5 Restaurant Chains With the Best Chili Mac, According to Diners
What do you get when you combine a hearty, meaty comfort food classic with a creamy, carby side dish? Chili mac, a decadent but delicious dish that will fill you up and then some. Chili mac can be made with mac and cheese smothered with chili, but some places also keep it a little more tame, covering a bowl of spaghetti noodles with chili. Where can you enjoy the meal? Here are 5 restaurant chains with the best chili mac, according to diners.
Skyline Chili
What is better than a bowl of Skyline Chili, featuring the chain’s “secret-recipe chili with beans and onions topped with shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream”? When it is served with macaroni. “Tried one Thursday night. Having my second as we speak!! Nuff said,” an Instagrammed revealed in a post about the dish.
Hard Times Cafe
Hard Times Cafe’s Texas Chili features “coarse ground beef cooked in its own juice, using an authentic turn of the century family spice blend and recipe,” according to the menu. “The Chili here is fantastic. If you have never been before I recommend asking for the free tasting flight so you can choose your best match. For me it is a combination of the Texas and the Cincinnati. I enjoy my chili via a Hard Times specialty called a Chilli Mac. I get mine three ways with Cheese & Onions on top of the Chilli on top of the most tender spaghetti. The rest of the menu is great too. The grilled wings are a can’t miss and the chicken wrap is special too,” a Yelper says.
Steak ‘n Shake
Steak ‘n Shake’s Chili Mac is made the spaghetti-noodle way, topped with their signature spicy beef chili, diced onions, shredded cheddar cheese, and a dollop of their “special sauce” (a blend of ketchup and Worcestershire). “Steak ‘N Shake chili is my all-time favorite restaurant chili! It’s got a really specific THICK texture – almost a sauce – that is unlike any other,” a blogger explains.
Culver’s
While Culver’s does not feature a dedicated “Chili Mac” on its official menu, you can easily create the hearty combination yourself by ordering a side of their Wisconsin Cheddar Cheese & Mac and pouring a cup of George’s® Chili over the top. The chili is simmered with homestyle beef, diced tomatoes, dark red kidney beans, peppers, onion, and celery, along with a secret blend of peppery spices.
Texas Roadhouse
Texas Roadhouse is another spot where you can recreate the dish. Order a side of macaroni and cheese alongside a bowl of the chain’s legendary thick, flavorful chili, no beans chili, topped with cheddar and onions, is legendary. “I know it sounds dumb as a side, but if you’re a meat lover, it’s worth mentioning,” the same Redditor says. “TXRH handcuts all of their steaks. Those trimmings are not wasted,” they continue, adding that this chili is “one of the most expensive chili you could make at home because it is ground Filet, ribeye, strip, and sirloin meat,” they write. “I’m a big fan. Additional secret menu item if you’re a freak, chili cheese cactus blossoms exist and it is exactly what it sounds like.”