| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 30 min |
| Active: | 20 min |
| Yield: | 4 to 6 servings |
Ingredients
- Kosher salt
- 1 pound medium shell pasta
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 1 cup half-and-half
- 2 cups grated Cheddar (about 8 ounces)
- 1 cup grated Colby Jack cheese (about 4 ounces)
- 1 heaping teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1/8 teaspoon paprika
- Dash of hot sauce
- 4 ounces cream cheese, cut into cubes
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain and reserve.
- Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. When it begins to foam, sprinkle in the flour and stir until it becomes pasty, about 1 minute. Whisk in the milk and half-and-half and bring to a low simmer. Stir until the mixture looks thick, about 5 minutes. Add the Cheddar and Colby Jack cheese by handfuls, stirring well after each addition until melted. Mix in the mustard, paprika and hot sauce. Then fold in the cream cheese and stir well until melted. Season with salt and pepper. Lastly stir in the cooked pasta.
- Serve the mac and cheese immediately while still warm and at its creamiest.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 6 servings |
| Calories | 752 |
| Total Fat | 41 g |
| Saturated Fat | 24 g |
| Carbohydrates | 67 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 3 g |
| Sugar | 8 g |
| Protein | 28 g |
| Cholesterol | 119 mg |
| Sodium | 626 mg |
Reviews
Confession. I’ve never made macaroni and cheese before (and I cook a Lot) but had some lobster and a little bacon and this looked great., so I tried it. It was SO creamy and rich and overwhelmingly decadent. We all said we’ll each just have a little. Not possible. My husband had thirds. Not for everyday meals but oh so good for a Special Occasion or a special family get together. YUM!
Easy recipe to follow and turned out good! The sauce is a little bland so don’t be afraid to go heavy on salt or spice or whatever you prefer
Loved it. Served it for Thanksgiving and family went nuts. I did add some Lawry’s season salt and about a cup of grated Parmesan to it.
I love this recipe, however it doesn’t reheat to the same deliciousness…. does anyone have any tricks as to how to have Thai be a good leftover?
I make this at least a couple of times a month. The whole family loves it and I always have the ingredients on hand. The only thing I add is a little Velveeta(about 4 oz) because VELVEETA. I skip the half and half and it is not missed.
This turned out okay. It’s not bad but it’s not great either. It’ll be eaten but I doubt this recipe will stick around.
I have made this a number of times. It always comes out good. You might add some more 1/2 1/2 if it gets to thick. I do 1/2 the recipe and it’s still good. I feel 6 stars would be more adequate.
Yummmmm! I am not a macaroni and cheese lover, but during lent I don’t have a lot of options since I don’t eat seafood. This macaroni and cheese is really creamy and delicious (I put a swirl of ketchup on my serving because I’m weird like that.) Everyone enjoyed this recipe. Only change I made was that I seasoned with Creole seasoning instead of salt and pepper.
This recipe is HORRIBLE!!! Don’t waste your time and ingredients! Wish I could give it NO stars. PS I know how to cook as I grew up in a restaurant.
This was tasty! Once you start with the sauce ingredients it’s constant hands-on time with the stirring, so have everything prepped before you start. I left out the mustard, paprika and hot sauce until I had the sauce all made and I could taste-test, I could not believe dijon mustard had any place in mac and cheese. But it was bland, so I bravely added the dijon mustard and YES it belongs in there! I also added the paprika, tho I left the hot sauce out because at that point it was already delicious! I think I might add it to the leftovers and see how that goes.