The Garden Grazer

Vegan Chili Mac (30 minute!)

By 16 Comments

This easy Vegan Chili Mac comes together in just 30 minutes for a satisfying weeknight meal!

Cooked vegan chili mac in a pan

Meet one of our new favorite go-to dinners – Vegan Chili Mac! We all love it, including our toddler who gets super excited and usually asks for seconds. Although she has trouble pronouncing “chili” so it comes out more like “gooey mac”.

Vegan chili mac in a skillet with large stirring spoon

I love this recipe because it’s amazing comfort food with 8 simple ingredients yet tons of flavor. It’s both healthy and filling. Plus slightly creamy & cheesy from the nutritional yeast.

It’s not spicy when using a mild chili powder, so add smoky chipotle powder if you’d like to kick it up. It’s a perfect family-friendly meal loved by kids and adults alike. Gooey mac for the win!

Cooked vegan chili mac in a pan
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4.75 from 4 votes

Vegan Chili Mac

Family-friendly vegan chili mac that comes together in just 30 minutes for a satisfying weeknight meal!
AuthorKaitlin – The Garden Grazer
Prep Time15 mins
Cook Time15 mins
Total Time30 mins
CategoryMain Dish
CuisineGluten-Free Option, Vegan
Servings5

Ingredients

US Customary – Metric
  • 8 oz. elbow pasta
  • 1 onion
  • 15 oz. can tomato sauce
  • 15 oz. can kidney beans (rinsed and drained)
  • 1 1/2 cups corn (I use frozen)
  • 3 Tbsp. nutritional yeast
  • 3-4 tsp. mild chili powder*
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 3-4 oz. spinach
  • Salt to taste
  • Optional: garlic, chipotle powder

Instructions

  • Cook pasta, leaving al dente. Drain when finished.
  • While pasta is cooking, dice onion.
  • In a large pan over medium heat, saute onion about 8 minutes or until translucent.
  • When onion is soft, add pasta and all other ingredients except spinach.
  • Reduce heat and cook 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add more water if it becomes too dry.
  • Meanwhile, roughly chop spinach.
  • Add spinach and cook 3 minutes. Salt to taste.

Notes

*If you’re worried about the spiciness in chili powder, try a blend of 1 tsp. chili powder, 1 tsp. cumin, and 1 tsp. smoked paprika – I love these flavors as well!
Recipe adapted from FatFree Vegan Kitchen

Nutrition Per Serving (Estimate)

Calories: 356 kcalCarbohydrates: 69 gProtein: 19 gFat: 3 gSaturated Fat: 1 gPotassium: 1067 mgFiber: 12 gSugar: 10 gVitamin A: 2962 IUVitamin C: 16 mgCalcium: 77 mgIron: 4 mg
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Vegan chili mac in a skillet

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Comments

  1. Cadry's Kitchen

    Winter has really hit, and I've been craving warming dishes like this. It looks so good, and I love the vibrant color of the spinach.

    Reply

  2. Terri Miller

    I made this for dinner tonight and it was great…comforting, but not too heavy…definitely worthy of a repeat…even the omnivore hubby had seconds

    Reply

  3. kimberkins

    Mmmm! Delicious. I've been vegan about 6 months now and this is real comfort food! It's a good thing I love it because I made a whole batch and it's just me. Sounds good for breakfast tomorrow 🙂

    Reply

  4. Red Beards Revenge

    Thank you the recipe. I made your recipe two weeks ago and we loved it. I made it again today with a few additions/modifications; I used 2oz of spinach and 2 oz of collard greens. I added a birds-eye chili pepper, an orange bell pepper, and a pasilla pepper. Then I added a cajun spice blend. I suppose I had a craving for the spices today. All peppers are deseeded.

    Reply

    • Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer

      Hi Sari! If you have younger kiddos, I bet you could stretch this one batch to feed all 6. Otherwise you may want to double it (or estimate a batch and a half). If you double it, you’ll most likely have leftovers, but we love them heated up the next day 🙂 Hope you enjoy!

      Reply

  7. Unknown

    I'm excited to be making this recipe tomorrow for dinner:) Can share the nutrition facts per serving, calories, fat, protein, etx.? Thanks Kaitlin!

    Reply

    • Kaitlin | The Garden Grazer

      Hi! The estimated nutritional content is now provided! (You can find it below the recipe.) Hope that helps!

      Reply

  8. Sheila

    Definitely going to try this. Plan on substituting white miso for the yeast. I hate the taste of the yeast but someone recently said it’s the fortified nutritional yeast we don’t like so look for non fortified. Anyone know of a brand that is non fortified?

    Reply

    • Kaitlin McGinn

      Hi Sheila! Excellent idea subbing in miso, I love that! It always adds such depth and great flavor 🙂 For non-fortified nutritional yeast, the brand “Sari Foods” makes one that I hear great things about (but I haven’t personally tried it yet). Wishing you luck in finding one you enjoy! Have a lovely week! -Kaitlin

      Reply

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