Chili Pasta

White bowl with pasta and ground beef with red sauce with green onions and parsley on top.

Chili Pasta is a mix of pasta with ground beef chili in a rich tomato sauce and is the ultimate easy comfort food recipe. The entire dinner cooks in one pot in just 30 minutes.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Prep Time 5

Cook Time 25

Total Time 30

Servings

Calories 697kcal

Author Katie

Equipment

1 12-inch Skillet
1 Stove Top

Ingredients

1 pound lean ground beef
1 small onion chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic in water
28 ounces can of crushed tomatoes
8 ounces tomato sauce
4 cups water divided
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons white granulated sugar
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon parsley
1 teaspoon season salt
⅛ teaspoon black pepper
4 cups elbow macaroni
15 ounces can of red kidney beans drained and rinsed
15 ounces can of light red kidney beans drained and rinsed
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions

In a large skillet cook ground beef, chopped onion, and garlic until meat is brown and onion is tender (about 10 minutes on medium-high). Drain off fat.
Stir in, crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, 2 cups of water, chili powder, white granulated sugar, dried oregano, parsley, season salt, and black pepper.
Mix well then add in the uncooked pasta. Bring to a boil then reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Then add in the beans and 2 additional cups of water. Cook for 10 more minutes or until macaroni is tender, stirring often.
Remove skillet from heat; sprinkle mixture with cheese. Cover and let stand about 2 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Notes

Beef - I use a 92% Lean / 8% fat ground beef for this recipe. What I love about this ground beef is that this 92% Lean Ground Beef is so low in fat and saturated fat that it falls into the government’s “lean” category. So I don’t feel guilty about serving beef and worrying about the excess fat and saturated fat in the
Pasta - I like to use elbow macaroni but any tubed pasta will work well. I’ve never tried the recipe with straight noodles (like spaghetti), but I’m sure if would work. Just make sure you break the pasta down into bite-size pieces so that it’s all covered.
Additional Ingredients - If you like corn you can add in a ¼ cup of frozen corn when you are adding in the beans. Another option is thinly sliced green onions either mixed in or on top as garnish. If you want to sneak veggies in you can shred one zucchini in with the meat or use finely chopped mushrooms.
Spicy - If you like it spicy you can add in a finely diced (seeds removed) jalapeno when you cook the onions and beef.

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