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    Home » Recipes » Beef

    Kraft Chili Mac and Cheese

    Published: Oct 26, 2011 · Modified: Nov 29, 2021 by Kelsey Smith

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    Kraft chili mac and cheese is a pantry meal classic. I love pantry meals because they help you to be more creative in the kitchen. HA! Okay, now let's be serious. I love pantry meals because it means I don't have to go to the grocery store.

    Today I offered to make dinner for Xavier last minute. The idea of going to the grocery store at 5 p.m. was the last thing I wanted to do. I racked my brain for a pantry meal I could make.

    This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Bowl of Kraft chili mac.

    I nearly had the ingredients for ziti. The minute I got home I started pulling ingredients.. pasta sauce, noodles, ground beef (from the freezer), cheese... wait... cheese? NO!

    One thing I certainly have in abundance is Kraft Macaroni & Cheese. Xavier and I split a huge 12-pack from Sam's Club, and ever since I've been trying to come up with creative ways to use all of it.

    Cooking with Kids?

    This is a kid-friendly meal on several fronts. First, kids love boxed macaroni and cheese. Second, it's a very easy recipe to make with children.

    Try Kraft chili mac and cheese for your kids' cooking night. Teach them how to boil and strain pasta and how to brown ground beef.

    Ingredients

    Tonight was the perfect night for that. I present to you, cheater's chili mac.

    • boxed mac and cheese (plus butter and milk)
    • ground beef
    • black beans
    • Rotel
    • a blend of chili spices

    Substitutions & Variations

    To make this lighter, use skim milk (the nutrition was calculated using whole milk) and lean ground beef or ground turkey.

    This recipe would also be great with pinto beans or even chili beans. If you use chili beans, you could add a little bit of the chili bean liquid from the can since it's full of chili spices.

    📖 Recipe

    Kraft Chili Mac and Cheese
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    Kraft Chili Mac and Cheese

    Kraft Macaroni and Cheese with boxed mac and cheese, ground beef, Rotel, and spices to create a quick and easy chili mac.
    4.60 from 5 votes
    Recipe by: Kelsey Smith
    Prep time: 5 minutes minutes
    Cook time: 15 minutes minutes
    Total time: 20 minutes minutes
    Servings: 4

    Ingredients
      

    • 1 box Kraft Original Flavor Macaroni & Cheese 7.25 oz box
    • 2 tablespoon butter
    • ¼ cup milk
    • ½ pound ground beef
    • ½ can black beans drained and rinsed
    • 1 can Rotel drained
    • ¼ teaspoon chili powder
    • ¼ teaspoon cumin

    Instructions
     

    • Prepare macaroni according to box directions, using butter and milk amounts listed above.
    • While macaroni is cooking, brown the ground beef. Drain excess grease.
    • Add ground beef, black beans, rotel, chili powder, and cumin and stir.

    Notes

    Nutrition was estimated using MyFitnessPal using whole milk. 23g fat, 52g carbs, 25g protein.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 511kcal
    Course: Main Course
    Cuisine: American
    Keyword: ground beef
    Tried this recipe?Rate it to let me know how it was!

    Looking for more pantry meal ideas?

    Try a few of my quick and easy family meal staples:

    • Zesty Italian BBQ Chicken
    • Banana Bisquick Pancakes
    • Slow Cooker Tex-Mex Chicken
    Kraft Chili Macaroni and CheeseKraft Chili Macaroni and Cheese



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    About Kelsey Smith

    I am a freelance content writer by day, mommy by night, and a blogger in between. I live in Knoxville, Tennessee with my husband, Xavier. When I'm not working, you might find me here, sharing comfort food recipes.

    Reader Interactions

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    1. Samantha Jensen says

      October 09, 2022 at 9:54 pm

      4 stars
      Great starting point for a boxed Mac n cheese! I sautéed half an onion with the ground (Turkey), only used half a can of Rotel, added loads of spices - garlic powder, paprika, oregano. After all was said and done it was still lacking so I plopped half a brick of cream cheese and now we’re talking!

      Reply
      • Kelsey Smith says

        October 10, 2022 at 10:09 am

        I like your style, Samantha.

        Reply
    2. Kelsey says

      July 22, 2021 at 11:26 am

      5 stars
      I'm almost embarrassed to admit how often I make this. Sometimes I add a little cream cheese for a little extra creaminess.

      Reply
    3. Kellie W. says

      June 27, 2020 at 2:00 pm

      5 stars
      I make this often. Except I use Velveeta shells and cheese sauce and I add a can of sweet corn (drained). Sooo goood!

      Reply
      • Kelsey Smith says

        June 29, 2020 at 10:50 am

        That sounds really, really good.

        Reply
    4. Doug Armstrong says

      April 26, 2018 at 9:59 am

      You're like a caricature of a hipster. Jesus Christ.

      Reply
      • Kelsey Smith says

        May 29, 2018 at 10:18 am

        You're like a caricature of a troll. Never mind, you're just a troll.

        Reply

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    Hi, I'm Kelsey! I am a freelance content writer for college-level textbooks by day, mommy by night, and a blogger in between. I live in Knoxville, Tennessee with my husband, Xavier. When I'm not working, you might find me here, sharing easy comfort food recipes.

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