Vegetarian chili mac is a classic comfort food recipe that's made in one pot in just 30 minutes. This recipe is like a plant-based combination of chili and mac and cheese, and it is super easy to make!
Vegetarian chili mac is a dinner recipe that I find myself making more than any other recipe on the blog. It's flavorful, cheesy, family-friendly and one of those recipes that even the pickiest non-vegetarians love!
This recipe is inspired by the chili mac that I grew up eating. My family sometimes calls this goulash, though technically it isn't goulash. It's actually inspired by Steak n Shake chili mac, which uses spaghetti instead of elbow pasta.
Vegetarian chili mac is like a combination of vegetarian chili and mac and cheese, all made together in one pot! If you love one pot pasta, then this recipe is for you.
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Recipe features
- Quick and easy: Made in one pot in just 30 minutes! This is a fuss-free meal that only requires 10 minutes of active time.
- Flavors: Flavored with chili seasonings like chili powder, cumin, and tomato sauce.
- Healthy comfort food: Cheesy and comforting but filled with plant-based protein and veggies.
- Vegan and gluten-free optional: You can make chili mac vegan by omitting the cheese or replacing it with vegan shreds. Make it gluten-free using gluten-free pasta.
Main ingredients
- Kidney beans: I use a mix of light red and dark red kidney beans. Pinto beans, red beans, and even black beans work well. Choose cans labeled “no added salt” or use beans cooked from dry to limit added salt.
- Tomatoes: Crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce make the chili base. Tomato sauce usually comes in 4-ounce, 8-ounce, or 16-ounce containers. Tomato passata is an okay substitution for tomato sauce if that is all that is available in your region/country.
- Pasta: Elbow macaroni is my go-to pasta for chili mac because it’s what is usually used in mac and cheese. However, any short or medium-grain pasta works. Try using whole wheat pasta or protein pasta for a healthy swap.
- Cumin, chili powder, and oregano are used for classic chili flavors.
- Cheese: Shredded cheddar is my go-to, but you can also use Monterrey jack or shredded mozzarella.
Step by step instructions
Saute vegetables: Heat a 6-quart Dutch oven or stock pot over medium-high heat. Drizzle in the olive oil. Once hot, sauté onions and mushrooms until softened.
Add garlic and optional jalapenos, sautéing until aromatic. Stir in the spices, stirring frequently, and cook for 30 seconds to bloom the spices.
Add the liquids: Pour in the vegetable broth, crushed tomatoes with their juices, and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil over high heat.
Simmer: Once boiling, add the pasta and beans. Stir to prevent pasta from sticking to itself. Reduce to a rapid simmer and simmer until pasta is cooked.
Finishing touches: Stir in the cheese, taste for seasonings, and serve.
Recipe variations
- Gluten-free: Simply use gluten-free pasta to make this recipe gluten-free.
- For a more traditional and "meatier" chili mac texture, vegetarian/vegan "meatless grounds" (AKA meatless ground beef) can be added after cooking. Or try adding vegan tempeh taco meat.
- Spice: Add finely diced jalapeno or ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper for a spicier result.
- Vegan option: This recipe is easy to make dairy-free/vegan by using vegan shreds in place of cheddar cheese. My go-to is Chao cheese shreds.
- Mushrooms: Several readers have noted that they don't like adding mushrooms to their chili mac. I chop them very finely and add them for their "meaty" texture. Omit them if desired.
- Toppings: Sour cream, extra shredded cheddar, sliced green onions, cilantro and a dash of hot sauce are my go-to toppings.
Cassidy's tips
- Bring the liquids to a boil before adding pasta and leave the pot uncovered while cooking the pasta.
- Consistency: If your chili mac is still too liquidy when the pasta is finished cooking, keep the pot uncovered and continue to simmer the pot over medium-low heat. Simmering will evaporate excess liquid and continue thickening the sauce. The sauce becomes much thicker after refrigerating because the pasta continues to absorb the sauce.
- Pasta cook times: Cook times for pasta will vary based on brand. Cook until the pasta is al dente, or fork tender, for best results.
- Stir often: To ensure even cooking, stir the pasta occasionally while cooking. Boil uncovered.
Storage notes
- Leftovers: Refrigerate leftovers in a closed container for 3-4 days. Note that the pasta will absorb a significant amount of sauce when refrigerated.
