Crock Pot Cheddar Chili Mac

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December 2, 2020 By Aunt Lou 30 Comments

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Oh my word folks! This Crock Pot Cheddar Chili Mac recipe is super simple to make, cooks quickly and is incredibly delicious! You are going to love it!

Crock Pot Cheddar Chili Mac - Recipes That Crock! (1)

Crock Pot Cheddar Chili Mac - Recipes That Crock! (2)

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Table of Contents

How to Make Cheddar Chili Mac in a Crock Pot

Aunt Lou here.

We love chili around here. You can find all of our chili recipes here. So, when I looking around my cabinets for something to make the other day, I found the ingredients for this Crock Pot Cheddar Chili Mac and decided to give it a try. My family and I are sure glad I did! It is super yummy! I bet you will be glad too once you have tried it!

This recipe is so easy to throw together. And yes, your ingredients are cooked before you put them in the crock pot (well, mostly…your macaroni is cooked al dente). So, if you are wondering why bother with the crock pot at all, let me tell you! The time in the crock pot finishes cooking up the noodles and gives all the flavors time to meld together to give you the amazing deliciousness of the final dish.

Regarding the timing on cooking. As always, it depends on your unit. If you are cooking on high and have a unit that cooks hot, it will be done in around an hour. If you have a unit that doesn’t get completely hot until around the one hour mark, even on high, it is going to take closer to an hour and a half. This is why we always say to watch your recipe closely the first time you make it. If you watch it closely, you will learn the exact timing for your specific crock pot.

Crock Pot Cheddar Chili Mac - Recipes That Crock! (3)

Crock Pot Cheddar Chili Mac - Recipes That Crock! (4)

What You Will Need

Ingredients Needed

1 lb ground beef, browned and drained
1 cup uncooked macaroni, cooked al dente
15 oz can mild chili beans, undrained
10.5 oz can diced tomatoes with green chiles, drained
1.5 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Equipment Needed

Skillet
Colander or strainer (I love my on pot strainer)
Medium pot
Measuring cup
Measuring spoon
Wooden spoon or stirring spatula
4 quart slow cooker

Time Needed

Prep Time: 12 minutes
Cooking Time: 2 hours on low or 1 to 1.5 hours on high, turning your insert halfway through your cooking

Crock Pot Cheddar Chili Mac - Recipes That Crock! (5)

Crock Pot Cheddar Chili Mac - Recipes That Crock! (6)

General Notes

Looking for more recipes? OurRecipe Findercan help you find exactly what you need.
Check out all our favorite recommendations for cookbooks,slowcookers and low carb essentials in ourAmazon Influencer Shop.
As with any of our recipes, carb counts, calorie counts and nutritional information varies greatly. As a result, your nutritional content depends on which products you choose to use when cooking this dish.The auto-calculation is just an automated estimate and should NOT be used for specific dietary needs.
All slow cookers cook differently, so cooking times are always a basic guideline. Recipes should always be tested first in your own slow cooker and time adjusted as needed.

Oh my word folks! This Crock Pot Cheddar Chili Mac recipe is super simple to make, cooks quickly and is incredibly delicious! You are going to love it!

4.98 from 180 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Main

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Crock Pot Cheddar Chili Mac

Prep Time: 12 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour

Total Time: 1 hour hour 12 minutes minutes

Servings: 6 – 4 people

Calories: 323kcal

Author: Aunt Lou

Ingredients

1 lb lean ground beef browned and drained
1 cup uncooked macaroni cooked al dente
15 oz can mild chili beans undrained
10.5 oz can diced tomatoes with green chiles drained
1.5 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Instructions

Mix together all your ingredients, except your shredded cheddar cheese, in a 4 quart slow cooker until well combined
Sprinkle your cheese evenly across the top
Cover and cook on low for 2 hours or high for 1-1.5 hours, turning your insert halfway through if your slow cooker does not cook evenly

Notes

Looking for more recipes? OurRecipe Findercan help you find exactly what you need.
Check out all our favorite recommendations for cookbooks,slowcookers and low carb essentials in ourAmazon Influencer Shop.
As with any of our recipes, carb counts, calorie counts and nutritional information varies greatly. As a result, your nutritional content depends on which products you choose to use when cooking this dish.The auto-calculation is just an automated estimate and should NOT be used for specific dietary needs.
All slow cookers cook differently, so cooking times are always a basic guideline. Recipes shouldalways be tested first in your own slow cooker and time adjusted as needed.

