For those mac and cheese lovers out there this recipe is a keeper. This recipe goes so well with an outdoor summer Barbecue, as it pairs well with smoked meats, grilled meats, cheeseburgers, and hot dogs. Because of the jalapeños and pepper jack cheese there is a jolt of flavor that is not too spicy but enough to make the flavor kick. You can adjust the amount of fresh jalapeño to put in, to control your spice amount, but this amount is really not that spicy.
TIPS: You can always, like with any mac and cheese, play around with the types of cheese you like to include here. Velveta melts extremely well and smooth so I like it in macaroni and cheese. You can choose to use white or orange cheddar cheese, depending on if you want a whiter or darker mac and cheese, or depending on what cheese you have on hand. Shredding the cheese from a block makes a much better mac and cheese than pre-shredded bagged cheese, as pre-shredded contains a stabilizer to keep it from sticking together and it is much drier, and therefore does not melt well into a smooth sauce.
Jalapeño Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 lb dry macaroni or small pasta noodles
- 1/2 C reserved pasta water (optional as needed)
- 5 Tbsp butter
- 5 Tbsp all purpose flour
- 2 fresh jalapeño peppers very small dice or minced
- 4 C milk
- 1 tsp dry mustard
- 1/2 tsp hot sauce (Franks or tabasco)
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1-2 tsp kosher salt
- 8 oz Velveta Cheese diced
- 2 C freshly shredded pepper jack cheese
- 2 C freshly shredded cheddar cheese (separated)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease an 9×13 casserole dish.
- Cook pasta in salted boiling water until al dente, about 3 min less than cooking time on box. Drain, reserving 1/2 C pasta water, and set aside. Do not rinse.
- In a large saucepan melt butter over low heat. Add minced jalepenos and saute until start to soften about 2 minutes. Whisk in flour and stir until a paste forms, then cook 2 minutes stirring constantly over low heat to cook the flour. Increase heat to medium and add the milk slowly, whisking and cooking until starts to thicken, forming a beschmel sauce, about 3-4 minutes.
- Once thickened add the dry mustard, hot sauce, nutmeg, and garlic powder. Turn heat to low and add Velveta cheese, pepper jack cheese and 1 C of the cheddar cheese. Stir until cheeses are completely melted. If it appears too thick, add a small amount of pasta water to loosen it up. Add 1 Tsp salt, then taste and add more salt as necessary.
- In a large pot or bowl, pour cheese sauce over noodles stirring with a spatula to coat the noodles, adding enough sauce so that the pasta noodles are quite wet and covered in sauce. (They will absorb sauce as they cook in the oven so you want them to be quite wet at this stage). Pour into greased casserole dish and smooth the top. Sprinkle remaining 1 C cheddar cheese over the top. Bake 20-25 minutes until bubbling and cheese starts to brown. Rest at least 15 minute before serving.
- Enjoy!