Chili mac is a dish prepared using

chili con carne Chili con carne ( ), often shortened to chili, is a spicy stew of Mexican origin containing chili peppers (sometimes in the form of chili powder), meat (usually beef), tomatoes, and often pinto beans or kidney beans. Other seasonings may includ ...

and

macaroni Macaroni (), known in Italian as ''maccheroni'', is a pasta shaped like narrow tubes.Oxford DictionaryMacaroni/ref> Made with durum wheat, macaroni is commonly cut in short lengths; curved macaroni may be referred to as "elbow macaroni". Some ...

as primary ingredients, which is often topped or intermingled with cheese. Some versions are made using prepared or homemade

macaroni and cheese Macaroni and cheese (colloquially known as mac and cheese and known as macaroni cheese in the United Kingdom) is a pasta dish of macaroni covered in cheese sauce, most commonly cheddar sauce. Its origins trace back to cheese and pasta casserol ...

. It is a common dish in the

cuisine of the Midwestern United States The cuisine of the American Midwest draws its culinary roots most significantly from the cuisines of Central, Northern and Eastern Europe, and Indigenous cuisine of the Americas, and is influenced by regionally and locally grown foodstuffs ...

, and is also popular in other areas of the United States. Several variations of the dish exist, and prepared canned and boxed versions also exist. It can be a relatively inexpensive dish to prepare, and has been described as a

comfort food Comfort food is food that provides a nostalgic or sentimental value to someone and may be characterized by its high caloric nature associated with childhood or home cooking. The nostalgia may be specific to an individual or it may apply to a ...

. Similar dishes include spaghetti red, a chili-topped spaghetti popular around Joplin, Missouri, and

Cincinnati chili Cincinnati chili (or Cincinnati-style chili) is a Mediterranean-spiced list of meat-based sauces, meat sauce used as a topping for spaghetti or hot dogs ("coneys"). Both dishes were developed by immigrant restaurateurs in the 1920s. Its name e ...

Preparation

Several preparation methods exist. Basic versions may be prepared using chopped meat, tomato, spices, and elbow macaroni. Another basic preparation method incorporates boxed, prepared macaroni and cheese and canned chili. Some recipes incorporate all of the ingredients together, while others are prepared with the ingredients separately layered. Those that use cheese may use grated cheese atop the dish, while others mix the cheese throughout the dish. Sometimes, onions or beans are added. Some

diner A diner is a type of restaurant found across the United States and Canada, as well as parts of Western Europe and Australia. Diners offer a wide range of cuisine, mostly American cuisine, a casual atmosphere, and, characteristically, a comb ...

s in St. Louis, Missouri, serve a version called "chili mac a la mode", in which the dish is served topped with fried eggs. The dish may be prepared on a range top in a skillet, in a

slow cooker A slow cooker, (also known as a crock-pot after a trademark owned by Sunbeam Products, but sometimes used generically in the English-speaking world), is a countertop electrical cooking appliance used to simmer at a lower temperature than ...

, or baked as a

casserole A casserole (French language, French: diminutive of , from Provençal dialect, Provençal , meaning 'saucepan') is a kind of large, deep cookware and bakeware, pan or bowl used for cooking a variety of dishes in the oven; it is also a categor ...

. Vegetarian and vegan versions of the dish are sometimes prepared.

Versions

Chili mac has been a

staple dish A staple food, food staple, or simply staple, is a food that is eaten often and in such quantities that it constitutes a dominant portion of a standard diet for an individual or a population group, supplying a large fraction of energy needs and ...

at American military dining facilities for years. It was introduced to the

Meal, Ready-to-Eat The Meal, Ready-to-Eat (MRE) is a self-contained individual United States military ration used by the United States Armed Forces and Department of Defense. It is intended for use by American service members in combat or field conditions wher ...

(MRE) field ration menu in 1995 and is one of only three of the twelve MRE meals offered in 1995 that has remained on the MRE menu to date. A variation called "taco chili mac" has been consumed by

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

astronauts in space. It is processed by NASA as a

freeze-dried Freeze drying, also known as lyophilization or cryodesiccation, is a low temperature dehydration process that involves freezing the product and lowering pressure, thereby removing the ice by sublimation. This is in contrast to dehydration by m ...

product.

Hamburger Helper Hamburger Helper is a packaged food product manufactured by Eagle Foods. As boxed, it consists of a dried carbohydrate (often pasta or rice), with powdered seasonings contained in a packet. The consumer is meant to combine the contents of the box ...

sells a boxed version named "Chili Macaroni".

Similar dishes

Spaghetti red is a chili-topped spaghetti popular around

Joplin, Missouri Joplin is a city in Jasper County, Missouri, Jasper and Newton County, Missouri, Newton counties in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Missouri. The bulk of the city is in Jasper County, while the southern portion is in Newton County. J ...

, and a signature dish at Fred and Red's.

is a spiced meat sauce used to top spaghetti which is often referred to as chili spaghetti.

References

External links

Skillet Taco Macaroni
at Food.com {{Pasta dishes American meat dishes American pasta dishes Casserole dishes Chili con carne Ground meat

Preparation

Versions

Similar dishes

See also

References

External links