Jalapeño Popper Mac N’ Cheese Recipe
- Recipe by: Chef Tony Reed, Spiceology Foodservice Director
- Difficulty level: Moderate
- Time: 45 minutes
Ingredients:
- 16oz large elbow macaroni or any tubular/shell pasta
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
- 3 cups whole milk (2% works too)
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 4 cups white cheddar cheese or any cheese you prefer, shredded
- 2 cups pepper jack cheese or any spicy cheese, shredded
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons Spiceology Jalapeño Popper Blend
Topping
- 4 cups white cheddar cheese, shredded
Procedure:
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Combine 4 cups of shredded white cheddar cheese and 2 cups of shredded pepper jack cheese in a bowl and set aside.
- In a large pot, cooking pasta in boiling water until al dente. Drain pasta into a colander and run under cold water to prevent pasta from cooking more.
- Once pasta is cooled drizzle with a touch of oil to prevent the pasta from sticking to each other.
- In the large pot, you cooked your pasta in, melt your butter on medium heat.
- Whisk in flour to your butter until bubbly and golden. Your roux should have a fragrance of popcorn.
- Gradually whisk in the milk and heavy cream. Whisk until the mixture of roux, milk and cream are smooth .
- Mix in your salt, pepper and Jalapeño Popper Blend.
- In two cup increments, start to stir in your cheese. Don’t add more cheese until the prior cheese has made your sauce silky smooth. Once you’ve finished mixing in cheese the sauce should be smooth and creamy
- Pour your finished pasta into the cheese sauce and mix well. You want all the pasta to get sauce on it
- In a 9 x13 baking dish pour half the pasta/sauce mixture into the pan. Take 2 cups of the topping cheese and spread over pasta/sauce mixture. Pour the rest of the pasta/sauce mixture over the top and finish with the remaining 2 cups of cheese left
- Place in the oven for 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Serve immediately or refrigerate for later.