Macaroni and cheese is everyone’s favorite comfort food and it’s a great addition to any holiday table, making both kids and adults happy. I’ve made it a kazillion ways using different varieties of cheese, baked, straight from the pot, with a bread crumb topping, and without.
This recipe was invented because I had a half cup of Alfredo sauce in my fridge and didn’t want it to go to waste. I figured it would meld well with the other ingredients I had on hand, and I was right! It was ooey, gooey cheesy and so easy to throw together.
Variations: Choose your own cheese blends and try different flavors of creamed soup and
Alfredo sauce. (The sauce I had was garlic flavored; otherwise I would have added a couple of minced garlic cloves as we are garlic lovers.) Add a diced jalapeno pepper or a dash of cayenne if you like it spicy. Use different pasta shapes, but I suggest staying with one that will hold the cheese, such as shells, elbow or penne.
Ingredients:
- 3 cups uncooked small shell pasta
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (I used a combo of white and sharp)
- 1/2 cup Alfredo sauce
- 1 – 10.5 oz can cream of mushroom soup
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup milk
Topping:
- 4 T melted butter
- 1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs (you can also use Panko or plain flavor)
- 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Directions:
- Heat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Cook the pasta until just al dente (don’t overcook), drain and set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix the shredded cheddar cheese, Alfredo sauce, cream soup, sour cream and milk until combined.
- Add the cooked pasta and mix well.
- Pour into a greased 8 x 8 glass baking dish.
- Melt the butter, remove from heat and add the Parm cheese and bread crumbs and mix until fully combined.
- Spread the crumb mixture on top of the pasta.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until the pasta is bubbling and the topping is golden brown.
- Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.
Serves 4-6