Nutrition

Tried this recipe?Mention @RecipesthatCrock or tag #RecipesthatCrock!

Need Dinner Ideas?

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Aunt Lou

I'm wife to Michael (not Mikey 😉 ) and mom to Mr. Ryder and Miss Iyla. I'm just walking through this life step by step focusing on enjoying the little things in life. I am in awe of the many blessings big and small I receive daily from a pretty amazing God who calls me His own. Sometimes life is crazy and messy, but I am loving every minute of it.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

Passi says
February 23, 2024 at 1:00 am

I enjoyed this! I tweaked it a bit – doubled pasta and probably tripled the cheese when all was said and done. It made for a total comfort food hit in our house.
Reply
Brandon Gordon says
January 24, 2024 at 4:51 pm

I can’t leave a rating yet, because I haven’t tried it, but my friend and I have game nights where trade off recipes in what we call our crockery game nights. I just finished combining it all, and I’ll be cooking it rather soon. I’m looking forward to eating this, and I think I may add a couple extra little things to it, kind of like when I seasoned the meat, I added some minced garlic, onion powder, and a honey garlic rub. We are all looking forward to eating this tonight! It already smells so great!
Reply
Shannon says
December 19, 2023 at 1:45 am

I never write reviews or rate things. But say, I feel like I need to. Perhaps it was chef error or my lack of improvisation, but I didn’t like this recipe at all. I’m not sure why I had more of a creamy mac and cheese idea in my mind, but this was no where near that.
I felt like it was very bland and could use way more flavor. As I mentioned above, I’m not great with just knowing what to add in, so I’m sure there are a lot of opportunities that I missed. It was also confusing my tastebuds and my brain was on sensory overload trying to comprehend all of the odd combinations of flavors and textures in one bite.
I have no doubt that it would be a totally awesome meal if I had more creativity in the kitchen. I really am sorry for ruining the positive vibes for this recipe…I just needed to write my thoughts down and see if I could get some suggestions back on how to personalize it, in return.
Reply
- Aunt Lou says
  December 19, 2023 at 12:50 pm
  
  Hi Shannon!
  Sorry you did not enjoy this recipe, but we realize that with over 2,000 recipes that every recipe isn’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea. From what you said, I think you might like this recipe better: https://www.recipesthatcrock.com/crock-pot-cheesy-beefy-mac-casserole/. It is a creamy mac ‘n cheese recipe, has fewer textures and does not have as many flavors blending together. If you give it a try, I hope you enjoy it.
  Aunt Lou
Lex says
December 3, 2023 at 10:09 pm

This recipe was so good and easy! I did a slight tweak to make it dairy free with the cheese. I also added onion to the ground beef and cooked the noodles in chicken broth. I took about 1/2 cup chicken broth and put it in the crock pot. Big hit in my house!
Reply
Mariah says
October 1, 2023 at 12:23 pm

Any recommendations if I simply don’t use beans at all? Picky eaters over here. Lol.
Reply
- Aunt Lou says
  December 19, 2023 at 1:03 pm
  
  I haven’t tried this without the beans in it. However, I do understand trying to accommodate picky eaters. So, let’s see if we can figure this out. Since the beans are undrained, you will need some liquid to replace that liquid. From a quick google search, I found that there is approximately 3/4 cup of liquid in a 15 oz can of beans. So, I would try adding 3/4 cup of beef broth or water to make up for the bean liquid. I was not able to find out amounts of chili seasoning in a can of beans, so you may have to play around with how much to add. I would start with a little, stir it in and add more gradually, if needed. (I always go by the rule, “You can always add more, but you can’t take it out once it is added,” when adding seasonings.) I hope this helps. If you give it a try, let me know how it goes!
ElyseK says
September 25, 2023 at 12:50 am

Is there a way to make this pressure cooker freindly instead of crockpot?
Reply
- Aunt Lou says
  September 25, 2023 at 6:11 pm
  
  I haven’t tried this in an electric pressure cooker yet, but I will add it to my list of recipes to try. If you give it a try, let me know how it goes!
- Amanda says
  December 10, 2023 at 9:53 pm
  
  I made it tonight in my pressure cooker. I browned the hamburger, added some diced onion and added the uncooked macaroni. Then poured the undrained tomatoes over the noodles, topped with chili beans. I set my cooker to 20 minutes (a guess really) but it turned out perfect. The noodles were perfectly tender.
  This will be a new favorite in our rotation of recipes.
Marcy says
August 17, 2023 at 7:45 pm

