There’s so much to love about this pressure cooker chili mac! It’s unbelievably flavorful for such a simple recipe, lower carb and higher protein thanks to chickpea pasta, and requires one pot and about 30 minutes.
I used a 6.5-quart Ninja Foodi to make this chipotle chili mac, but I’ve included notes for both Instant Pot and stovetop prep. I’ll walk you through the recipe and touch on ingredient modifications below. And you can find the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Pressure Cooker Chipotle Chili Mac Ingredients
This recipe is really as easy as throwing things in the pot. You can break it down to three groups of ingredients:
- onion, garlic, ground beef, spices
- diced tomatoes, tomato paste, chipotle peppers, green chiles, beef or chicken broth
- the pasta
Cook ’em up, top with shredded cheddar, and you’re done!
As far as modifications go, feel free to customize spices and the vegetables you include. If you want to up your spice game, check out my homemade chili powder. Just be aware that you’ll need enough liquid to cook the pasta in when pressure cooking.
Compare your chili mac before pressure cooking to the photos below and you should be perfectly fine!
Chipotle Chili Mac Recipe Walkthrough
Add the onion, garlic, ground beef, and spices to the pressure cooker and cook the beef completely using its sauté function. Nothing fancy here!
The only thing you’ll need to do before adding the second group is to roughly chop the chipotle peppers. If you’d rather run them through a food processor like in my chipotle black bean chili or pineapple chipotle crockpot chicken, that’s perfectly fine.
Hot tip: The spice in this recipe isn’t as strong as you’d think. The acidity in the tomatoes and volume of beef do a great job at balancing things out. Chopping instead of blending seems to tone it down as well.
Give everything a stir and add the pasta. Stir, seal, and cook on high for five minutes.
Make sure the pasta is cooked to your liking before topping with cheese and broiling for two minutes (if you’re using a Foodi) or covering to melt the cheese. You can also reserve the cheese and top each serving individually. I’ve included the nutrition facts sans cheese in the notes below.
Final Recipe Notes
If you’re unfamiliar with the Ninja Foodi, it’s an all-in-one pressure cooker, air fryer, slow cooker, and a few more things. You can use it for everything from crispy air fried rosemary parmesan potatoes and breakfast pizza to pressure cooker cheeseburger soup and 20-minute mac and cheese.
I’ve found the Foodi’s pressure cooker function cook times to be almost identical to my 6-qt Instant Pot. You can learn more about the Foodi on my Amazon storefront.
You might notice the recipe calls for 93/7 ground beef as opposed to 96/4 like I used in my recent ground beef and potatoes skillet or sweet chili ground beef and brussels sprouts. I went with 93/7 mainly because there’s really no other source of fat in the recipe. Feel free to use 96/4 to reduce the fat content in your chili mac.
Okay, that should cover it. If you have questions about this chipotle chili mac, drop a comment below.
Pressure Cooker Chipotle Chili Mac
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Ground Beef, 93/7
- 2 medium White Onions, diced
- 6 cloves Garlic, minced
- 1 Tbsp Chili Powder
- 1/2 Tbsp Cumin
- 1 tsp Kosher Salt
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
- 1/2 tsp Ground Coriander, optional
- 2 15 oz cans Diced Tomatoes
- 2 C Beef or Chicken Broth
- 7 oz can Chipotle Peppers in Adobo, roughly chopped
- 6 oz can Tomato Paste
- 4 oz can Diced Green Chiles
- 8 oz Banza Pasta Elbows
- 3/4 C 84g Shredded Cheddar (optional)
Instructions
- Set your pressure cooker to its high heat sauté function and spray the pot with nonstick cooking spray. Notes for stovetop prep included below.*
- Add the onion, garlic, beef, and dry spices to the pot. Use a spatula to break the beef into small crumbles as it cooks. Cook until no pink remains in the beef, about 6-8 minutes.
- Add the diced tomatoes, green chiles, chopped chipotle peppers, tomato paste, and broth to the pot. Stir everything together evenly before adding the pasta and stirring again.
- Seal the pressure cooker and cook on its high pressure for 3 minutes with quick release pressure (vent as soon as it's finished cooking).
- Stir and make sure the pasta is cooked before topping with the shredded cheddar.
- If you're using a Ninja Foodi, use the broil function for 2 minutes. If you're using an Instant Pot or another pressure cooker, cover the chili mac and let the heat melt the cheese. (You can also add the cheese to each individual serving.)
This was my first recipe I’ve tried of Masons and I really liked it! It was simple to make and took such little time I was amazed! It’s a little on the spicy side, so keep that in mind when making for kiddos or if you have a sensitive stomach, but it’s so delicious and has amazing macros even though it feels like a cheat meal!
Love the flavor in this dish. Ours came out as more of a soupy chili instead of a “mac” but it’s still delicious!
I made this recipe from my Madeline Moves Tighter Together cookbook resource and man was it amazing! Not only was it easy and quick, but the serving size is surprisingly big. This was my first time using a chickpea pasta and it was a game changer- I’ll only buy that or lentil pasta now! Definitely would recommend this recipe.
I underestimated the spice in this-beware!! Lol but nonetheless yet another recipe I love. I’m not a fan of 96/4 beef so I’m glad this one has a little bit more fat for some more flavor. I think lean ground turkey may work just as well.
I got this recipe from doing Madeline Moves Tighter Together last January, and it was such a hearty protein packed dish! I count macros and always struggle to meet my protein, so the macros for these were amazing. It did come out spicier than I anticipated but it was still good and I’d definitely make it again.
Hey Mason, really want to make this. However I don’t have any chipotle peppers, any subs? Or can I just skip? I have cayenne, green chili’s, and some jalapeños but no chipotle!
You could probably double up on the tomato paste and add some spice with jalapeño peppers or some ground chilis. For future reference, I like to keep some ground chipotle on hand in case I ever want that smoky flavor and don’t have them on hand.
I wish I would of read the reviews about spiciness, because it is a tad spicy. BUT it’s delicious! My husband and I devoured it. Would definitely make again without as many peppers.
I love a good heart meal with a surprising kick to it! It was super simple to make and not a lot of dishes is always a plus! Such a good size serving for pretty awesome macros! Love it and highly recommend!
This dish is so hearty and such a big portion for the macros! I love it spicy and it definitely was! If you don’t want it as spicy don’t use as many peppers! Will make again!!
My BF has declared this the recipe that has ruined all other chili recipes for him. It is THAT good.