29 Mac and Cheese Upgrades You’ll Want to Make
Homemade mac and cheese recipes are easy and such great comfort food. You’ll want to try all these easy macaroni and cheese recipes.
The beautiful thing about mac & cheese is that it can be such a down-home dish or you can make it sophisticated and gourmet. It’s a versatile classic and crowd pleaser.
Make it in a pot, a cast iron skillet, or prepare a baked mac and cheese in the oven. You can also make it in the Instant Pot, and we have a whole separate collection of Instant Pot mac and cheese recipes.
All of these recipes are pretty easy to make. But many of them take macaroni and cheese to the next level. They use special cheeses like smoked Gouda or Gruyere instead of cheddar. They add unexpected ingredients like onion and dijon. Or meat, breadcrumbs, etc.
Homemade Macaroni and Cheese Recipes
Looking for a twist on a classic mac and cheese? Make this Cajun mac and cheese and take your homemade mac n cheese to a whole new level. Add shrimp and this becomes Cajun Shrimp mac and cheese will become a family favorite.
Take standard mac and cheese to new heights with this smoked gouda mac and cheese with pancetta. Elbow noodles meet gouda cheese, garlic, pancetta or bacon, shallots, and more, to create this seriously impressive dish.
This Seafood Macaroni and Cheese with Sardines is loaded with high-quality sardines, along with creamy Jarlsberg and Parmesan cheeses, and is an easy and flavorful side dish.
All you have to do is say cheese, bacon, and onion and I'm there. This homemade mac and cheese recipe has a from-scratch cheese sauce, plus caramelized sweet onions and crispy bacon. Â
This recipe was designed to use up leftover turkey after a holiday meal. But you can have it any time. It adds ranch salad dressing for extra flavor.
The poblano peppers add a little bit of spice, but nothing too wild. The smoked Gouda adds a touch of that smoky flavor.
This recipe promises you can make a better Lobster Mac & Cheese than your
favorite restaurant and at a fraction of the price. Imagine being able to whip up this dish at home!
If you've never baked mac and cheese, now's the time. This recipe is creamy and cheesy, and you can brown it that extra little bit for that roasted flavor.
If you've ever thought macaroni and cheese can be dull, try adding buffalo wing sauce and shredded chicken to it. This delicious dish packs a lot of flavor. And all you have to do is throw all the ingredients in a slow cooker and let it do its work.
The addition of roasted veggies takes this mac & cheese to a whole new level. You add garlic to the cheese sauce for a ton of extra flavor.
In this recipe, avocado forms part of the base along with the creamy cheese. It's a whole new flavor for mac and cheese.
This is a creamy, cheesy mac recipe made with Garlic & Herb Boursin Gournay cheese. It has white wine and herbs for delicious flavoring.
These little mac and cheese cups come with veggies, and each makes a great single serving. You can freeze them for batch cooking and thaw, heat and serve them as sides and snacks over time.
Dish up this ultra cheesy side dish for dinner tonight. This cast iron skillet mac and cheese is the ultimate mac and cheese recipe. You have tender pasta smothered in a cheesy sauce. Then top with another layer of cheese and bake until golden brown.
This easy pesto mac and cheese is made with short pasta tossed in a creamy homemade cheese sauce. You can make it gluten-free with gluten-free noodles.
Two classic childhood favorites come together in this cheesy, gooey,
pepperoni and noodle baked skillet. It only takes about 30 minutes to make and is sure to please kids, too.
This Hatch Green Chile Mac and Cheese Recipe is the perfect go-to for any holiday gatherings or just a weekend BBQ. Be sure to have some fresh roasted Hatch Green Chiles on hand.
I'll eat just about anything with fried onions on it. This recipe has it all - it's creamy, cheesy, rich, and crunchy,.
This recipe requires only plant-based ingredients, like cashews and almond milk, making it suitable for vegans. Â
Using a can of Manwich Bold and a can of Manwich chunky, plus some ground beef or turkey, you can put a whole new twist on Chili mac.
Mac and cheese on its own is great. Mac and cheese stuffed poblano peppers is taking things to another level. This stuffed peppers recipe tastes great and is extremely easy to pull together.
You cook this one in your smoker.
If you're dairy free, lactose intolerant, or allergic to dairy, you may think you can't eat mac & cheese. But you'd be wrong. This one has just the right blend of vegan butter and cheeses to work.
This recipe is classic comfort food. Take your creamy, homemade macaroni and cheese to the next level with a little ham and roasted broccoli.
Bake up the cheesiest white cheddar mac and cheese for the ultimate comfort food. This recipe is made with Gouda and white cheddar cheese, then topped with a pretzel crust.
This is a carefully honed recipe for Cajun Crawfish mac and cheese, which makes use of the best Cajun flavors and melting cheeses to make a spectacular seafood and pasta dish.
Sometimes you just want a bowl of mac and cheese, and you want it now, and there's no reason to cook a whole pot. And it only takes 5 minutes.
In this mac & cheese, pureed sweet potato replaces some of the cheese. You also get bacon and onion for added smoke and savory flavor.
This Gorgonzola Apple Walnut Mac and Cheese is so creamy with apples,
walnuts, and prosciutto. That gives you sweet, nutty and smoky flavors to balance out the cheese.
A little bit spicy and a little bit sweet, this recipe features cranberry and chorizo sausage. For spice, there's pickled jalapeno and dijon.
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