Hearty, filling, and total comfort food: this Vegetarian Chili Mac is loaded with pasta, beans, corn, cheese, and saucy tomatoes. Make this easy weeknight dinner in 30 minutes or less!
AROMATICS: Heat a large nonstick pot to medium-high heat and add in olive oil and then garlic. Stir constantly until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add seasonings, including salt & pepper to taste (I add 1-1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper). Add tomato paste. Cook, stirring constantly for 1 minute.
TOMATOES: Add in the crushed tomatoes and stir, cooking for 1 more minute. Add in the remaining ingredients except for the cheese. Bring to a simmer and then reduce heat to medium. Cover pot with a lid. Cook for 10-12 minutes or until pasta is al dente (firm to the bite, shouldn't be soft/mushy). The mixture will be a little saucy; it will continue to thicken up -- See note 2.
CHEESE: Remove pot from heat and stir in 1 cup of cheese. Once mixed through, taste and season with any additional salt/pepper. Then, sprinkle the remaining cup of cheese over everything and cover the pot with a lid. Let stand for 2-3 minutes to melt (liquid will continue to absorb into pasta).
SERVE: Remove lid and serve immediately! Add any optional toppings and enjoy.
Video
Notes
Note 1: Stock: To keep this dish truly vegetarian, use vegetable stock. If you aren't vegetarian, chicken stock works great. A good stock makes a huge difference flavor-wise; we love Swanson's stocks (not sponsored).Note 2: Pull the dish off the stove-top as soon as the pasta is al dente. Al dente means there is still a good bite to the pasta -- it shouldn't be mushy! The pasta will continue to cook and absorb liquid off the stove as we stir in the cheese. It's better to take the pot off the stove a little early than too late (under-cooked pasta is easy to fix; mushy pasta can't be fixed).