This easy homemade mac & cheese recipe is one of the creamiest, cheesiest recipes around! And you’re going to love how easy it is to make- no flour, no roux, just simple cheesy goodness. One taste of it’s rich, velvety sauce with a little pepper jack kick, and you’ll never want to make any other mac & cheese again.
What You Need To Make Pepper Jack Mac & Cheese
- elbow macaroni
- butter
- half & half
- sharp cheddar cheese
- pepper jack cheese
- cream cheese
- egg
- salt & pepper, onion powder, ground mustard, smoked paprika
- red pepper flakes & dried parsley
The success of a good macaroni and cheese is all about the process. Yes, the ingredients need to be spot on and perfectly balanced, but if the process isn’t right… Well, that creamy, cheesy texture just doesn’t come out right. And with mac & cheese, that’s well, what everybody craves.
Here are some things to know:
- A baked mac & cheese always has a stiffer sauce than a stove top version. Stove top mac & cheese will always be more creamy. This is a stove top version that spends 2-3 minutes under the boiler to melt the grated cheese topping.
- The sharper the cheddar cheese you use, the more cheesy your mac & cheese will actually taste. I use sharp cheddar cheese, but you can also use extra sharp or a sharp white cheddar, if you really like strong cheese.
- As with any pasta dish, it’s important not to over cook the pasta. Make sure the water is boiling when you add the pasta and only cook it 5-6 minutes for a perfect al dente texture that holds up when the hot cheese is added, everything is stirred together and then put under the broiler.
The other essential for good macaroni and cheese is timeline. Ideally, we want the sauce and the pasta to be ready just about the same time. We don’t one having to sit and wait on the other. The sauce gets thick, the pasta gets cold, ick. Not good. So that everything comes together at just about the same time, make sure:
- You begin to grate your cheeses & make your sauce the minute you put a pot of water on the stove to boil for the macaroni.
- Put the butter in the pot the minute you pour the macaroni out into the colander. This way the boiler will still be HOT and will start to melt the butter before you even put the pasta back in.
- Let the pasta drain for just 1-2 minutes (don’t rinse it) so that it is still warm when you put it back in the boiler on top of the butter. Now that butter is sandwiched between the warm boiler and the warm macaroni and is just melting like… well, hot butter. Now you can gently toss that pasta and move on to putting your mac & cheese together.
- When making your sauce, it’s important to get that egg mixed into that half & half right away, before the cream gets warm, so your eggs don’t curdle. You might even whisk the two together before adding them to your sauce pot.
So let’s talk about those spot on, perfectly balanced ingredients for a minute.
- The cream cheese in this recipe helps create that smooth, velvety texture that we all love in a good macaroni and cheese. It also boosts that cheesy taste.
- Buying a block cheese and grating it yourself is not just a recipe “extra”; it is an absolute MUST. Shredded cheeses that you buy at the store are often coated in potato starch or other anti-clumping agents that keep the cheese from sticking and clumping together in it’s plastic bag as it’s boxed, shipped and stacked in the cold case at the grocery store. Pretty handy, except that those agents will also keep it from melting smoothly as its hand grated partner.
- Don’t want to hand grate your cheese? Use a food processor with a shredding blade and just run that cheese right through there. Talk about fast!
- Add your grated cheese to your sauce about a 1/2 C at a time. Whisk until it melts before you add more.
- Avoid a grainy sauce by making sure your mac & cheese only stays under the broiler 2-3 minutes. Also cutting the amount of half & half in the sauce with evaporated milk can help. If you’ve followed all the directions and your sauce stills turns out grainy, try 1 1/4 C half & half with 1 C evaporated milk next time.
My family loves this macaroni and cheese recipe, especially the addition of the pepper jack cheese! Warm and cheesy, all melty and gooey, this is one of the best comfort food recipes around.
This easy homemade mac & cheese recipe is one of the creamiest, cheesiest recipes around! One taste of the kick from the pepper jack cheese, you'll never want to make another mac & cheese again.
- 1 lb elbow macaroni
- 1 stick butter
- 2 1/4 C 1/2 & 1/2
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 4 oz cream cheese, room temperature
- 2 C hand grated sharp cheddar cheese
- 2 C hand grated pepper jack cheese
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp dried parsely
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp mustard powder
- 1/4 tsp each salt & pepper
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Turn oven on broil and spray 2-3 quart casserole dish with non stick cooking spray.
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Add pasta to boiling water and cook for 6 minutes. Drain. Return to pot and add butter. When butter melts, stir to coat pasta.
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While water is coming to a boil and pasta is cooking, shred cheeses. In a separate pot, over low heat, add half & half and beaten egg. Whisk together immediately. Add cream cheese whisk while melting.
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Add 1 C each of cheddar & pepper jack cheeses to the cream cheese mixture. Whisk until melted. Add herbs and spices. Whisk until smooth.
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Add pasta to cheese sauce. Stir until all the pasta is coated. Spoon half of the pasta into casserole dish. Top with 1/2 of the leftover grated cheeses. Spoon in the rest of the pasta and cheese sauce and top with the remaining grated cheeses. Top with a pinch of additional parsley and red pepper for color, if desired.
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Place under broiler just long enough to melt the grated cheese, 2-3 minutes. Remove from oven and serve!
Other Recipes You’ll Love
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- Southern Macaroni Salad
- Beef & Mushroom Rice
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