- Reheating: Reheat in the microwave for 2-3 minutes, or until warmed through. Add an extra splash of vegetable broth as needed. Reheat on the stove top over medium-low heat, stirring until warmed through.
- Freezing: Let the chili mac cool before transferring it to a freezer-safe container. I like to freeze it in individual portions for quick meals. Let thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
More vegetarian dinner ideas
I love this recipe so much that I turned it into a dump & bake casserole. Check out my baked chili mac for another variation on this dish!
Did you try this recipe? You can leave a star rating in the recipe card or a review in the comments below. Or check out my cookbook and keep up to date with my YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, or newsletter!
Recipe
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One Pot Vegetarian Chili Mac
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 8 ounces baby bella mushrooms diced
- 1 medium white onion diced
- 1 medium red bell pepper diced
- ½ teaspoon salt adjust to taste
- 3-4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 small jalapeno diced; optional
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon dry oregano
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 15 ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 8 ounces tomato sauce
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 12 ounces dry elbow pasta any short pasta works
- 2 15 ounce cans kidney beans drained and rinsed; I use light red and dark red beans
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese Mozzarella or Montery Jack work too
- chopped green onions for topping
- chopped fresh cilantro for topping
- sour cream for topping
Instructions
- Heat a 6-quart pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Drizzle in the olive oil. Once hot, add the chopped mushrooms, diced onions, and bell pepper. Sprinkle with salt. Sauté for 6-8 minutes, or until the onions and mushrooms have softened.
- Add the garlic and optional jalapeno and sauté a minute more, or until golden and aromatic.
- Add chili powder, cumin, oregano, and black pepper. Cook for 30 seconds, stirring continuously to prevent burning. Add a splash of vegetable broth, stirring to deglaze the pot (this removes any stuck on bits from the pot).
- Pour in the crushed tomatoes (with juices), tomato sauce, and vegetable broth. Cover with a lid and bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, add the elbow noodles and drained kidney beans. Stir to prevent the pasta from sticking together. Boil uncovered until pasta is tender (see note 1).
- Once the pasta is cooked, turn off heat and stir in cheddar cheese. Serve topped with fresh cilantro, sour cream and sliced green onions. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Pasta: Pasta cook time will vary based on brand. Cook pasta until al dente, or fork tender.
- Beans: I use light red kidney beans and dark red kidney beans. Alternatively, you can use whatever bean you have on hand, like black beans or white beans.
- Broth: I prefer to use vegetable bouillon to broth these days because it is cheaper and tends to be more flavorful. I use about a tablespoon of bouillon per 4 cups water.
- Best within 3-4 days. The sauce thickens significantly after refrigerating as the pasta continues to absorb liquid. This meal can be portioned into large or individual containers and frozen for up to 3 months. It will need to thaw in the fridge for up to 24 hours before enjoying.
- You can watch the full step-by-step recipe video on my YouTube.
Lauren says
For the past few weeks I've been trying to make one meatless meal (at least) a week - this sounded pretty good taking into account how picky my husband can be. I was surprised by how much I liked it 🙂 I'm not a huge chili person so I was a little leery, but I really enjoyed it. And I don't love to cook, so the fact that it made a TON of food is a sweet bonus. The only thing I did a little different is I used the whole 16 oz box of elbow macaroni - which I feel like you can never go wrong with MORE pasta 🙂 Thanks for this recipe, I'll definitely make it again.
Hayley says
Tomato sauce? I think this is something very different in Australia… do you mean passata? Or tomato paste? I’ll make it with Passata tonight and see how it turns out! Looks good! 💜
Cassidy Reeser says
Tomato sauce in the US is just puréed and simmered tomatoes sometimes with spices added- here is the one I use:
https://www.hunts.com/tomato-sauce-and-paste/tomato-sauce
Passata looks similar but I think of tomato sauce more like a pasta sauce. I’m curious to hear how the passata worked out!
Julie says
I followed the recipe to a tee. I’m not sure why mine came out soupy and sour. Is there an error in the tomato sauce and crushed tomatoes. Seems like a lot of tomatoes.
Cassidy Reeser says
Hi Julie, the recipe amounts are right but usually it is a sauce-y dish. You can keep simmering until it has thickened/evaporated more of the liquid. I'm really not sure why it would turn out sour! I wish I could help with that but I've never run into that problem.
Chelsea says
I’m glad I’m not the only one with the soupy problem!
