Gluten-Free Dairy-Free Chili Mac
This post may contain affiliate links from which I will earn a commission. Learn more in our disclosure.
This Gluten-free Chili Mac is a super-easy dinner that the whole family will love! It comes together in one pan, plus it has dairy-free and keto options too! With just a handful of ingredients, you can have this “better than the box” meal on your table, nourishing you and your family in almost no time at all.
This version has deeper flavor than most quick chili mac recipes thanks to a simple spice step—and it still comes together in one pan.
It's easy to want to resort to boxed mixes and convenience foods when you're leading a busy life, but it's not necessary.
Regardless of your time constraints, it IS possible to have wholesome meals on the table without too much fuss.
The key is pre-planning and picking the right recipes that cook quickly in one pan or a crock-pot while you’re busy with other things.
And this One-Pan Gluten-free Chili Mac is one such meal, and it's guaranteed to please.
What Makes This Chili Mac Better
This chili mac recipe is going to be a sure favorite in your home as it is in ours for the following reasons:
- One-pan for easy cleanup
- Deeper flavor from a simple spice step
- Option for firmer pasta texture
- Easily adaptable to special diets (dairy-free and low-carb, keto)
Ingredients
Here's the simple list of ingredients you need to pull this delectable meal together. For the full measurements, scroll down to the recipe card below.
- coconut oil or alternative healthy fat
- onion (finely diced)
- garlic (minced)
- ground beef (or any other ground meat as desired)
- tomato paste
- canned tomatoes (crushed or diced)
- beef broth
- cumin
- smoked paprika
- chili powder
- gluten-free elbow pasta
- shredded cheese (dairy-free or regular)
Recipe Notes
- Picky Eater Tip: Puree diced tomatoes with an immersion blender or regular blender first to hide big chunks of tomatoes that many kids don't like.
- Broth Tips: This Whole Chicken Bone Broth Recipe is a delicious recipe to use for this recipe. This Vegetable Broth Powder is another great option but you'll need to reduce the salt in the recipe if using this.
- Gluten-Free Pasta Options: Brown rice pasta works especially well here (Tinkyada and Trader Joe’s are both good options). For a lower-carb or keto option, use spaghetti squash, eggplant noodles, or a konjac-based noodle.
- Veggie Add-Ins: You can add just about any additional vegetable to this recipe for added nutrition. Bell peppers, carrots, spinach, or cabbage are all great choices.
- Garnish Options: Top this dish with garnishes like avocado slices, pickled jalapeños, hot sauce, fresh lime, parsley, or shredded cabbage.
- Grain-free Option: can be made grain-free using Konjac or another grain-free noodle.
- Gluten-free Pasta vs. Regular Pasta: Gluten-free pasta tends to absorb more water than regular pasta, but I've made this recipe with both regular and gluten-free pasta without altering the recipe, and it's turned out great both ways.
- For the Best Texture: For firmer pasta and a thicker sauce, cook the pasta separately and stir it in just before serving. This is especially helpful when using gluten-free pasta, which can soften quickly.
Chili Mac
Ingredients
- 1-2 teaspoons coconut oil (or avocado oil)
- 1 small onion (finely diced)
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 pound ground beef (or any ground meat)
- 1 tablespoon chili powder (or to taste)
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 14.5 ounce canned tomatoes
- 1 ½ cups beef broth
- 1-2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar (or lime juice)
- 2 cups gluten-free elbow pasta (uncooked)
- ½ – 1 cup shredded cheese (dairy-free or regular)
- salt (to taste)
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large skillet. Add onion and cook until soft.
- Add meat and garlic. Cook until browned.
- Bloom spices: Add chili powder, cumin, and smoked paprika directly to the pan.
- Stir 30–60 seconds until fragrant.
- Add tomato paste and cook 1–2 minutes until slightly darkened.
- Stir in tomatoes and broth. Bring to a simmer.
- Stir in pasta, cover, and cook until tender (8–10 minutes), stirring occasionally.
- Stir in vinegar/lime juice + cheese. Let sit 5 minutes to thicken.
Slow Cooker
- For best flavor, brown the meat with garlic and spices in a skillet before adding to the slow cooker (optional but recommended).
- Transfer meat to slow cooker.
- Add tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, and broth. Stir to combine.
- Cook on low for 6–8 hours or on high for 3–4 hours.
- If adding dry pasta, stir it in during the last 20–30 minutes on LOW, stirring occasionally, until tender.
- If using cooked pasta, stir it in just before serving.
- Stir in cheese and a splash of vinegar or lime juice before serving.
- Taste and adjust salt as needed.
Notes
- Broth Tips: Homemade broth adds the best flavor. You can use chicken or beef broth, or a broth powder—just reduce added salt if your broth is already salted.
- Gluten-Free Pasta Tips: Gluten-free pasta tends to absorb more liquid than regular pasta and can soften quickly. Stir occasionally while cooking and avoid overcooking.
- For the Best Texture: If you prefer firmer pasta and a thicker sauce, cook the pasta separately according to package directions. Prepare the chili base with slightly less broth (about 1–1½ cups), then stir the cooked pasta in just before serving.
- Pasta Options: Brown rice pasta works especially well here (Tinkyada and Trader Joe’s are both good options). You can also use lentil or chickpea pasta, though they may change the texture slightly. Use keto noodles or eggplant noodles for a keto option.
