A classic family favorite: homemade one skillet gluten free chili mac! With a few simple ingredients, you can remake this processed boxed food with all wholesome and real food ingredients! Better still, it is easily made dairy free for those who need it!
Any way you make, your kids will love this quick and easy dinner, ready in under 30 minutes!
Here is another one of those meals I remember fondly from growing up: Hamburger Helper. We regularly make my beef gluten free hamburger helper.
There was a time I didn’t read food labels…I have to remind myself of that! It has become so second nature at this point.
As a kid, I only cared about one thing: taste!
I was a horribly picky eater, and I figure any medicine my kids dole out NOW in that department is only payback for my years of Top Ramen, Captain Crunch Berries, and Twinkies!
I was happy to create a version of Hamburger Helper that is not only allergy-friendly, but kid pleasing too!
This meal goes together quickly and is a great school night meal! It only use one skillet, so clean up is snap too!
Add some extra veggies to my gluten free chili mac?
You could add any additional vegetables to this.
My top ideas:
- small diced bell peppers
- chopped carrots
- spinach
- cabbage
- tiny bite size pieces of cauliflower!
Additional gluten free ground beef recipes:
- My Healthy Hamburger Helper is a fan fav, ready in under 30!
- Perfect for any taco night: Ground Beef Taco Meat
- This looks tasty: Paleo Bacon Meatloaf , or my own keto version: paleo meatloaf.
- Quick and easy full meal deal: ground beef stir fry!
Homemade Gluten & Dairy Free Chili Mac Recipe:
If you try this real food chili mac make over, be sure to come back and leave a comment!
Homemade Chili Mac - Gluten Free
A delicious one skillet chili mac that is also gluten and dairy free! Elbow noodles are coated in a chili sauce with hamburger and cheese!
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons avocado oil
- 1 medium onion finely diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 pound ground beef or other ground meat
- 4 tablespoons tomato paste
- 14.5 ounce can pureed/crushed tomatoes I used diced, but pureed them w/ my immersion blender first. The puree hides the big chunks of tomatoes that my kids won't eat
- 2 cups beef broth homemade or store bought
- 1 tablespoon chili powder you can use as much or as little as you like for your family
- 2 teaspoons oregano
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 2 1/2 cups gluten free noodles I used Tinkiyada Brown Rice Elbows
- 1/2 cup shredded Daiya Cheddar Shreds
Optional garnishes:
- avocado slices pickled jalapenos, hot sauce, fresh lime, shredded cabbage
Instructions
- Heat the oil over medium heat.
- Add the onions and saute until soft, about 3-5 minutes.
- Add in the ground meat and garlic, stirring to break the meat up.
- When browned, add in tomato paste, canned tomatoes, beef broth, oregano, and chili powder. Stir to combine.
- Stir in the noodles. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook until the noodles are al dente, about 7-10 minutes. The noodles will continue to soak up liquid as it sits, so don't worry if it seems a little thin at first, or the noodles not quite cooked. Let it rest covered 5-10 minutes to finish absorbing the liquid and finish cooking!
- Stir in cheddar shreds until melted. Serve!
Nutrition
Calories: 457kcalCarbohydrates: 34gProtein: 24gFat: 25gSaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 76mgSodium: 741mgPotassium: 761mgFiber: 3gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 975IUVitamin C: 12.7mgCalcium: 164mgIron: 4.5mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
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This was so good! My wife and I have been trying to limit gluten (intolerance, not allergy), but I’ve found the texture of gluten-free pastas to be tricky to get right. I followed the directions in this recipe and the pasta came out perfect! We used a plant-based protein to keep it vegan, and I’m sure if we had served it to our friends they’d never know how healthy it is. Amazing flavors; quick and easy to make ~ this one is going to be in regular rotation at our house.
Nice! Glad you found something you enjoy!
I had leftover chili and was out of ideas on how to make it into a different dish for later in the week. Some of the work was done but incorporated more of the spices and the technique and it really turned out great. Used Jovial GF penne that was undercooked and used it as described in the instructions. Family loved it! Thank you for such an easy tasty recipe!
Great creativity Susan!
