I love recipes where one ingredient elevates a whole dish, and when I can take a comfort food like baked mac and cheese and make it even more delicious and dreamy? I’m pretty much in heaven.
To spike your mac and cheese you have to do one thing: take the cheese to the next level! I think gorgonzola is the perfect addition, but any creamy blue cheese available at the Italian or specialty grocery store closest to you will make your dinner super luxurious. Blue cheese adds a tanginess that makes the creaminess of the cheddar stand out more, and it deepens the flavour from top to bottom.
I’m a comfort food junkie, and when I really need to make it count & feel a little indulged this has yet to fail me.
Bonus Points: Want to impress your favourite vegan?
Use Daiya cheese, vegan margarine & soy milk- and spike it with chopped walnuts!
Spiked Mac & Cheese (adapted from this)
Grab…
Salt
2 1/2 cups skim or 2% milk
2 bay leaves
1 pound macaroni
4 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup mild/medium cheddar
1 cup crumpled gorgonzola (or other blue cheese)
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup bread crumbs (or to taste)
Okay!
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Salt a large pot of water and bring it to a boil.
2. Put the bay leaves in the milk and cook in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook until small bubbles appear along the sides (about 5 minutes) then turn off the heat and let stand.
3. Cook the pasta until it’s a few minutes short of being tender, then drain and rinse it quickly in cold water to stop it from cooking further. Set aside.
4. In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, melt 3 tablespoons of butter. When it starts to foam, add the flour and stir, cooking until brown (about 5 minutes).
5. Remove the bay leaves from the milk and add 1/4 cup of the cooked milk to the flour mixture, whisking until combined. Continue adding the milk 1/4 cup at a time until the milk is used and the mixture is smooth.
6. Add the cheddar & stir until combined.
7. Use the remaining tablespoon of butter to grease a 9 by 13 inch baking pan. Pour the noodles into the pan, then add the sauce over the noodles, stirring until combined. Fold in the gorgonzola, then top with breadcrumbs and bake until bubbling and crumbs turn brown, about 15 minutes.
8. Serve deliciously hot!
{ 45 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh goodness, I need to try this IMMEDIATELY. I want to dive into that photo!
YUM! Will be trying this very, *very* soon (^_^)
Oh, I love mac n’ cheese! It’s by far one of my most favorite foods in this entire world! Especially extra creamy and full of black pepper. Yum!!! This sounds SO good, thank you for posting Kyla!
Oh! I LOVE mac n cheese with blue cheeses in them! It’s a terrible addiction of mine. I should try and make this recipe soon — thanks for posting it!
I’m not a huge fan of any blue cheese, but ohmygoodness this sounds amazing!
man, i’m hungry now. and it’s so hard to get decent cheddar here :(
And now I’m hungry. Like hugely hungry. Thanks for sharing :)
This looks delicious. Since it is rather cold out here (Sasakatchewan!) today I may make this for supper tonight! Mmm… I even have blue cheese in the fridge! Perfect! =)
Wow Kyla! This looks ah-ma-zing. I think I might tackle the vegan version, sounds pretty amazing with walnuts in it :)
I know what I am making for dinner tonight. Thanks, this looks so good.
Oooh yummy. Homemade Mac & cheese is one of my all-time favorite foods *ever*! :) I’ll have to try this!
I have really, really been turned off by comfort foods for the duration of this pregnancy, Mac and Cheese being one of the worst offenders. BUT- when I’m not pg I love M&C, and I’m counting down the days until I no longer hate my favorite foods.
Oh no! I hope I didn’t contribute to any morning nausea! I’ll enjoy mine in the mean time for you, miss :)
that looks DELICIOUS!
That looks amazing! The restaurant I work at has a mac & cheese dish that uses bleu cheese. I didn’t think it would taste good at first, but it’s actually pretty delicious. Who knew bleu cheese in mac and cheese could taste so good?
