| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 50 min |
| Active: | 25 min |
| Yield: | 12 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds elbow macaroni
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 red onions, halved and thinly sliced
- 2 ears corn, shucked and kernels removed (about 1 1/2 cups)
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Two 4-ounce cans diced green chiles
- 6 tablespoons salted butter, plus more for the pan
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 cups whole milk
- 2/3 cup half-and-half
- 3 tablespoons adobo sauce from canned chipotles
- 1 cup cubed processed cheese, such as Velveeta
- 2 cups freshly grated Monterey Jack cheese
- 2 cups freshly grated pepper jack cheese
- One 10-ounce can diced tomatoes and chiles, undrained
- 1 cup tortilla chips, crushed
- Chili powder, for sprinkling
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. Cook the macaroni in the boiling water until just undercooked. Drain and set aside.
- Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the red onion and corn and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until the onion turns golden brown and the corn begins to blister, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in the green chiles to combine. Set aside.
- To make the sauce, melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Sprinkle in the flour, whisking to combine. Let the roux cook for a minute or so, whisking constantly. Pour in the milk, whisking constantly, followed by 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Cook the white sauce until thick and bubbly, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the half-and-half and adobo sauce. Add the processed cheese, 1 cup of the Monterey Jack and 1 cup of the pepper jack and continue to cook, stirring, until the cheese all melts. Add the cooked macaroni and stir to coat. Fold in the diced tomatoes and chiles.
- Butter a 9-by-13-inch disposable foil pan. Layer with half of the macaroni mixture, then half the corn mixture. Repeat the layers, ending with the corn mixture. Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup Monterey Jack and 1 cup pepper jack over the top. Sprinkle the crushed tortilla chips all over the cheese, then sprinkle with chili powder.
- To bake immediately, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Bake until bubbly and hot, 20 to 25 minutes. Sprinkle over the chopped cilantro and serve.
- To freeze the casserole for later, let cool completely, then cover with aluminum foil, fold over the edges to seal and freeze.
- If cooking from frozen, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Cook, covered, for 50 minutes, then uncover and bake until light brown and bubbly, about another 20 minutes. Sprinkle over the chopped cilantro and serve.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 12 servings |
| Calories | 626 |
| Total Fat | 31 g |
| Saturated Fat | 17 g |
| Carbohydrates | 62 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 4 g |
| Sugar | 9 g |
| Protein | 25 g |
| Cholesterol | 76 mg |
| Sodium | 727 mg |
Reviews
This is a great twist on plain mac and cheese! It is delish with the crispy tortilla chips.
I just watched this episode, and she said she drained the tomatoes. In the recipe, it says untrained.
Made this for first Friday in Lent. So tasty and creamy. I halved the recipe but still didn’t use half the noodles. Make sure to leave the macaroni/cheese mixture pretty saucy as it will get soaked up by noodles during baking. LOVED IT!
I left out the onions ans added a packet of Lipton onion soup mix. Also added 2 finely chopped jalapeno peppers with seeds. May add a can or 2 of chipotles next time.
This was amazing – flavors were on point, heat was there but not overwhelming, sauce was creamy. Everything you want in a fiesta Mac & Cheese! This is a keeper.
Oh My Goodness! This is delicious. The only thing I did was add a little more milk. It makes a lot. I’m going to try freezing half and see how that goes. Yumm
Easy and so delicious!
Made this for my nephew’s 10th birthday. Went over great. I thought there’d be leftovers, but not so much. I used canned corn and added an orange bell pepper. Yum!
This is delicious! The only “change” I made was to use frozen corn because I didn’t have any fresh at this time of year. The spiciness is even, and the cheese sauce is divine.
I made this for dinner the other night. I added some grilled chicken before I baked it and it made it even better!