Oven Baked 3-Ingredients Chili Mac Casserole

This 3-ingredient chili mac is hot, cheesy, and built for nights when dinner needs to be easy. Tender elbows, hearty Beef chili, and sharp cheddar bake into a cozy casserole with golden, crunchy cheese around the edges. You’re going to love how quickly it comes together in a disposable foil pan.

Why You’ll Love It

• Just three main ingredients — elbow macaroni, hearty beef chili, and sharp cheddar keep dinner simple.
• Cheesy, cozy flavor — the macaroni soaks up the chili sauce while the cheddar melts into every bite.
• Golden crunchy edges — the top layer of cheddar bakes until bubbling and lightly golden.
• Easy foil-pan cleanup — bake and serve straight from a disposable 9-by-13-inch foil pan.

Ingredient Notes

The whole point here is that there are only three main ingredients, so choose ones you actually like. For the chili, use a hearty beef chili—canned is completely fine, and leftover homemade chili is wonderful if you happen to have four cups sitting around. It can have beans or not. We are not starting an argument over beans today; there are enough arguments in the world.

I generally use plain elbow macaroni, the regular 12-ounce box kind. Don’t cook it all the way soft before it goes in the oven. It finishes there, and mushy macaroni is one of life’s smaller disappointments. Not the biggest, obviously. But still.

Sharp cheddar matters more than you might think. Mild cheddar will melt, sure, but sharp cheddar gives this casserole that little tang that keeps it from tasting flat. I buy blocks and shred them when I’m feeling ambitious, but bagged shredded cheddar has saved many a weekday evening around here. The kitchen police have not come for me yet.

Ingredients

• 12 ounces dry elbow macaroni
• 4 cups hearty canned or leftover beef chili, with beans or without—just make sure it’s thick, not watery
• 3 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided; I use 2 cups in the macaroni and save 1 cup for that beautiful top layer

Instructions

Heat your oven to 375°F and put a rack in the center. Set a disposable 9-by-13-inch foil baking pan on a sturdy baking sheet. Don’t skip the baking sheet because the foil pan is flimsy by nature, bless it. It will hold dinner beautifully right up until you try to lift it one-handed.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the elbow macaroni and cook it just barely al dente—about 1 to 2 minutes less than the package tells you. I know the package is trying to help, but in this case, ignore it a little. The pasta has more cooking to do in the oven.

Drain the macaroni well, then return it to the warm pot. Add the 4 cups of beef chili and 2 cups of the sharp cheddar. Stir it all together until the pasta is coated and the cheese has begun to soften into the chili. It should look loose and saucy at this point, not dry. If it looks a little too thick, you can stir in a small splash of the pasta cooking water—nothing dramatic, just enough to loosen things up.

Pour the chili mac into your foil pan and spread it out into the corners. I use the back of my spoon and sort of pat it into place. This is not an art project.

Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup of cheddar evenly over the top. Edge to edge. Be generous around the corners, because Those crunchy cheesy corners are where the happiness lives.

Tent the pan loosely with a sheet of foil so it doesn’t touch the cheese. Bake it covered for 20 minutes, until it’s hot and bubbling around the edges. My old oven ran hot, then cold, then hot again depending on its mood, so do peek through the oven door if yours has similar emotional issues.

Remove the top foil and bake another 10 to 15 minutes, until the cheese is melted, bubbling, and lightly golden in spots. Not dark brown—unless you like it that way, and I sometimes do. There, I said it. I like a little singe on melted cheese.

Let the casserole sit for about 10 minutes before scooping. This is the hardest part. It helps the sauce settle and thicken up, though, so you don’t wind up with a lava flow on the plate. Serve it hot, straight from the foil pan if you’re sensible.

Variations

I know I just said not to fuss with it, and I mean that. Mostly. But if your family likes heat, use a spicy beef chili or add a pinch of crushed red Pepper when you stir everything together. Swap some of the cheddar for pepper jack, which gives it a little kick without turning dinner into a five-alarm situation. Colby works too, especially if that’s what’s in the refrigerator.

A spoonful of sour cream on top is nice. Pickled jalapeños are nice. Warm rolls, cornbread, buttered toast, sliced cucumbers and tomatoes—those all make a good little meal around it. In summer, I like the cold cucumbers beside the hot casserole.

Storage & Reheating

Leftovers keep in the refrigerator for a few days, covered well. I usually transfer them out of the foil pan if there’s much left, mostly because foil pans take up half the refrigerator and then I can’t find the mustard behind the gallon of milk.

To reheat, cover a portion loosely and microwave until hot, stirring halfway if you can be bothered. For a bigger amount, warm it covered in the oven until it’s bubbling again. A tiny splash of water can help if it has thickened up overnight, though don’t overdo it. You want cozy chili mac, not soup.

You can also divide the mixture between two smaller foil pans before baking. Bake one now and cool the other completely before wrapping it tightly and freezing it. Thaw it before reheating, covered, until hot and bubbly.

Final Notes

There are meals that impress people, and then there are meals that take care of them. This 3-ingredient chili mac is firmly in the second category.

This casserole carries that feeling. A warm pan. A softened house. Somebody saying, without making a big speech about it, here. Eat something.

And sometimes that’s plenty.