I have been majorly craving “comfort food” lately. But not just any comfort food. This kind of comfort food…
I have always been a fan of chili mac. Not only is it incredibly tasty, but the entire concept of chili mac is so simplistic and easy to make. Naturally, my brain began thinking of how I could transform the traditional chili mac dish into a flavorful vegetarian dish. What did I come up with? Why, a Mexican Chili Mac Bake, of course! 🙂
Mexican Chili Mac Bake
Servings: 2-3
Ingredients
EVOO cooking spray
2 servings whole wheat elbow macaroni
sea salt (for cooking pasta)
water, for cooking
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 small yellow onion, diced
1/2 package soyrizo
2 TB tomato paste
1 10 oz can diced tomatoes with green chiles, with juices (I used about 3/4 of the can)
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp chili powder
2 TB nutritional yeast
black pepper, to taste
1/2 cup part-skim or fat-free cheddar cheese (optional)
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a small baking dish with EVOO cooking spray.
2. Cook pasta in salted water according to package directions. Once cooked, set aside.
3. While the pasta is cooking, line a large skillet with a thin layer of water. Heat water over high heat until very hot. Once hot, lower the heat to medium and cook garlic and onions for approximately 6 minutes, or until softened.
4. Add soyrizo to the pan and break up with a spatula. Cook for approximately 3 minutes, or until the soyrizo is warm.
5. Add cooked pasta, tomato paste, diced tomatoes with chiles, vegetable broth, and seasonings to the skillet. Stir until well-combined. Cook an additional 2-3 minutes, or until all ingredients are warm.
6. Spoon the chili mac into the baking dish. Top with shredded cheese, if desired.
7. Bake for approximately 5 minutes, or until the cheese has melted.
Now doesn’t that just look tasty?? 😉
Serve the Mexican Chili Mac Bake with your favorite side, like some delicious cooked green beans!
This Mexican Chili Mac Bake is delicious, very easy to make, hearty, and totally fits the bill for what I consider to be “comfort food.” I also love that this dish can be easily adapted to your tastes. You could certainly prepare this using chorizo instead of soyrizo, though I will say that soyrizo is a much healthier option and has the same taste as chorizo. If you are not a huge fan of spicy foods, I would recommend using regular tomatoes without the chiles and lowering the amount of chili powder used. Lastly, this dish can easily be made vegan by omitting the shredded cheese. And let me tell you, the flavors of the Mexican Chili Mac Bake are strong enough that the cheese truly is optional.
Please try to tell me that you do not want to dig into this Mexican Chili Mac Bake ASAP! Cannot do it? Neither can I! 😉
Happy Almost Friday everyone! 🙂
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This looks really good! I am going to have to try it out!
Please do! And let me know what you think! 🙂
Yay Ive been waiting for this!
I hope you love it as much as I do! 🙂
This does look delicious!! Comfort food at it’s finest! 🙂
It sure is!!
This looks really good! What is soyrizo?
Soyrizo is a vegetarian version of chorizo, which is a spicy Mexican sausage. It is spicy, but SO tasty!
I have been looking forward to this recipe!! This looks absolutely delicious!!
I hope you love it! 🙂
thank you for sharing this i have to make this asappppppppppppp!!
:)! Please let me know what you think!
This looks so delicious! My mouth is actually watering haha.
Haha, too funny! 😉 I hope you will give it a try!
Yes, this looks awesome! I make something a lot like it (with ground beef), but it doesn’t have much in the way of veggies. Definitely want to try this!
You should definitely give it a try. You could even add more veggies by adding in corn and/or zucchini!
This sounds fantastic, yum!!
It is good, and the best part is that it is SUPER easy to make! 🙂
OMG!This looks divine! Thank you for sharing the recipe!
You are very welcome! I hope you like it :).
Ohhh sister, I’ve been craving comfort food since the very beginning of winter and there really has been no stopping my comfort food indulgence. This mexican chili mac looks amazing! Would hit my heavy food craving right on the dot!
You should most definitely give it a try! 🙂
Yum this looks delicious! Don’t think we can get soyrizo in Australia but we can get Quorn sausages so might sub them in instead.
I think that that would definitely work well, too!
They don’t sell soyrizo in my small-ish town, but I did get some chorizo tempeh when I went out of town and I’ve been hoarding it for a special occasion– this just might have to be that occasion! I love that you have nutritional yeast in the mac and then put cheese on top! Extra cheesy flavor!
Chorizo tempeh?? That sounds awesome!! 🙂
So I know this isn’t the prettiest thing you’ve ever posted, but I really think this might be the tastiest looking recipe I’ve seen on your blog so far. I love chili mac and yours looks absolutely wonderful! Makin’ me hungry, girl!
Thank you!! I hope you give it a try :).
YUUUMMM I need this in my life!
Make it!! It is super easy AND delicious. You won’t regret it :).
That is serious YUM COMFORT FOOD! It’s freezing and snowy again here – I definitely need some comfort food tonight! 🙂
Yes you do! And the spiciness of this would definitely help warm you up!
That is amazing!! It looks just like the real thing!!
AND…it tastes like the real thing, too! 🙂
I’ve never had or heard of chili mac before!! I’m a huge comfort food lover and am a fan of any served in a casserole dish so this would be perfect! YUM!
You have never heard of chili mac?? Wow, that surprises me, especially since you are from the Midwest! You should definitely give it a try. It is awfully tasty :).
I looooove soyrizo! I think of all the “faux” meats it captures the flavor and texture of the real thing the best. This looks perfect to ride out this snowy weather!
It is really good, isn’t it? I have even fooled my meat-eating family members before! 😉
Looks delicious! Perfect comfort food.
You bet! 🙂
Ooooh, yum! This looks SO good! I want to make this when Nick gets back and I will be motivated to cook again 😉 ( just kidding, kind of )
You should definitely make it. Let me know what you think!
This is definitely comfort food at its best–totally craving this right now!
Let me know if you try it!
This is my kind of comfort food!
MINE TOO! It doesn’t get much better than pasta! 😉
Oh my goodness, girl, this looks fabulous! Bookmarking and making sometime in the next two-three weeks 🙂
Please let me know what you think!
This looks amazing! Nice work!
Thank you! 🙂
I have never tried chili mac before but I want to now!
You definitely should! It is really good :).
Oh wow, a little Daiya on top of that for me..and I would be in cheesy heaven. This looks amazing.
Daiya would be great on this :).
I can’t say I’ve ever strayed too far from the standard mac, but your spicy Mexican version sounds like a delicious change of pace!
You should definitely give it a try!
P.s. you have a great name! 😉
That looks so yummy! Yes, I could definitely tuck into a bowl right now 😉
I’m intrigued by soyrizo as I’ve never heard of it before. I’ll have to check it out x
You should definitely try it. I cannot even tell the difference between soyrizo and chorizo. It is THAT good!