Yum – that looks amazing! One of my favorite vegan friends made me some mac and cheese using nutritional yeast in place of cheese. It was fabulous.
Fact: I have nutritional yeast sprinkled on whole wheat toast every morning. I’m totally addicted, to the point that the vegan version sounds almost a little better to me! lol I think the nutritional yeast might be taking over my brain ;)
oh, yummy yummy. i have to be on a diet, but that mac is calling my name! especially with those bread crumbs.
For me, it’s the breadcrumbs that TRULY make the difference between good mac and cheese and AMAZING mac and cheese.
Mmm! I absolutely love mac and cheese. I will definitely be trying this recipe out as soon as possible. :)
Those photos are making me hate you because it’s 10am and now the only thing I want for breakfast is mac and cheese. And I’m desperately trying to cut down on my pasta intake because it’s a little ridiculous how much I love noodles.
xoxo :-)
i love adding blue cheese to mac and cheese, it’s so tasty!
and i have to admit when i read the title i thought “is kyla adding alcohol to mac and cheese!?” because then i really needed to know what it was, haha.
lol! I was on a skype chat with someone today and in the middle of our conversation they went “KYLA! THERE IS NO ALCOHOL IN YOUR MAC AND CHEESE!” I burst out laughing, I think that title might have been a bit of a tease ;)
Looks so yummy!! I will definitely have to give this a try. ^.^
xo.
Whoa… that looks SO GOOD.
This looks way better than my “fancy” mac n’ cheese… aka Kraft Dinner with cut-up (soy) hot-dogs mixed in! What can I say, it’s a Canadian tradition!
Oooh, even the vegan version sounds awesome!
I love it when you share recipes! This sounds amazing. Almost as amazing as the salted chocolate chip cookies that have become a staple in our house.
I follow the same recipe for my mac and cheese (minus spiking it) but adding gorgonzola sounds fabulous! The other day I made grilled cheese sandwiches and added all the different cheeses I had in the fridge (cheddar, feta, parmesan, and some others). It tasted heavenly!
YUUUUUUUUUUUUUUM! I love mac and cheese but have only ever had the proper stuff made for me. I only make the packet stuff, i shall have to give this a go – looks super tasty!
oh my gosh, i so know what i want for dinner tonight! its looks and sound sooo yummy.
Zoe
http://blessedbeeapothecary.blogspot.com/
nom! And so easy! I’m sure the breadcrumbs add a lot to the dish.
Yummers! I definitely try to include all my little leftover knobs of cheese in my mac and cheese, and blue is always a favorite. Pioneer Woman once posted a recipe where she mixed gorgonzola into her marinara for spaghetti. fun idea!
Kyla…Just found your website and LOVE it. I’ll be a regular for here on out. Plus…mac ‘n cheese…yum.
Must try this soon, it looks so delicious! Romano & parmesan also tastes really great in macaroni and cheese. I always add it to my Kraft ;)
YUM. I love all things cheesy, so naturally I think this idea is brilliant.
Oooh that looks SO good!
This sounds amazing. I have an awful cold today and comfort food sounds like heaven. I may just need to make this tonight.
Mac & Cheese has got to be one of the best creations ever in the history of ever. And making it at home is SO EASY. Plus, I’ve deluded myself into thinking that homemade mac is extra healthy because it was made with love right in my very own kitchen.
Oh my goodness I need to make this IMMEDIATELY! <3
Oh yummmmy! I need a kitchen. And ASAP.
Ohhhh, yum. I’m actually drooling.
I made this recipe this weekend and it was super delish! I looove gorgonzola and never thought to add it to mac & cheese. I’m posting about it on Wednesday :) Thank you for sharing.
This sounds amazing! Now that life is reaching a point of normalcy, maybe I’ll just get to the kitchen and make some!
Sounds Amazing!! Must make ASAP. Cambazola is a tasty gorgonzola/blue cheese alternative as well!
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