Macaroni and cheese recipes are a dime a dozen on the internet. Southern. Breadcrumbs. Baked. Not baked. Gruyere or Gouda. I’ve already posted one with crispy fried onions. Actually, this is my third mac and cheese recipe that I’m posting.
So, what gives? What really makes this different than the dime a dozen recipes? Well, glaringly, the chorizo breadcrumbs. I don’t know how I didn’t think of doing this sooner, but what a treat. I used hard chorizo… meaning, not the raw sausages found in the meat section but rather the hard cured sausage usually found in the deli section.
In order to create the breadcrumbs, I pulverized the sausage. So, actually, let me back up. I cut the sausage up into chunks before throwing it in my food processor and chopping it until it created small pieces. Since there were still some larger chunks, I pulsed the machine to grab those pieces. This all could be done by hand, but it would be tiresome and lengthy. And honestly, whether it’s a mini food processor or a standard sized food processor (I have both sizes), both, either, super useful tool for your kitchen and I highly recommend having both sizes for your kitchen arsenal!
After the chorizo is pulverized, then it’s mixed with a bit of panko and Parmesan cheese. And let me tell you, forget bacon. Overrated. Chorizo on top of a super cheesy pasta is amazing!
Okay, so the other big difference… I don’t know why, but most bloggers claim you “have” to use whole milk for mac and cheese. And I think that’s utter rot. For this dish, I used unsweetened almond milk. Do you know how many calories that cuts??? And even if you aren’t a person that counts calories, you can appreciate the fact that it makes this sinfully delicious meal a little less sinful 😉.
And, YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO TELL THE DIFFERENCE!!! Seriously, you can’t. I have been using unsweetened almond left and right this year. I actually have no plans on purchasing regular milk again. I’ll still use heavy cream here and there, but very rarely. And even then, I often will substitute the heavy cream with almond milk! Just make a roux with butter and flour and once the almond milk is whisked in, it gets thick and creamy and you cannot taste the difference!
If you don’t want to buy almond milk or have a nut allergy, you can absolutely use milk for this recipe! And use whatever grade milk you want… skim, whole milk… I don’t find there to be a difference at all when it comes to this dish!
This dish is as easy as any other mac and cheese recipe. I opted for cheddar cheese and low fat cream cheese for a little extra creaminess. The chorizo also goes really, really well with cheddar! And, there’s nothing else to sell. As I said, mac and cheese recipes are a dime a dozen. But this recipe is worth making because the chorizo breadcrumbs will blow your mind!
Enjoy!
Baked Macaroni & Cheese with Chorizo Breadcrumbs
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 6 to 8 servings 1x
- Category: American, Southern
- Cuisine: Dinner, Sides
Ingredients
Macaroni & Cheese
16 oz short cut pasta
16 oz sharp cheddar, grated
8 oz low fat cream cheese
2 TBs butter
¼ cup flour
2 cups unsweetened almond milk (substitute with regular milk, if desired)
¼ cup low fat sour cream
1 TBs yellow mustard
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
salt & pepper
Chorizo Breadcrumbs
8 oz hard chorizo, pulverized (see notes above)
½ cup panko
½ cup grated Parmesan
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Cook the pasta according to the package.
When the pasta has about 5 minutes left, make the cheese sauce. Melt the butter in a large saucepan (if you want to save on dishes, use an ovenproof sauce pan or a Dutch oven!). Once melted, sprinkle in the flour and stir until it is fully saturated in the butter, ensuring there is no dry flour left in the pan. Slowly pour in the milk, whisking constantly, until thoroughly combined. Add in the sour cream, yellow mustard, and cayenne pepper and stir to combine.
Add in the cream cheese. Using a wooden spoon, break up the cream cheese and stir until it is fully melted and combined. Add in the cheddar and stir until melted. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add in the noodles and stir to fully coat the pasta in the cheese sauce. If transferring to an oven-safe baking dish, do so now (I used a 15.5 x 9.5 x 2.875 baking dish).
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, stir together the pulverized chorizo, panko, and grated Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle evenly over the pasta.
Bake for 20 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbling and the breadcrumbs have browned. Serve immediately. Enjoy!
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