Fully loaded mac'n cheese recipe

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(13 ratings)

Mac'n cheese is everyone's favourite cheesy pasta dish and this version is the best yet. You break through the crunchy, cheesy top to get to creamy pasta!

  • healthy
Serves6
SkillEasy
Total Time40 mins
Cost RangeNot
Nutrition Per PortionRDA
Calories500 Kcal25%
Fat18 g26%
Saturated Fat10 g50%

Mac'n cheese is everyone's favourite cheesy pasta dish and this version is the best yet. It's full of delicious pulled ham hock, crispy fried onions and plenty of cheese with a really crunchy, cheesy top. This mac'n cheese is ready in 40 minutes which means you can make it any night of the week! Your whole family will love this recipe - you have to break through the crunchy, cheesy top to get to the creamy pasta that's full of delicious salty ham hock. You can easily enjoy a serving of this macaroni with loads of leafy greens for a more balanced meal. And you can make a big batch of it and then freeze it. If you've got a big family, or are cooking for friends you can easily scale up and make more, as long as you've got a big enough casserole dish to cook it in!

Ingredients

  • 350g macaroni pasta
  • 25g butter
  • 25g plain flour
  • 800ml whole milk
  • A little grated nutmeg
  • 125g mature Cheddar, grated
  • 40g crispy fried onions
  • 180g cooked pulled ham hock (or leftover roast ham or pork)
  • 40g dried breadcrumbs

WEIGHT CONVERTER

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Method

  1. Cook the pasta for 3 mins in boiling water, then drain, run under cold water and set aside.

  2. Heat the oven to 180C fan,gas 6. Melt the butter in a pan, add the flour and mix constantly with a wooden spoon for 1 min, then add 200ml of the milk. Stir until smooth and thick, then add about a third of the remaining milk. Once thickened, add the rest – keep stirring until smooth. Season well, add a little nutmeg and most of the cheese – when it‘s melted, remove from the heat.

  3. Stir in the macaroni, fried onions and ham hock, then scrape into a roasting dish. Sprinkle over the remaining cheese and breadcrumbs, and bake for 15-20 mins.

Top Tip for making Fully loaded mac'n cheese

You can easily freeze this dish, simply transfer to an oven-proof dish and stick it in the oven to warm it through whenever you want to eat it.

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