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Loaded Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Loaded Baked Macaroni and Cheese

A hearty, cheesy, one pot adult mac & cheese that feels like home.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 6

Equipment

  • oven
  • deep pan
  • tin foil

Ingredients
  

Pasta

  • 4 tbsp vegan butter
  • 6 tbsp flour
  • 3 cups oat milk or another dairy alternative
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1/2 box macaroni rotini, fusilli, or penne, for example
  • 2 cups shredded smoked gouda or sharp cheddar
  • 1 cup shredded mozzerella or another mild melting cheese

Pasta Add-ins

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 handful mushrooms chopped
  • 1/2 yellow onion chopped
  • 2 beyond meat italian sausage or tofurkey
  • 1/2 head of broccoli broken up into bite size florets
  • 1/2 green bell pepper chopped
  • 1 carrot sliced into rounds

Topping

  • 1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
  • 1/4 cup grated smoked gouda
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350F.
  • In a deep pan on medium heat, add olive oil to start the pasta add-ins. Start with onions, mushrooms and sausage. Rotate the sausages as they cook, until browned all around, ~5-10 minutes.
  • When sausages are brown all around, remove from pan, cut into 1/2" rounds on a cutting board. Add the rest of the add-ins before starting to cut up the sausage, give them some time to sautee. Re-introduce the sausage, and mix everything up for a few more minutes.
  • Add butter, mix it up, until melted. Add flour to create a roux, stirring constantly for 1-2 minutes until it becomes a thick paste.
  • Add half the milk, and stir to dissolve the roux into the milk, it will thicken. When thick, stir in the rest of the milk.
  • Add in water, salt, and pepper. Turn the heat up to medium-high. Continue stirring until the sauce begins to steam and thicken, sticking to the edges of the pan, ~2-3 minutes.
  • Lower heat to medium, and gently stir in dried macaroni, getting it covered in sauce ~1 minute.
  • Cover the pan with tinfoil, then immediately transfer it to the oven on the middle rack.
  • Bake for 12 minutes. Remove from oven. Change the oven to broil.
  • Remove tinfoil, stir in the shredded cheese, just enough to spread the cheese throughout the macaroni. Don't over-stir.
  • Sprinkle breadcrumbs, shredded cheese, then place under the broiler for a few minutes until it starts to brown.
  • Remove from oven, sprinkle on smoked paprika, and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Keyword dinner