Ragin’ Cajun Mac and Cheese Recipe
A kickin’ macaroni and cheese entrée with two types of cheddar, sautéed veggies, Andouille sausage and Creole seasoning. This isn’t your average mac and cheese.
The husband has been on me to make some homemade mac and cheese. Cheese is pretty expensive so I decided if I was going to make it, it would be an entrée. I took out what cheeses I had, which was mild cheddar and white cheddar leftover from some apple recipes I had been testing; Roasted Apple & White Cheddar Soup and Bacon Apple Grilled Cheese. On a side note, these two apple and cheddar recipes are amazing. You should check them out as well.
Andouille sausage seems to go great with just about any dish, so I decided to add that in as my protein and of course Creole seasonings.
The picture above does not include green or red pepper unfortunately. I had run out when I was putting this post together. I will update the picture as soon as I make this again.
This recipe is an original recipe from One Acre Vintage Homestead – Pumpkin Patch Mountain Homestead, all images and text are original to this website. Please visit our disclaimer page for more information on our recipe sharing policies.
Ragin' Cajun Mac & Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 lb. penne pasta, jumbo elbows, corkscrew...[$1.00]
- 1 stick butter, divided...[$1.00]
- 1 medium onion, chopped...[$0.40]
- 1 medium green pepper, chopped...[$0.50]
- 1 medium red pepper, chopped...[$0.50]
- ½ cup all purpose flour, ...[$0.11]
- 4 cups milk, ...[$0.92]
- 3 cups white cheddar, shredded...[$3.00]
- 3 cups mild cheddar, shredded...[$3.00]
- 1 lb. Andouille sausage, chopped, 2 links...[$4.00]
- 1 tbsp. salt, ...[$0.21]
- ½ tbsp. black pepper, ...[$1.12]
- 1 tbsp. Cajun/Creole seasoning, divided...[$0.51]
- ½ cup bread crumbs, ...[$0.15]
Instructions
- Boil your pasta until it is al dente and pour in greased 13x9 baking dish. Add the chopped sausage on top of cooked pasta.
- In a large pot, melt 1 tbsp. butter and sauté chopped onion, green pepper, and red pepper for about 5 minutes.
- Add 6 tbsp. butter to sautéed vegetables and stir until melted.
- Whisk in flour slowly and stir to make a thick roux. Let cook for a few minutes.
- Slowly whisk milk into roux until all is combined and smooth.
- Add all 6 cups of cheddar cheeses, salt, pepper, and ¾ tbsp. Creole seasoning to sauce pot. Cook and stir until the mixture is smooth and creamy and no lumps of cheese is stuck to the whisk.
- Pour cheese mixture on top of sausage and noodles. Mix all together so cheese gets in all the corners and crevices.
- Melt remaining tablespoon of butter and add breadcrumbs and ¼ tbsp. Creole Seasoning. Stir and sprinkle on top of pasta.
- Bake at 325 °F for 15 minutes. Serve and enjoy!