By Vallery Lomas
- Total Time
- 1 hour and 10 minutes
- Rating
- 4(583)
- Notes
- Read community notes
This recipe combines two classic Southern dishes to create something special: Pimento cheese, a spread for sandwiches, crackers and vegetables, meets mac and cheese for a peppery and spicier version of the traditional baked casserole. The core ingredients of pimento cheese — sharp yellow Cheddar, pimento peppers and cream cheese — cook into a sauce that’s creamier and tangier than the usual purely cheese base.
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Ingredients
Yield:8 servings
- 10tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for dish
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1pound macaroni elbows
- ½cup panko bread crumbs
- 1small yellow onion, diced
- 2garlic cloves, minced
- 1jalapeño, minced (seeded if desired for mild heat)
- ½cup all-purpose flour
- 1teaspoon paprika
- 4cups whole milk
- 12ounces sharp yellow Cheddar cheese, grated (3 cups)
- 4ounces cream cheese, softened
- 2(2-ounce) jars sliced pimentos, drained (½ cup)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
714 calories; 41 grams fat; 24 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 11 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 62 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 9 grams sugars; 25 grams protein; 689 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with butter. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente according to package instructions. Drain, rinse under cold water and drain again.
Step
2
Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons butter in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the panko and cook, stirring often, until golden and toasted, 3 to 5 minutes. Immediately remove from heat and set aside to cool.
Step
3
Melt remaining 8 tablespoons butter in a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic and jalapeño and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add flour and paprika, stir well, and cook until vegetables are coated, about 1 minute.
Step
4
While whisking, carefully stream in the milk until smooth and incorporated. Bring to a simmer while continuing to whisk. Simmer, whisking often, until thickened, 5 to 7 minutes. Reduce heat to low and add the Cheddar cheese, cream cheese and pimentos, and stir until the cheese is completely melted and smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Step
5
Add cooked pasta and stir to coat. Transfer to the baking dish and spread evenly. Evenly sprinkle the toasted panko on top. Bake until golden and bubbling, 20 to 25 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 minutes, then serve.
Ratings
4
out of 5
583
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Cooking Notes
Susan Alexander
All right but not fabulous. Doubled the amount of pimentos, but it is no substitute for real pimento cheese (great recipe on this site, link above). Also would use parmesan rather than bread crumbs for topping. Cheese sauce nice with the onion and garlic. Would omit the paprika though.
gale
This was really wonderful and didn't change a thing. I could tell from reading it how good it was going to be and I was right. Definitely a keeper.
coni
It is good, but needs help. I used a 220g jar of piquillo peppers and an extra garlic clove.
RAC
Doubled cream cheese and pretty much all cheeses along with pimento and came out perfectly.
Alisha
Usually a mac and cheese purist, but this really was amazing! Followed everything except for substituting 1/4 of the cheddar for Gruyere for a little depth of flavor. I would suggest taking the milk/flour combo off the heat before stirring in the cheese to avoid stringy-separation. Overall fab, would make again!
AFIB
This was a really great spin on a classic. I’m wondering if the people who found it lacked flavor followed all of the seasoning steps listed. If you properly salt your water, and add salt and pepper at the two separate moments as directed in the recipe, the flavor should be on point. But of course, a little extra hot pepper to suit one’s taste never hurts. Looking forward to making again!
Meghan in Denver
My family loved this—very flavorful. A few modifications:-Fresno instead of jalapeño pepper (what I had)-two shallots instead of an onion (didn’t realize I was out of onions)-am extra clove of garlic (because why not?)-doubled the pimientos (because the are delicious). This was loved by kids (7, 11 & 13) and adults.
Jennifer
We will be making this again! I used a sleeve of crunched up Ritz on the top with some parmesan. Also only had smoked paprika and it was great.
Susan
We need Mom's recipe!!! If you can share!
Dani
Use cheez-its instead of bread crumbs and thank me later
Susan A.
Instead of pimentos I added a jar of salsa with a couple of spoonfuls of picked jalapeños. Personally loved the change up, but many in the family claimed that one shouldn’t mess with mac and cheese.
CWB
My family absolutely adored this new take on our usual mac and cheese. I used extra sharp cheddar. Toasting the panko is a genius step and I also added grated parm to the panko before topping the mac. Huge hit. Highly recommend.
David PS
This was OK, but not as good as my go-to recipe. The spicy kick was good and I'll probably just add those elements to mine when the mood strikes. The cheese mixture just wasn't "cheesy" tasting enough for me. I usually use a mixture of extra sharp cheddar, fontina, Gruyere, and parmesan, and will stick with that.
EB
Made as written except using crushed Ritz crackers with Parmesan cheese for the topping. Overall I thought it was a lot of work for a mediocre mac & cheese. I think I will stick to the Joy of Cooking stove top mac & cheese recipe as my go to recipe but I might try to borrow the pimentos idea for it.
BW
Anybody make this without the Jalapeno. If so, how was it?
Jess D.
I made this, but used 2-10z containers prepared pimento cheese spread (Redclay brand) in place of the cheese, cream cheese and pimentos. It was AMAZING!
nadia
couldn't find pimento, so I used juanita peppers and it turned out great. for the topping I used crushed crackers mixed with parmesean and butter. really good.
Mari
Made this last night and it was delicious! I used some of the seeds from the jalapeño and ½ c more of sharp cheddar. Toasting the panko crumbs made a big difference in the crunchiness of the topping.
BLS
Delicious recipe. We added a little more cheese than the recipe calls for, and added some to the topping, which is just our personal preference. Our new favorite mac & cheese!
Tara
Excellent recipe. I made it exactly as is. Next time, I’d consider adding some fried crumbled bacon on top to give this dish some more umami.
becky
Can you freeze this?
DebG
It's delicious, but it's not pimento cheese.
Jane
It was ok. For my money and time, and the calories, I'll do straight up mac and cheese in the future. Save the pimemnto cheese for crackers.
Dani
Use cheez-its instead of bread crumbs and thank me later
Seth
Made exactly as written, but unfortunately it was a miss. It looked great and was very creamy but the final product lacked any tempting flavors (I even used 3 different types of sharp cheddar as I do when I make pimiento cheese). Back to my mom’s recipe!
Susan
We need Mom's recipe!!! If you can share!
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