Chili Mac with Summer Squash is a budget friendly, easy, delicious meal, with ground beef, pasta, fresh veggies and great Southwest flavor!
Well, if you’re looking for an inexpensive, easy to prepare “Comfort Food” kind of meal… this “Chili Mac With Summer Squash” is it!! I made this Southwestern flavored recipe up as I went along (really), but it is loosely based on the goulash recipe (Italian-flavored) my Mom used to make for us kids when we were growing up.
I fixed this EASY PEASY yummy dish for my husband and I for dinner recently, and it filled us up! It’s pretty amazing what you can do with a pound of hamburger meat, some fresh veggies from the garden (or store), elbow macaroni, and some tasty Southwestern spices! The recipe serves 4-6 depending on serving size, so all in all, it’s a lot of bang for your hard earned money! Here’s how to make this:
Scroll Down For A Printable Recipe Card At The Bottom Of The Page
Cook The Meat
First, brown one pound of ground beef with chopped onions and a bit of diced jalapeno. When it is nearly done, add minced garlic.
Drain off the grease (discard), then add one small can of diced tomatoes, a little water, some taco seasoning, salt, and pepper to the beef. (I used 3 large Tablespoons of my homemade taco seasoning mix: “Make Your Own Taco Seasoning Mix”).
Time To Add The Summer Squash!
Stir well, then add zucchini and yellow squash (cut in quarters). I used my homegrown veggies (yay for my garden). Stir again to combine, then cover the skillet and let it all cook for 9-10 minutes. Only cook long enough to cook the squash, but not let it get “smooshy”.
To Save Time: While the meat and veggies are cooking, cook the elbow macaroni separately in a large saucepan. Once the meat and veggies were done cooking, I uncovered the skillet to take a photo to show what it will look like.
Finish Making The Chili Mac with Summer Squash
Once the pasta noodles have finished cooking, drain the water from them. Put the drained macaroni noodles back into the large pot they were cooked in.
Immediately pour the entire skillet of hot meat and veggies into the pan of cooked/drained macaroni.
Stir it all together, then heat it another minute or two to make sure it is hot… then taste-test it to make sure it is seasoned with enough salt.
Time to EAT!
Ladle the Chili Mac into serving bowls while it is piping hot!
Sprinkle each bowl with a small amount of grated cheddar cheese, then serve it! There ya have it… a tasty one-dish meal that has meat, pasta, AND yummy veggies!
All that’s left to do is grab a fork and dig in! Chili Mac with summer squash is quick, easy, totally inexpensive to make, and really good. How good, you ask? The kind of good where you want to “put on stretchy pants and hang out on the couch watching a great movie while you eat this on a rainy day good”.
Sure hope you will give this recipe a try! The leftovers are amazingly yummy, as well- (speaking with first-hand knowledge!) I think you’ll like this comforting dish as much as we do, and will LOVE how easy it is to prepare!
Looking For More PASTA Recipes?
You can find all of my recipes in the Recipe Index, which is located at the top of the page. I have LOTS of delicious featuring pasta, including:
- Easy Stovetop Macaroni And Cheese
- Chicken Pasta Casserole
- Lemon Pasta And Peas
- Chicken Broccoli Fettucine Alfredo
Interested In More Recipes?
Thank you for visiting this website. I appreciate you using some of your valuable time to do so. If you’re interested, I publish a newsletter 2 times per month (1st and 15th) with all the latest recipes, and other fun info. I would be honored to have you join our growing list of subscribers, so you never miss a great recipe!
There is a Newsletter subscription box on the top right side (or bottom) of each blog post, depending on the device you use, where you can easily submit your e-mail address (only) to be included in my mailing list.
You Can Also Find Me On Social Media:
Facebook page: The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Pinterest: The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Instagram: jbatthegratefulgirlcooks
Have a GREAT day!
- 1 pound hamburger meat
- 1/3 cup chopped onion
- 1/2 small jalapeno pepper , (de-stemmed and seeded), chopped finely
- 1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 envelope taco seasoning or 3 Tablespoons homemade taco seasoning
- 1 can diced tomatoes (14.5 ounces)
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 green zucchini , sliced, then cut into quarters
- 1 yellow squash , sliced, then cut into quarters
- 2 cups elbow macaroni (cooked per package directions)
- 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
- Additional salt (to taste)
- Before cooking the hamburger meat, bring a large saucepan full of water to a boil (to cook the macaroni in)
- In large skillet, brown the hamburger meat, chopped onion and jalapeno. Right before meat is fully cooked, add the minced garlic. Drain grease off meat when fully cooked. Return skillet to stove.
- Add tomatoes, taco seasoning, water, salt and pepper, zucchini, and yellow squash. Stir to combine. Cover skillet, then continue to cook on medium-low for approximately 9 minutes. Do not let squash get smooshy!
- While meat mixture is cooking, prepare macaroni noodles in a large saucepan, according to package directions. When done, drain macaroni, then return noodles to large saucepan.
- Add in the hot meat/squash mixture. Stir to combine. Heat quickly (uncovered) on medium-high for a minute or two, stirring constantly, to heat dish thoroughly. Taste test. If it needs more salt, add it now.
- Spoon mixture into individual serving bowls. Top with grated cheddar cheese, and serve hot!
Here’s one more to pin on your Pinterest boards!