Smoky Baked Macaroni & Cheese | Indianapolis Food Blogger 11

 in Almost Vegan / Barbeque / Comfort Food / Comfort Meals / Easy Meals / Fall / Food / Kitchen Basics / Oven Meals / Printable / Recipe / Saucy / Series / Shareables / Side Dish / Soup / Spice / Vegan  tagged Baked / BBQ / bbq sauce / Cheese / cheesy / macaroni and cheese / pasta / Recipe / Smoky baked mac / Smoky Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Macaroni and Cheese is one of those dishes that brings out the best or the worst in people. To Kraft or not to Kraft? Baked or Stove top? So many sides to this cheesy coin. Full, drawn-out wars could be fought over it. Okay, maybe not wars, but Mac & Cheese is a staple dish in my home. I make it often. In my family, I’m known for my baked mac & cheese. It’s hand delivered to every holiday gathering and usually made by the TON. Last Thanksgiving, I made 5 pounds. Yes, 5 pounds of ooey, gooey, butter baked mac and cheese.SmokyMac_FLT1

Recently, Mr. Foodlovetog decided to get in the kitchen and try his take on my classic recipe out of the blue. When I tell you I feel like my crown has been threatened… This man’s mac and cheese was perfection! After dinner, we swapped recipes and came up with something fantastic. There’s even a shocker of an ingredient: BBQ sauce, yep! As fate would have it, the woman with condiment issues marries the condiment king. Whenever I make Mac and Cheese, Mr. Foodlovetog puts bbq sauce in it… It’s his favorite way to eat it. Sounds crazy, but when added to the cheese sauce, it kicks the dish up at notch! Grab the recipe below, you’ll be glad you did! 

Smoky Baked Macaroni & Cheese
A smoky twist on a classic dish.
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Cook Time
35 min
Total Time
43 min
Cook Time
35 min
Total Time
43 min
Ingredients
  1. 3 Cups Elbow Macaroni Pasta
  2. 4 & 1/2 Cups Shredded Cheese ( 1 cup each Monterrey Jack, Queso, Sharp Cheddar, Mild Cheddar)
  3. 5 Tablespoons Butter, diced
  4. 4 Tablespoons Flour
  5. 1/4 Cup Sour Cream
  6. 3 Cups Half & Half (warmed)
  7. 2 Tablespoons of Hickory Smoked BBQ Sauce
  8. Black Pepper (several cracks)
  9. Salt (pinch)
  10. Paprika (heavy pinch)
Instructions
  1. Preheat Oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Prepare an oven safe dish by coating in with 1 tablespoon of butter.
  3. Boil Pasta for 8 minutes, drain and set aside.
  4. In a heavy bottomed pot, melt 4 Tablespoons of butter.
  5. Stir in flour, pinch of salt and black pepper stir well to combine.
  6. Cook flour and butter mixture until golden blonde in color.
  7. Whisk in warmed half and half.
  8. Continually stirring, add Shredded cheese 1/2 cup at a time, until well blended and the cheese has melted. Reserve 1/2 cup of cheese for garnish.
  9. Turn off flame.
  10. Stir in Paprika, Sour Cream and BBQ Sauce, stir to combine.
  11. Add pasta to cheese sauce.
  12. Mix well and pour into prepared oven safe dish.
  13. Top with 1/2 cup of shredded cheese
  14. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until golden and bubbly.
  15. Serve and Enjoy!
FoodLoveTog https://foodlovetog.com/

 SmokyMac_FLT3 SmokyMac_FLT2

What do you love about Baked Macaroni & Cheese?
Drop it the comments.

Thanks for Reading!

11 thoughts on “Smoky Baked Macaroni & Cheese | Indianapolis Food Blogger”

    • FoodLoveTog Post author

      Hi Jackie, I typically use whatever I have on hand. Usually Open Pit, Kroger or Sweet Baby Rays. Anything with a smoky factor will do.
      Thanks for commenting!

  • Chef and Steward

    Aaaah so the BBQ Sauce adds the smokiness and some sweetness? Interesting. Love that you both do stuff in the kitchen. HOW on earth are we just discovering your blog? We love mac and cheese and yours look absolutely delicious, so thanks for taking the time to share this. We are a Dubai-basid chef husband and wife blogging duo and see so many similarities with you! I am Much love and blessings to you and do please keep in touch. We will subscribe here and try to connect on other platforms as well. We are also @ChefandSteward on FB, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube. #OneLove

  • Erica

    Hmm, I’ll definitely have to try this. Mac and cheese is a food group in my book. I can’t help but try it at every new restaurant and I definitely make my own every major holiday (I don’t make it too much in between because it’s so unhealthy). So thanks love, this will be something I’ll try in the very near future.

    • FoodLoveTog Post author

      Thank you so much for reading and commenting. Mac & Cheese is definitely it it’s own food group. One of the dishes that you can’t have allll the time, but it always gives you comfort when you do indulge.

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