Make dinner fast with this quick chili mac and cheese recipe made of elbow macaroni, ground beef, kidney beans and two types of delicious melted cheeses! Get dinner on the table in 20 minutes!
Before using your Instant Pot for cooking, deglaze its bottom by pouring some vegetable broth and using a wooden spoon to scrape away any browned bits from its base. This helps prevent it from overheating as well as adds an additional flavorful boost!
Ingredients
Enjoy an Instant Pot recipe that combines two comfort foods – chili and macaroni and cheese. This satisfying meal features beans, ground beef, and loads of cheese for maximum satisfaction – an ideal solution for busy weeknights!
This delicious dinner is packed full of nutritious ingredients such as beans, vegetables, whole grain pasta and low-sodium vegetable broth. Not to worry though; its cheeseiness comes from reduced-fat cheddar to make you feel good about serving it to your family! Additionally, this budget friendly recipe uses pantry staples and readily available vegetables to stretch your grocery dollars further.
Instant Pot users have an added advantage with this chili mac and cheese recipe; making it fast, simple, and nearly hands-off! Simply set your Instant Pot on saute setting to brown the ground beef while simultaneously sauteing onions; after which add tomatoes, broth, beans, sugar, and seasonings before setting timer.
Add pasta and cheese for the final step in this instant pot recipe, before heating in 30-second increments in your microwave until warmed through. While best enjoyed immediately, this delicious meal can also be stored for up to 4 days in an airtight container in the fridge before being microwaved once it’s time for serving again!
This instant pot recipe is extremely flexible, as you can customize the ingredients as needed to meet your preferences. Substituting ground turkey or chicken for ground beef can add extra versatility while you can reduce the ground cumin and ancho chili powder to reduce spicy food intensity if that is your preference.
Cheesey Comfort Food Recipe | Perfect For Busy Weeknights! – Your Family Will Enjoy This Instant Pot Recipe Makes a wonderful weekday dinner option and will add great taste and texture. This instant Pot dish makes a wonderful addition to your weekly dinner rotation!
Prep Time
Add Beans and Vegetables to This Comforting Chili Mac Recipe Make this comforting chili mac dish more filling for all members of your family by including beans and other veggies! Your children will appreciate having more vegetables than their usual dinner, while you’ll appreciate its quick preparation! Perfect Instant Pot recipe for busy weeknights.
To prepare this chili mac in an Instant Pot, first saute onions, garlic, and ground beef in olive oil before adding tomato sauce, black beans, kidney beans, pasta, vegetable broth and shredded cheeses – stirring continuously until all of them have melted into a smooth sauce.
Spice it up a bit by adding 1/2 teaspoon of chili powder or smoked paprika; just a small dose will do wonders to bring out all of its delicious flavors! Or simply prepare this meal without an Instant Pot by using a large pot or Dutch oven on the stovetop – ideal for busy weeknights when kids are busy playing, with leftovers stored easily in your fridge or freezer!
If you’re making this recipe with doubled ingredients, be careful when increasing sauteing time and pressure cooking time – the ingredients may become piled too high in the Instant Pot and fail to come up to pressure or cause the “burn” warning on your display screen. When timer goes off, carefully release steam before releasing this delicious chili mac! Enjoy it alongside salad or potatoes to balance its richness; leftovers keep well for 5 days when stored airtight in refrigerator – reheat quickly in microwave. It is sure to become family favorite!
Cook Time
An ideal Instant Pot recipe for busy weeknights, this hearty chili mac features lean ground beef and whole grain elbow pasta with lots of cheese for a comforting meal everyone will enjoy. Start to finish, this dish can be completed in under 30 minutes using ingredients you likely already have on hand – plus it doesn’t even require an Instant Pot or pressure cooker; simply make this delicious recipe on the stovetop instead!
Heat your Instant Pot on saute setting and cook ground beef and onions until browned, draining any excess fat before stirring in garlic, chili powder, salt and pepper before adding tomatoes, broth and beans for four minutes of high pressure cooking with manual or quick release methods (check your Instant Pot owner’s manual for specific directions).
Remove from heat and add macaroni. Let stand for five minutes, before topping with shredded cheese. Cover and allow melting before tasting to see if more salt, pepper or cayenne are desired.
If you want to switch up this classic recipe and make it vegetarian-friendly, simply swap out the ground beef for extra canned beans and diced bell pepper or mushrooms for an exciting variation! For even more variety try adding chopped bell pepper or mushrooms as additional veggies for an intriguing spin on classic French dish!
Instant Pot Chili Mac is an easy and delicious dinner to prepare and freeze in advance, keeping well in the refrigerator for four days and heating perfectly in either the microwave or stovetop. Furthermore, individual-serve containers may also be frozen for lunches!
Make this chili mac with any type of pasta available to you, from zucchini noodles to ground beef! Additionally, to reduce calories you could swap in shredded chicken or turkey in place of ground beef as an option.
As time is of the essence on a busy day, make this chili mac ahead and reheat before serving – it makes an ideal lunch option for work or school! For optimal results, warm it up just before eating but it keeps well for up to four days in an airtight container in your fridge and five months when stored individually in airtight freezer bags!
Serve
This Instant Pot Chili Mac Recipe combines two comfort food classics into an easy and hearty weeknight dinner option that’s packed with lean ground beef, healthy elbow macaroni noodles, hearty beans, and plenty of melted cheese – you can adjust spices according to your family’s taste! Additionally, this dish is great way to use up leftover chili from your pantry; plus it makes an ideal freezer meal option – simply be sure to defrost it overnight before eating it.
Make delicious Chili Mac in your Instant Pot by heating on saute mode with olive oil, onions and garlic until onions become soft and translucent. Next, stir in chili powder, cumin and ancho chili powder; allow them to simmer for one more minute before stirring in crushed tomatoes, black beans, kidney beans and vegetable broth – mixing thoroughly before finally stirring elbow macaroni into everything for finalization.
Add the shredded cheddar and pepper jack cheeses, stirring to combine before topping with slices of green onion as garnish. You could serve this delicious chili mac with cornbread as an unforgettable meal; alternatively you could easily double or triple this recipe to feed larger crowds; just be sure to increase cooking time by 1 or 2 minutes for thicker chili.
If you prefer your chili mac more mild, start by reducing the chili powder by half and adjust to taste as necessary. Alternatively, replace vegetable broth with chicken broth to increase flavor or opt for vegetarian version by replacing ground beef with extra lean ground turkey or chopped vegetables like bell peppers, carrots or zucchini.
Instant Pot Chili Mac is one of my family’s weeknight go-to recipes! Super tasty and hearty, it makes a satisfying dinner that everyone will love. Perfectly quick and easy to prepare using ingredients found in most pantry cabinets, it makes an awesome freezer meal that can even be enjoyed later as lunch!