Chelsea says
Mine came out more like soup. The only thing I can think of is that I added another ounce of tomatoes because I could only find a 28 ounce can, so I measured out 16 ounces. Any ideas as to what could have gone wrong?
Cassidy Reeser says
It should have a little bit of liquid but not necessarily enough to be soupy. It's either because too much liquid was added (which doesn't sound like the case because you measured out the 16 ounces) or it needed to just simmer longer on low to absorb more liquid or evaporate off some of it. It usually does get thicker as it sits/if you refrigerate for leftovers.
Melissa says
I’ve been a vegetarian for 30+ years and have made DOZENS of versions of vegetarian chili and chili-mac. It’s a classic vegetarian go-to but after so many years, I’m sick of it. This recipe is a GAME CHANGER!! So delicious! My entire family (even the meat eaters) loved it! A great option for feeding non-vegetarian friends! I followed the recipe exactly. This is the first recipe I’ve tried from your page and I can’t wait to try others! Thank you!
Cassidy Reeser says
Thanks so much for the review, I appreciate it! So glad to hear that it was a hit!
chili says
tomato sauce and tomato paste rare very different. standard can of paste is 6 oz. is there a mistake here?
Cassidy Reeser says
Thanks for catching this error — I republished the recipe a week ago and must have made a typo when updating it. I use one 8 ounce can of tomato sauce which is the standard size. I’ve updated the recipe to reflect that.
Mina says
This recipe looks delicious! I was planning on making it tonight but I ran out of veggie stock. Is it ok to just use water? Thank you
Cassidy Reeser says
You can definitely use water but you may need to add a little extra salt. Enjoy!
Natalie says
I made this last night to eat for the week and am so excited!
I know the recipe makes five large servings, but do you have the actual serving size?
I made this for Weight Watchers and want to make sure I’m not eating too much when I track my points!
Cassidy Reeser says
Hi Natalie! I haven't actually measured it out but based on usual volumes of cooked pasta it should be about 1 and 1/2 cups of chili mac per serving. Hope that helps! I'll definitely update with the specific amounts next time I make this.
Sara Rose says
So if I'm reading this correctly, the calories for the whole recipe is 367 and it yields 5 servings, so each serving is around 73 calories? That's amazing!
Cassidy Reeser says
Hi Sara, it's actually roughly 367 per serving - so the entire dish is 1835 calories!
Kim says
I am cooking this right as I am typing. We do not eat mushrooms so I omitted them and I am using red lentil pasta. Looks and smells delish so far but it looks like a lot of liquid to cook down. Your pics look more like a mac n cheese and not so much liquid. Does it absorb?
Cassidy Reeser, RDN, LD says
Hi, Kim! It does absorb for the most part. There is a very small amount of liquid left. The cheese melts in too. I imagine you’ve eaten it by now but I hope it worked out and that you enjoy the recipe!
Val says
I made this and we absolutely love it, my husband is a big fan of this recipe
Cassidy Reeser, RDN, LD says
Awesome! Thank you 🙂
Laura says
This meal is absolutely amazing! My family generally dislikes what I cook. They don't actually tell me this but it is evident in the amount they eat and the leftovers. Lol. I have made this recipe 4 times now and they all LOVE it. I was worried that they would get sick of it but we are still going strong. Thanks for the recipe.?
Cassidy Reeser, RDN, LD says
Thanks so much Laura, I'm so glad to hear that!
Barbara says
Absolutely delicious! Thank you for the recipe. Makes a large quantity. Total comfort food. Great flavor!
Cassidy Reeser, RDN, LD says
Thanks so much Barbara! Glad you liked it.
Laurel says
I changed a bit so not quite the same comfort level, but still delicious. I used a head of cauliflower instead of noodles. Forgot the mushrooms at the store so i used what I had, yellow bell pepper. I steamed the cauliflower so used the steaming water instead of oil. Still super good.
Cassidy Reeser, RDN, LD says
That's so good to hear, I'm glad you enjoyed it!
LIz says
Planning to make this pasta this week now that the weather is turning colder. Is the 4 ounce can of tomato sauce accurate? I'm not quite sure I have ever seen a can that tiny! Or just 4 ounces of sauce? Thanks!
Cassidy Reeser, RDN, LD says
Hi Liz, it is 4 ounces of canned tomato sauce. You’re right, a 6 ounce or larger can is more common but you can use whichever size you like. Hope you enjoy!