Dutch Oven Chili Mac
Macaroni, beef, and three cans, baked under coals until the cheese sets.
- calories
- 620
- weight
- 13 oz
- cal / oz
- 48
- protein
- 32 g
- serves
- 6, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 50 min
- total time
- 60 min
- water
- 2000 ml boiled
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Dutch oven
- Campfire coals
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Nut free
- One pot
- Grab and go
- Needs a cooler
- Actual cooking
Ingredients
| Elbow macaroni | 2 cups | about 6 oz dry |
|---|---|---|
| Ground beef | 1 lb | |
| Onion | 1, chopped | you want about 3/4 cup |
| Green pepper | 1, chopped | about 3/4 cup |
| Dry taco seasoning | 1 packet | 1 1/2 oz |
| Water | 1/4 cup | |
| Chili beans in sauce | 1 can (15 oz) | do not drain |
| Corn | 1 can (15 oz) | do not drain |
| Diced tomatoes with chilies | 1 can (10 oz) | do not drain |
| Shredded cheese | 10 oz total | 8 oz stirred in, 2 oz on top |
| Salt | 1/2 tsp |
Method
- Get a bed of coals going. Fill the dutch oven halfway with water and set it over the coals at around 300°F until it boils.
- Add the macaroni and boil 10 minutes. Pour it off into a bowl and dump the water well away from camp.
- Chop the onion and pepper while the pasta cooks. Roughly 3/4 cup of each.
- Put the empty oven back over a hotter bed, around 375°F, and brown the beef for 5 minutes, breaking it up as you go.
- Add the onion and pepper. Cook another 5 minutes until the beef has no pink left.
- Stir in the taco seasoning and 1/4 cup water. Cook 3 to 5 more minutes.
- Add the beans, corn, and tomatoes with all their liquid, then the macaroni, 8 oz of cheese, and the salt. Stir it together.
- Lid on. Move most of the coals to the lid and bake at about 350°F for 20 minutes.
- Scatter the last 2 oz of cheese over the top and bake 10 minutes more, then pull it off the heat.
This is a car-camping recipe and it stays one. The cans and the pound of beef are heavy, and the dish depends on twenty minutes of even, lidded heat, which is not something a canister stove does. If you have a cooler and a fire ring, it feeds six out of one pot.
The canning liquid is the sauce. Drain the beans, corn, and tomatoes and you have dry macaroni casserole, so leave them alone — or add a quarter cup of water back if you already poured. The bake matters too: it is what melts the cheese through the pasta instead of leaving it in stringy pockets on top.
Packing
Cans, pasta, and the seasoning packet are shelf-stable and can live in the food bin. Beef and cheese ride in the cooler. Chop the onion and pepper at home into a bag if you would rather not do knife work at the fire.
Variations
- Swap the beef for two cans of drained black beans and a can of lentils to make it vegetarian. Add a tablespoon of oil so it does not stick.
- No dutch oven: build the whole thing in a deep pot over a stove and skip the bake. It will be looser but it eats the same.
- A can of green chilies or a few dashes of hot sauce covers for a bland seasoning packet.
https://www.boyscouttrail.com/content/recipe/chili_casserole-2444.asp