One-Pot Cheesy Chili Mac
This lightened up One-Pot Cheesy Chili Mac is a comfort food lover’s dream. The whole recipe cooks together in one pot, making for super easy prep, less cleanup, and a rich, thick, flavorful chili sauce. When pasta cooks right in the sauce, the starch from the pasta will thicken the sauce a bit, and in this case that truly makes it even better. Once you stir in the melty cheddar cheese at the end, you have a big pot of pasta, meat, beans, and tomatoes smothered in a luscious cheesy chili sauce. What’s not to love?? My husband and daughter both gobbled this dish up, so it’s definitely family-friendly. This One-Pot Cheesy Chili Mac may taste super indulgent, but it’s only 325 calories or 6 WW Points per serving! To view your current WW Points for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, click here!
Speaking of a serving, when I measured out the whole pot of Cheesy Chili Mac I got 8 ¾ cups. I wanted to make it 6 servings so I was somewhere between a 1 1/3 cup and 1 ½ cup serving. I decided to err on the side of less, so I listed a 1 1/3 cup serving size, but it’s more like a slightly rounded 1 1/3 cup if that makes sense. This meal is sure to be a huge crowd-pleaser and I am excited for you to try it!
Looking for more tasty one-pot comfort food recipes to warm up to this winter? Check out my One-Pot Turkey and Veggie Spaghetti, One-Pot Cajun Chicken and Sausage Pasta, One-Pot Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese, Lemon Garlic Chicken and Beans Skillet, One-Pot Creamy Garlic Chicken Pasta, One-Pot Spicy Dirty Rice with Chicken and Sausage, Spanish Chicken and Rice Skillet, White Chicken Chili, Turkey Sloppy Joe Pasta, Chicken Pot Pasta, Beef Enchilada Pasta Skillet, Mexican Chicken Cauliflower Rice Skillet, and so many more in the One-Pot Meals category of my recipe index!
One-Pot Cheesy Chili Mac
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 lb raw 99% lean ground turkey breast
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, do not drain
- 1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
- 1 (15 oz) can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 3 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
- 8 oz dry wheat macaroni or small pasta shells
- 4 oz 50% reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (I used Cabot brand)
Instructions
- Drizzle the oil in a 5 QT Dutch oven or large pot and bring to medium-high heat. Add the chopped onion and stir to coat. Add the ground turkey and stir together. Cook, stirring occasionally and breaking up the turkey into small chunks, for 5-6 minutes until cooked through. Add the garlic and stir together. Cook for an additional minute.
- Add the chili powder, cumin, salt and cayenne to the meat and stir to coat. Add the diced tomatoes with their juices, tomato sauce, kidney beans, broth and dry pasta and stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a strong simmer and cover. Reduce the heat to low and simmer covered for 12-13 minutes until the pasta is cooked.
- Uncover the pot and stir, making sure nothing is stuck to the bottom. Continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, for another 3-4 minutes to thicken the sauce. Sprinkle the cheese over top and cover the pot. Cook on low for another 2 minutes until the cheese is melted. Stir together before serving.
Notes
8 per (1 & 1/3 cup) serving (PP calculated using a Weight Watchers PointsPlus calculator and the nutrition info below) Adapted from Dinner at the Zoo