Spicy Skillet Supper

This is a one-skillet weeknight workhorse: ground beef browned with onion, then simmered with tomato sauce, elbow macaroni and a kick of chili powder until the pasta cooks right in the sauce. No separate pot of water, no draining, no second pan to wash.

Cooking the macaroni directly in the tomato sauce is what gives this dish its character. The pasta releases starch into the sauce as it cooks, thickening everything into a glossy coat that clings to each elbow. The trade-off is you have to stir often to keep the pasta from grabbing the bottom of the pan.

The single tablespoon of sugar isn’t there to make the dish sweet. It rounds out the acidity of the canned tomato sauce, the same trick Italian cooks use in long-simmered red sauce. Skip it and the dish tastes sharp; add it and everything tastes balanced.

Drained diced chili peppers do the heavy work on heat, while chili powder rounds it out with earthy cumin, garlic and paprika notes. Together they sit somewhere between American chili mac and a mild Tex-Mex skillet.

Pro Tips

• Pour off the rendered fat after browning, otherwise the finished dish reads greasy.
• Keep the simmer gentle and cover the pan. Hard boiling burns the bottom before the pasta softens.
• Stir from the bottom up every few minutes. The macaroni sticks fast in tomato sauce.
• If the sauce thickens before the pasta is tender, splash in another ¼ cup hot water and keep going.

Variations

• Top with shredded cheddar or pepper jack for the last 2 minutes, covered, for an instant cheesy skillet.
• Swap ground beef for ground turkey or plant-based crumbles.
• Add a can of drained black beans or corn for a more Tex-Mex direction.