I like my chili saucy. Could I add a small can of tomato sauce ? Seems like not enough liquid to finish cooking the noodles
Reply
- Aunt Lou says
  September 25, 2023 at 6:05 pm
  
  I haven’t tried this with adding in extra tomato sauce but think it might work. We always encourage our readers to adjust recipes to their preferences. If you give it a try, let me now how it goes!
Tiffany says
November 29, 2022 at 3:37 pm

This is my favorite chili EVER!!!!
Reply
Rich says
October 3, 2022 at 6:24 pm

Wow! Made it as instructed except I used turkey and a couple of splashes of Tabasco. I went through my first batch quickly and am now making it again. Easy, affordable and delicious, this recipe checked-off each of my requirements. Thanx a bunch.
Reply
- Aunt Lou says
  October 11, 2022 at 3:50 pm
  
  Great job making this your own! Your adjustments sound yummy. I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe. Thanks for letting us know. We love hearing when our readers like a recipe we have posted.
Deb says
September 6, 2022 at 4:42 pm

Hi! Quick question! It states to have UNCOOKED noodles and then states right after AL DENTE. So are the noodles Al dente or uncooked?
Reply
- Aunt Lou says
  September 8, 2022 at 11:10 am
  
  Hi Deb!
  It is 1 cup of uncooked macaroni (so you measure it before it is cooked), but it will need to be cooked al dente before adding it to the recipe. Hope this helps!
  Aunt Lou
Jaime says
August 28, 2022 at 11:30 am

Hey there! Can I substitute the ground beef with Turkey instead? Or will it change the taste and final outcome of the dish?
Reply
- Aunt Lou says
  September 8, 2022 at 11:12 am
  
  I haven’t tried using ground turkey in this recipe, but think it could work. If you give it a try, let me know how it goes!
  Aunt Lou
Cassie says
June 20, 2022 at 11:52 am

Mine came out a bit dry. I’d add 1/4 cup broth next time.
Reply
- Aunt Lou says
  September 8, 2022 at 11:13 am
  
  We are all for our readers adjusting the recipes to their preferences. If you give it a try, let me know how it goes!
  Aunt Lou
Karen says
March 3, 2022 at 1:19 pm

Do u cook the macaroni first then mix all ingredients together and put in crockpot or put in there uncooked?
Reply
- Aunt Lou says
  September 8, 2022 at 11:15 am
  
  You will take 1 cup of uncooked macaroni and cook them al dente before adding them to the crock pot. Enjoy!
  Aunt Lou
Edward Grensky says
January 12, 2021 at 6:56 pm

I really like how your web site is laid out, with little or no clutter. As to saving recipes, I use “Copy me that.”
Reply
Kim Honeycutt says
December 4, 2020 at 7:10 pm

Hello from Lexington, North Carolina!💗 This looks yummy Aunt Lou!! I do like a little heat so I’ll probably fix as instructed and taste. If it needs more heat, I’ll add a little Texas Pete😍 Thank You!!
Reply
- Aunt Lou says
  December 7, 2020 at 12:18 pm
  
  Sounds like the perfect plan Kim! You are going to love this one. It is so yummy!
Susan says
December 3, 2020 at 8:47 pm

Hey! I want try this recipe, but I don’t like chili/kidney beans…Can I use pintos? Drained or no? Thx, Susan
Reply
- Aunt Lou says
  December 7, 2020 at 12:15 pm
  
  Hi Susan!
  I haven’t tried this with pinto beans, but think it could work if that is your preference. I would not drain them to keep the consistency the same. You might want to add a little more chili powder since there won’t be chili seasonings in your beans. If you give it a try, let me know how it goes!
  Aunt Lou
Lisa Quintana says
December 3, 2020 at 1:27 pm

Hi Lou! The recipe calls for mild chili beans, but could I use hot chili beans? I normally prefer hot and spicy foods, but I see that chili powder is also an ingredient, so would it make it too hot if I use hot chili beans?
Reply
- Aunt Lou says
  December 3, 2020 at 2:31 pm
  
  Hi Lisa!
  I am a wuss when it comes to spicy foods, so I used mild. The chili powder is not overwhelming at all. I think if you like spicy foods, then hot chili beans could work. If you give it a try, let me know how it goes!
  Aunt Lou

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