if it could be a dump and go meal in the crockpot since I’m impossibly lazy. Ha!
Becca @ Easy Cheesy Vegetarian says
Haha I haven't tried it myself so I can't say for sure whether everything would cook at the same time, but I say it's definitely worth a try :)
Hilary says
Super good comfort food. I added frozen corn but that was about it. Served with kale salad & coenbread. Will definitely put in the rotation. Thanks for the great recipe!
Becca @ Easy Cheesy Vegetarian says
You're welcome, thanks for the lovely comment!
Ashley says
I make this recipe with chickpea pasta for less carbs and added protein. Just add the pasta a couple minutes later and a splash of liquid if it needs. This is of my favorite one pot vegetarian recipes it’s a staple in my house during the winter!
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
Awesome, thanks Ashley! Glad you enjoy it. Sounds like it would be great with chickpea pasta :)
Courtney says
Frozen veggies all the way! So easy and convenient with the same nutrients! Just found your recipe when looking for one pot meals and looks so easy. Trying this out this evening! but first Tesco for the tomato soup hehe
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
I think I use frozen veg more often than not these days hehe. Hope you liked it! :)
Stephanie says
I've made this five or six times in under two months. It's so good, and so easy! I love the flexibility of it while still keeping the integrity of the original. Made a double batch tonight for extra leftovers, we can't get enough of it!
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
Yay, that's great to know! I really should make this more often, it's one of my favourites :)
Timaree says
Are you using condensed tomato soup? Flavored tomato soup? Typically here in the U.S., recipes call for Campbell's which is 1.5 cups and rather mild tasting. I'm wondering about using something else like tomato sauce (ours is much more tomatoey than the soup so maybe an 8 oz. can with one cup of water to equal the 2 cups of soup? I have to be careful about soy so can't have most premade soups. I'm wondering about veganizing this too, leaving out the cheese so my son will try it.
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
I don't think I've ever had Campbell's (not sure we get it here?) but from Googling it looks similar - just a smooth, slightly creamy tomato soup. You could use tomato sauce instead, definitely! To be honest I think anything similar would work in this - just keep an eye on the quantities, you can always add a dash more water as it's cooking if it looks like the pasta needs it :) Enjoy!
Alice says
I made this last night and fell in love! So so tasty and easy. Will definitely be making this again!! and using the pasta cooking technique, much easier and tastier. Will def be trying out some more of your recipes. Thanks.
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
Yay! Thanks Alice :) This is one of my favourites too. Hope you enjoy anything else you try!
Nicki Escudero says
Hi, Becca,
I made this last night, and like all your recipes, it was deliccccioousss! Mmm, thank you for the great idea! I've never used frozen chopped veggies before, and it indeed was convenient! Nicki
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
I use frozen veggies all the time now - especially onion, as I hate chopping them! So convenient. Glad you enjoyed this one :)
MissPond says
Wow! What a comforting recipe- I'll be pinning this for later :)
Dannii @ Hungry Healthy Happy says
Now this is my kind of comfort food. I never thought to put chilli in with mac and cheese, but now I am wondering why not - it looks amazing.