Recipe for an Unexpectedly Delicious Treat! Learn How to Make Chili Mac in the Ninja® Foodi®!
Here is an amazing comfort food you can make in your pressure cooker: Chili Mac!
Things to know:
What is chili mac?
Chili mac is a hearty, one-pot comfort food that mixes savory chili (with ground meat, tomatoes, spices) and macaroni noodles, often with cheese, creating a flavorful meal that’s a mashup of chili and macaroni and cheese. It’s a customizable dish, sometimes made with canned ingredients for speed, other times from scratch, and can be served as-is or with toppings like extra cheese, onions, or hot sauce.
What’s the difference between goulash and chili mac?
Goulash (American style) and Chili Mac are often the same dish, known by different regional names, featuring ground beef, macaroni, and tomato sauce, but true Goulash (Hungarian) is a rich beef stew with paprika, while Chili Mac emphasizes bold chili powder, cumin, and sometimes beans/cheese, making it spicier and more Tex-Mex flavored than its milder American Goulash cousin, which often uses simpler herbs.
Is chili mac a Midwest thing?
Yes, Chili Mac is definitely a Midwestern thing, considered a classic comfort food with strong ties to the region, often appearing as school lunch staples, family recipes, or in regional variations like Cincinnati or Toledo chili styles served over noodles. It combines chili with macaroni, usually with ground beef and cheese, and is related to other Midwestern noodle-and-meat dishes like American Goulash or Johnny Marzett.
What is the pressure cooker used for?
Pressure cookers use steam pressure to cook food much faster, ideal for tenderizing tough meats, making stocks, cooking beans, grains, and rice quickly, and even creating yogurt or cheesecake, saving significant time and energy while locking in nutrients and flavors for dishes like stews, curries, and perfect hard-boiled eggs. They replace traditional long boiling, simmering, or stewing methods, offering versatility for steaming, sautéing, and slow cooking in electric models.
Ingredients:
1 lb Ground Beef, Lean
1 lb Ground Sausage, Sweet or Mild
2 medium White Onions, diced
6 cloves Garlic, minced
1 T Chili Powder
1/2 T Cumin
1 t Kosher Salt
1/2 t Black Pepper
1/2 t White Pepper
1/2 t Ground Coriander (optional)
2 15oz cans Diced Tomatoes
2 cups Beef stock
7 oz can Chipotle Peppers in Adobo, roughly chopped
6 oz can Tomato Paste
4 oz can Diced Green Chiles
8 oz Pasta Elbows
1/2 cup Shredded Cheddar
1/2 cup Shredded Monterey Jack
Sour Cream (Optional)
Green Onions, diced
Instructions
1. Set your pressure cooker to its high heat sauté function and spray the pot with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Add the onion, garlic, beef, sausage, and dry spices to the pot. Use a spatula to break the beef into small crumbles as it cooks. Cook until no pink remains in the beef, about 6-8 minutes.
3. Add the diced tomatoes, green chiles, chopped chipotle peppers, tomato paste, and broth to the pot. Stir everything together evenly before adding the pasta and stirring again.
4. Seal the pressure cooker and cook on its high pressure for 3 minutes with quick release pressure.
5. Stir and make sure the pasta is cooked before topping with the shredded cheddar.
6. Set the Ninja Foodi to broil function for 2 minutes.
7. Serve with green onions and top with sour cream (optional). ENJOY!
Equipment used:
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