So delicious
Sooo good! My family loves this comfort meal and we love to garnish with shredded cabbage and pickled jalapeños! Yum!!
Do the noodles go into the meat mixture uncooked?
yes Deborah!
Healthy Hamburger Helper – Yummy and easy to make! Great when I’m craving quick comfort food. I’ve made it twice now using lean ground beef. I agree with the person who said it took a while to cook the GF pasta all the way through – maybe because I didn’t blend my diced tomatoes first like Tessa did, so there was less liquid in my pot. I’m looking forward to adding vegetables into it next time (see Tessa’s advice above). My mom and my husband didn’t want it because they’re wary of GF pasta, but I know I can serve it to both my brother and my brother-in-law (neither of whom are picky about pasta, especially when it’s smothered in sauce), so it will be a great go-to for a quick family dinner. My sister ate two bowls of it when she was home for the weekend and needed a quick meal. She would have preferred I add more spice though, so definitely adjust the cayenne pepper to taste. It’s AMAZING with melted daiya cheese shreds, a sprinkle of sea salt, and sliced avocado. Thank you, Tessa!
glad you’re enjoying it Lindsay!
Yum!
At what point would you suggest adding the vegetables so they cook through properly? It would definitely be nice to make it sort of a casserole including veggies .
Thanks!
Hi Lindsay! I would suggest adding in additional finely chopped vegetables and sauteing them with the onions and garlic. If it is a quick cooking veggie like spinach. that could be added in at the last minute for wilting! Hope that helps!
I made this tonight and my family LOVED it! My husband said it was really good and I should make it more often! I don’t ever get compliments like that from him! I left out the cheese since I didn’t have any dairy free. It was so simple to make too! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe! I will definitely be making it again and again and again! Haha! 🙂
Awesome Jamie, thank you for the feedback!
This sounds great. I could easily make it veg for my family. I think it will be a huge hit! Its amazing when we look back at the things we ate “pre reading labels” 🙂 LOL I ate all of the things you mentioned 🙂 (and more!)
Thanks for linking up at our Gluten Free Fridays party! I have tweeted and pinned your entry to our Gluten Free Fridays board on Pinterest! 🙂
Thanks for linking back to the Gluten Free Fridays post!
Cindy from vegetarianmamma.com
Looking forward to trying this recipe! Thanks so much for posting it!
I made this tonight and it was fantastic! We sprinkled ours with salt and GF Worcestershire sauce and the 4 of us ate all of it! I’m putting this on my Recipes That Shine pinterest board and it’s going to be part of our regular rotation 🙂
So great to hear it Cassidy, thank you! This one is in our rotation too, just less so since trying to avoid grains!
First I have to say, it really does taste just like hamburger helper!
Even though I followed the recipe exactly, even using tinkyada elbow noodles, the noodles were still crunchy after the recommended time. Had to cook them over three times as long as it says!?
Hmm…weird?! I always have to cook my significantly less than recommended for al-dente…I am close to seal level…maybe elevation? Maybe texture preference? Glad you liked it Candice, thank for letting em know your experience…it always helps others when people comment on differences!
That sounds really good. I love making things homemade like that. Growing up, I hated HH because of its seasoning packet. I'm sure this tastes umpteen times better!
Stopping by from Hunk of Meat Monday.
Tessa, this was very good! I was nervous about only putting in 2.5 cups of pasta, but I trusted you and it was perfect. I like the added touch with the avocado slices. Even Jim commented that he liked that. WAY better than Hamburger Helper and nearly as quick and easy. Thanks!
We made this and my hubby loved it, I loved how easy and quick it was. Thanks for the post!
glad you liked it! Thanks for stopping by!
Daiya is a life saver Libby!! I am happy to enable you with this recipe (;
Chili mac? I'm fighting a losing battle with my inner midwesterner! Now that Daiya cheese has come out & the temps are starting to drop, it's going to be hotdish city around here! Thanks for enabling me!
We all must have grown up in the same era!! Enjoy!
What a great idea! I used to love Hamburger Helper…not anymore. But homemade-for sure!
Thanks for this! I stopped making Hamburger Helper years ago…and yes, it wasn't until after I started reading those labels.