Smoky Three-Pepper Vegan Chili Mac

Chili night meets mac and cheese night in this smoky, soul-warming bowl of comfort. A deeply flavored chili base built from charred poblano, smoky chipotle, and earthy ancho peppers simmers low and slow with fire-roasted tomatoes, kidney beans, and savory plant-based ground 'meat' until thick and rich. Tender elbow noodles get folded right into the pot, soaking up all that smoky, spicy flavor, before everything is crowned with a velvety cashew queso, crushed tortilla chips for crunch, and tangy pickled jalapeños for brightness. This dish is 100% plant-based, delivering plenty of plant protein and fiber from the beans and lentil-based meat substitute while skipping the dairy and animal products entirely. The cashew queso brings a luxurious, cheesy richness using soaked cashews, nutritional yeast, and a touch of turmeric for color, making this an ideal dinner for anyone craving indulgent comfort food that also happens to be heart-healthy and cholesterol-free. Perfect for chilly nights, game day gatherings, or anytime you want two beloved comfort classics in a single pot, this chili mac is freezer-friendly, easily scalable, and sure to win over vegans and omnivores alike.</long_description> <parameter name="meta_description">Smoky three-pepper vegan chili mac: chipotle, ancho &amp; poblano chili folded with elbow noodles, topped with cashew queso and tortilla chips.

Ingredients

• 1 cupraw cashews, soaked in hot water 30 minutes, drained
• 2 wholePoblano pepper, charred, seeded, and diced
• 2 wholechipotle peppers in adobo sauce, minced, plus 1 tbsp adobo sauce
• 2 tbspDried ancho chile powder
• 1 largeyellow onion, diced
• 4 clovesgarlic, minced
• 12 ozPlant-based ground 'meat'
• 28 ozFire-roasted diced tomatoes, canned
• 15 ozkidney beans, canned, drained and rinsed
• 2 cupsvegetable broth
• 1 tbspground cumin
• 1 tspsmoked paprika
• 1 tspdried oregano
• 2 tbspolive oil
• 1.5 tspsalt, plus more to taste
• 0.5 tspblack pepper
• 12 ozElbow macaroni noodles
• 0.25 cupnutritional yeast
• 0.75 cupUnsweetened plant milk
• 1 tbsplemon juice
• 0.25 tspground turmeric, for color
• 1 cupTortilla chips, crushed, for topping
• 0.5 cupPickled jalapeños, for topping
• 0.25 cupfresh cilantro, chopped, optional, for garnish

Method

No instructions listed.