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Fried Pickles for Josie’s Virtual Baby Shower » Annie's Eats-[] of The Curvy Carrot dished up these mini mac and cheese pies. Everyone loves mac and cheese, but it’s not exactly a party friendly food. A recipe for Baked Pimiento Cheese from Delish.com.
Is there any comfort food better than Mac and Cheese? I mean come on. Buttery, soft pasta enveloped in a rich, cheesy sauce. I don’t think there’s a man, woman, or child on this planet who doesn’t love it.
This Mac and Pimiento Cheese recipe just makes 4 servings which is the size of my family. As much as I love mac and cheese, I find it rarely does well as a leftover. The pasta sucks up all of the creamy goodness, turning it into a dry and stuck together mess of what tastes like overcooked pasta. Somehow all the flavor disappears.
What’s really great about this dish is it combines 2 of my favorite foods, mac and cheese and pimiento cheese. If you’re not from the south, you may not be that familiar with pimiento cheese, but we Southerners love it. In its basic form, it consists of grated cheddar, mayonnaise, and pimientos, all mixed together to form a cheese spread.
So really, all you need to do to turn mac and cheese into mac and pimiento cheese is add mayo and pimientos, but you wouldn’t believe how much these 2 small additions enhance the flavor. The mayonnaise adds creaminess and richness and the pimientos give a slight smokey taste.
Pimiento cheese is often served on top of Ritz crackers, so I’ve topped the mac and cheese with some Ritz crumbles. They are my absolute favorite topping for any kind of casserole dish, so unbelievably buttery and they bake up extra crisp and light. They are the perfect contrast in texture to the smooth and creamy mac and cheese, or penne and cheese in this case. Enjoy!
You can find lots more Mac and Cheese Recipes on my Pinterest Board dedicated to Mac and Cheese Recipes.
Mac and Pimiento Cheese
- 8 ounces mini penne pasta, cooked al dente
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- pinch of cayenne pepper
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1 (4-ounce) jar diced pimientos, drained
- 3/4 cup Ritz cracker crumbs
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- Preheat oven to 350° and spray an 11×7-inch baking dish with cooking spray
- Place a medium saucepan over medium heat and melt butter. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly for 1-2 minutes.
- Gradually whisk in milk, whisking thoroughly to avoid lumps. Add garlic salt, onion powder, and cayenne pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, or until slightly thickened.
- Remove from heat and stir in all but ½ cup cheese. Stir in mayonnaise and pimientos. Place cooked penne in a large bowl and add cheese mixture. Mix well and pour into prepared baking dish.
- In a small bowl, mix together remaining ½ cup cheese, cracker crumbs, and paprika. Sprinkle mixture over penne.
- Place in oven and bake for 15 minutes, or until bubbly and top is golden brown.
Serve: 4 servings
More Macaroni and Cheese Recipes
Macaroni and cheese jazzed up with crawfish and Andouille sausage. This baked Cajun Mac and Cheese is sure to please macaroni and cheese lovers who like their food a little on the spicy side.
Hope everyone is having a wonderful first weekend in Spring. I am enjoying my first weekend getaway in months in the beautiful historic town of Beaufort, SC. Pictures to come soon or take a peak at my Instagram for some glimpses at the beautiful lowcountry.
Today I bring you a recipe inspired by one of my other favorite port cities- New Orleans. Being a spice lover, I am a huge fan of Cajun food. Andouille sausage and crawfish are 2 of my favorite ingredients and they work wonderfully as additions to mac and cheese.
I know most people outside of Louisiana eat little if any crawfish. But the people in Louisiana more than make up for the non-crawfish eaters with their crawfish consumption. Crawfish are in season during the Spring months. Many specialty foods stores sell frozen crawfish tail meat in 1 pound bags. To defrost I put the bag in the refrigerator the night before I want to use them. If you don’t like crawfish or have access to them, shrimp are a good substitution.
The Andouille sausage adds lots of spice to this Cajun Mac and Cheese. I’ve used yellow and white cheddar, Mozzarella, and Parmesan, but you could use pretty much any cheese combination. Fontina, Monterey Jack, Gouda, and even a little Gruyère would work.
And if you are as big a mac and cheese fan as I am, take a look at this Pinterest Board with over 180 Macaroni and Cheese Recipes!
Cajun Mac and Cheese with Crawfish and Andouille Sausage
This Cajun mac and cheese is spiced up with Andouille sausage and crawfish. Four types of cheese and plenty of cheesy goodness.
Cook Time: 20minutes
Servings:
Ingredients
- 1tablespoonbutter
- 1Andouille sausage,sliced
- 1/3cupfinely diced onion
- 2tablespoonsfinely diced red bell pepper
- 1cupcooked crawfish tails
- 8ouncesmini penne or elbow pasta,cooked al dente
- 2eggs,lightly beaten
- 2/3cupmilk
- 1/4teaspoonpaprika
- 1/8teaspoongarlic powder
- 1/4teaspoonground white pepper
- 1/2teaspoonsalt
- 1 1/2cupsgrated sharp cheddar cheese
- 1cupshredded white cheddar
- 1cupshredded Mozzarella cheese
- 1/2cupshredded Parmesan
- 1/2cupcrushed Ritz crackers
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 2 quart baking dish with cooking spray.
- Melt butter in a sauté pan. Add Andouille sausage and sauté for 2 minutes. Add onion, red bell pepper, and crawfish. Saute 2 minutes and remove from heat.
- Place cooked pasta in a large bowl. Whisk together eggs and milk and pour in bowl with pasta.
- Add spices and salt to pasta bowl along with crawfish mixture.
- Mix cheeses in a medium bowl and set aside 1/2 cup of cheese. Add the rest of the cheese to the pasta. Mix together well and pour into prepared dish.
- Sprinkle cracker crumbs and reserved 1/2 cup cheese on top.
- Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake 15 minutes. Remove foil and bake uncovered for 5 minutes.
Nutrition
More Mac and Cheese Recipes