- Low-Carb & Grain-Free Options: For a lower-carb or grain-free version, use spaghetti squash or a konjac-based noodle instead of pasta.
- Veggie Add-Ins: This recipe is easy to customize with extra vegetables. Bell peppers, carrots, spinach, or cabbage all work well—add them with the onions or stir in quick-cooking vegetables near the end.
- Garnish Ideas: Top with avocado slices, pickled jalapeños, hot sauce, fresh lime juice, parsley, or shredded cabbage.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It may vary depending on ingredient brands, substitutions, and preparation methods. Optional ingredients are not included. Net carbs are typically calculated by subtracting fiber and sugar alcohols (such as erythritol) from total carbohydrates. This information should not be relied upon for medical or nutritional purposes.
More Quick and Easy Meals
Here are some more easy healthy meals the whole family will love.
- Gluten-free Vegan Mac and Cheese
- Keto Fried Rice
- Egg Roll in a Bowl
- Easy Baked Chicken Nuggets
- Indian Lentils (ready in as little as 9 minutes – not low carb)
What is YOUR favorite super quick meal?
I would like to follow your blog and can’t find a link for that. Please advise.
Hi Courtney! Thanks so much — really appreciate you wanting to follow me. If you can tell me if you are on mobile or desktop, that would help b/c I want to make sure it’s obvious how to do that. There should be a bar at the top of each post that you can opt in to to get my Easy Healthy Eating Guide – that will do it. There’s also one in the sidebar (on desktop) and below the posts. I can try to get another one in there too – but yes, hope that helps and let me know what type of device you are on so I can make it more obvious – thanks again and hope to see you around. I have a Healthy Living Group on Facebook too if you’d like to join there:
Thanks for your quick reply. I am using a laptop (MacBook Pro). I saw the popups that asked if I wanted your free guide or five tips, etc. I guess that is what you are referring to. I wasn’t looking for a guide or free tips, I simply wanted to follow your blog and was looking for a way to simply sign up to follow. I would recommend you put a box on every landing page that simply says “sign up for my blog.” I look forward to trying your DF and Egg Free recipes. Thanks!
Thank you so much for this message. I just put something to the end in the sidebar optin and I’m going to put some new things in as well….super helpful! I hope to have more recipes really soon! I am getting more help with the blog so I can generate more quicker! Thanks for your interest and encouragement!
The cheese powder you suggested has milk as the first ingredient. That’s not dairy free. As family managing multiple food allergies, I was excited to try one of my husband’s favorites, but so disappointed to see it’s not actually safe for all of us.
Hi there! Thanks for the heads up! Not sure how that happened! You can of course, as the recipe indicates use any kind of DF cheddar (or other type of cheese as you would like) but I have fixed the link and put in another link for another option for you as well.So hope you like it and thanks again!
Yes, it should read non-dairy cheese. Can you recommend a brand that is tasty?
I haven’t tried that many but Follow Your Heart is one we liked. However, I have seen some poor reviews of it as well. I just found this powder—looks really interesting and I like the brand.
We’ve recently discovered the follow your heart brand and the taste is far superior to Daiya. It also melts into casseroles and even pizza. It does have rice flour and xanthan gum for those who are paleo or may be sensitive to those ingredients to know.
Adrienne, the link leads to a cheese powder. It is not dairy free, just gluten free. I just thought I’d clarify that if others need to be dairy free like us.
Thanks for the recipe!
Hello there! I did try that once and we liked it! I just edited that link and added another link to another cheese option as well. Thanks for the heads up. I really have no idea how that happened! I did notice that when you search “dairy free cheddar cheese” or “vegan cheese powder” on Amazon, that comes up – so again, I don’t know who put the link in there or if it changed as could happen (they sometimes have a different item put in for the same link) but it’s fixed now. Thanks and hope you like it!
This was great. I used ground turkey instead of beef and it was flavorful. Also, I haven’t found any dairy cheese that tastes good, so I left that out.
So glad you liked it! We haven’t made this in forever. Time to remedy that! You mean you haven’t found a non-dairy cheese that you like, correct?
Do you cook the noodles before adding them to browned beef mixture or add them in uncooked?
Hi there. I just updated the post to make it more clear. You add them uncooked. Hope you like it!
didn’t read all the details and subs on this one but would nutritional yeast work for paleo? and some zucchini noodles?? Looking forward to many more brilliant recipes and discoveries from Your exceptional brain and heart young lady!!
Hi there! Yes, you can do that and yes zucchini noodles are a great idea. Your encouragement has meant so much. I think you’ll really like this recipe! Please let me know how it goes.
Do you have a recommendation for dairy-free shredded cheddar? The few dairy free cheeses I have tried my family did not like.
I have not – sorry about that! We don’t buy processed df cheeses. I hope to work on a DIY one though!
I buy but shirataki noodles from vitacost and buy there label so much cheaper and since we now love them so. Found that the best way is to rinse longer salt the water you cook them in like you would with real pasta and cooker longer then paskage says, also when you drain them and cook in dry skillet also cook longer then put in soup or dress with your fave sauce delish.Great for carbonara.
Looks yummy! I am working on menu planning so I will have to go check out your tips!
Your link to the warm chicken BLT salad is not working. Would love to have that recipe.
Fixed – thanks!