| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 1 hr 15 min |
| Active: | 40 min |
| Yield: | 10 servings |
Ingredients
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pound (16 ounces) cavatappi pasta (or similar short-cut pasta)
- 1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup (65 grams) all-purpose flour
- 6 cups (1.44 kilograms) 2% or whole milk, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded mozzarella
- 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Swiss cheese
- 3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded Parmesan
- 1/2 cup store-bought pizza sauce
- 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
- A handful of fresh basil leaves, torn
Instructions
- Place an oven rack in the middle position. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the noodles and cook to al dente per the package instructions. Drain and set aside.
- In the same pot, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Stir in the flour and cook for about a minute. Add the milk, a cup at a time, whisking or stirring with a wooden spoon after each addition until thickened. Add the mozzarella, Swiss and 1/2 cup Parmesan and stir until melted. Season with salt and pepper. At this point if you want to add fun mix-ins like cut-up hot dogs, crispy bacon, peas or hot sauce, now’s the time to do so. Stir in the noodles. It may seem overly saucy at this point, but once it bakes up, it’ll be perfect!
- Pour into a 9-by-13-inch casserole dish. Dollop all over with the pizza sauce. In a medium bowl, toss the breadcrumbs, garlic, crushed red pepper flakes and remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan with a drizzle of olive oil and sprinkle all over the mac and cheese. Bake until browned and bubbly, about 25 minutes. Sprinkle with fresh basil and enjoy!
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 10 servings |
| Calories | 541 |
| Total Fat | 28 g |
| Saturated Fat | 15 g |
| Carbohydrates | 51 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Sugar | 9 g |
| Protein | 22 g |
| Cholesterol | 68 mg |
| Sodium | 616 mg |
Reviews
Delicious- a favorite in our house! Can this be prepped a day before baking?
OMG!!! This is so good! Came together quick on a weeknight which I appreciate. So creamy and tasty! We added pepperoni and black olives as our ‘pizza toppers’. This recipe is a keeper, especially with cooler temps and firing up the oven!!!
This recipe turned out beautifully, like every one of Molly’s recipes! I made it exactly as written and added a drizzle of pesto to each serving. Next time I make this I will add veggies and possibly meatballs to make it a full dinner. There are endless possibilities!
This was amazing! I halved the recipe, added a box of spinach and a few more spins. I will definitely be making this again! Delish!
This was delicious! Our whole family loved it. We used our homemade pizza sauce, but otherwise followed the exact recipe. It’s super creamy and the top is crunchy. The pizza sauce was a brilliant idea – next time I’ll add a couple dollops more because it was so delicious. Contrary to the previous review, Molly didn’t change the recipe. She used a 5 qt. Le Creuset Braiser, which I used as well, and the recipe fits perfectly and goes from stovetop to oven without having to dirty multiple dishes.
This is a fun spin on homemade mac and cheese. I love it when a recipe works without surprises. Next time I will probably use less Swiss and more mozzarella.
I made this last night and my picky eaters loved it!. I did not have swiss cheese so substitute 1/2 cheddar and 1/2 mozzarella for the swiss cheese. I also made my own pizza sauce -super easy (tomato paste, tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, garlic glove, garlic salt, onion flakes sugar). The only disappointment was Molly making the recipe on the show was different from the recipe. She used a round pan that could go in the oven to make the cheese mixture and added the pasta to that pan. I used a large circular pan that seemed to the same size and no way could the pasta have gone in it. I did switch to glass pan and cook at 350 degrees instead. I may downsize the recipe some so I can use the same pan, but if you have to bring a dish the glass 9 X 13 would work well.