Easy Macaroni Cheese

Macaroni Cheese

This Easy Macaroni Cheese is the perfect make-ahead supper dish. It is topped with crispy breadcrumbs and has a bit of extra cayenne spice to cut through the richness of the sauce and a secret layer of sweet caramelised onions. If you have never made this dish from scratch, then I would encourage you to give it a go. It is really easy. It is rich, creamy and cheesy and will be equally popular with vegetarians and non-veggies alike.

A traditional family recipe

In my family, serving this Macaroni Cheese has become a Christmas Eve tradition. On the day before Christmas, when everyone is gathering, I have to feed a range of vegetarian and non-vegetarians of all ages and a spectrum of general food pickiness. This dish seems to hit the spot as it is warming and comforting and also has a simplicity that is welcome when we all know we are going to have a blow-out meal the next day. I serve it with a green salad dressed with a sharp vinaigrette to balance the cheesy richness of the pasta.

We also eat it on lots of other occasions, in both winter and summer, as it so popular and can be made ahead of time. If like me you are more of a “kitchen-supper” rather than dinner party style of host, it is a great dish to serve. Everything is done in advance – you just need to put it in the oven to warm through – so you can focus on talking to your guests rather than doing complicated things in the kitchen.

Macaroni Cheese
What makes this recipe different?

There are many, many recipes for Macaroni Cheese. This one, which has developed over the years, has three elements that I think sets it apart from others.

First off, it is topped with breadcrumbs and grated cheese which means that it has a fantastic crispy top. This adds texture and flavour to the soft, creamy pasta.

Secondly, it is a bit spicy. We discovered that adding a lot of cayenne was a good thing when my daughter made this recipe when she was quite young and mistook a dessert spoon for a teaspoon. We ate the first mouthful with trepidation but discovered that actually having a bit of heat cuts through the richness of the cheese sauce and improves the flavour of the dish.

The third and final element is that there is a delicious secret hidden within this traditional-looking Macaroni Cheese. In the middle of the dish is a layer of sweet, soft caramelised onions which work brilliantly to lift flavour of the cheesy pasta.

Macaroni Cheese

Other simple pasta suppers

I love pasta so much that I sometimes wonder if I might have some unknown Italian ancestor! It is so easy, versatile and so universally liked – by adults, children, vegetarians and meat-eaters – that it appears on our table several times each week.

This recipe for Prawn Pasta is a great week-night supper option. It is easy, tasty and uncomplicated and can be made in ten minutes. Here are some of my other simple pasta supper recipes.

  • Basic Tomato Sauce – this is an easy recipe for a rich sauce using store-cupboard ingredients. Delicious stirred into pasta as it is and open to lots of variations and additions!
  • Creamy Mushroom Pasta – this is simple vegetarian sauce combines mushrooms and chestnuts and lots of garlic. It can be used with any kind of pasta but I prefer it with short pasta such as gigli or penne.
  • Spaghetti with Smoked Salmon – this simple recipe can be made in 15 minutes. Smoked salmon trimmings are combined with fennel and chives and a squeeze of lemon.
  • Prawn Pasta with Herb Butter – this is made-in-minutes pasta supper

Loved this recipe? Checkout the Recipe Index.

Step-by-step guide to making this recipe

Easy Macaroni Cheese with Caramelised Onions

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Macaroni Cheese

Easy Macaroni Cheese

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 2 reviews
  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 60 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
  • Yield: Serves 6
  • Category: Pasta
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: English

Description

This Easy Macaroni Cheese recipe combines rich, creamy pasta with a crunchy topping, a dash of cayenne heat and a secret layer of caramelised onions.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 125 g  (5 oz) butter – 25 g (1 oz)  plus 100 g (4 oz)
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 large onions
  • 1 teaspoon soft brown sugar
  • 350 g (12 oz) dried macaroni
  • 50 g (2 oz) plain flour
  • 2 teaspoons cayenne
  • 860 ml (2 pints) milk
  • 350 g (12 oz) strong, hard cheese  such as mature cheddar
  • salt and pepper 
  • 50 g (2 oz) fresh breadcrumbs

Macaroni Cheese


Instructions

  1. Put 25 g of the butter and the olive oil in a heavy-based frying pan and place over a very low heat.  
  2. Peel and roughly chop the onions and add them to the pan.   Cook the onions very gently for around 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  The aim is to caramelise the onions so that they are a light golden colour and their natural sweetness is enhanced.   When the onions are done, season with salt and stir in the soft brown sugar.  Set aside until required.
  3.  While the onions are gently cooking, cook the macaroni in a pan of salted, boiling water according to the instructions on the packet.  This would normally take around 10-15 minutes.   When it is cooked, drain the hot water from the pasta and put it back in the saucepan covered with cold water to prevent it clumping together.
  4. Make the cheese sauce by melting the remaining 100 g of butter in a heavy-based saucepan.  Add the flour, mix it into the butter and cook gently for 2 minutes.   Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir the milk into the butter and flour mixture.  Put the saucepan back onto the heat and stir until the sauce has thickened.   Grate the cheese and add 300 g to the sauce.   Add salt and pepper to taste.
  5. Drain the cooked macaroni and add it to the cheese sauce.
  6. Pour half of the mixture into a rectangular dish of approximately 40 cm x 25 cm.   Spread the caramelised onions on top and then add the other half of the mixture.
  7. Sprinkle the remaining 50 g of grated cheese on top together with the breadcrumbs.    
  8. Heat your oven to 200 C, 400 F or Gas Mark 6 and bake the macaroni cheese for 30 minutes.   When it is done, it will be hot all through and the top will be crisp and golden.

Macaroni Cheese


Notes

It is very easy to make your own breadcrumbs by whizzing stale bread in a food processor for a few minutes.  They can then be stored in the fridge for several days or frozen for several months.

You can make the macaroni cheese a day in advance up until step 7 and keep it in the fridge.  Make sure that you allow it to come back up to room temperature before heating in the oven. 

This recipe has been shared on #CookBlogShare with Lost in Food and #FiestaFriday with Fiesta Friday and Zeba at Food for the Soul

Creamy Mushroom Pasta

Creamy Mushroom Pasta with Chestnuts – the perfect week-night supper

This Creamy Mushroom Pasta, with sweet chestnuts and caramelised onions, is just what I want at the end of a busy working day. It is savoury, full of flavour and, even better, is quick and easy to make and the sauce can also be made in advance.

Mushrooms and sweet chestnuts are great flavour partners and are two of my favourite ingredients. The savouriness of this dish is enhanced by using both fresh and dried mushrooms. You can use any type of dried mushroom in this recipe – most of the supermarkets sell a range including porcini, shitake and mixed. They add a real depth of almost meaty flavour to recipes that do not contain any meat! Ready-to-eat sweet chestnuts are also available widely in supermarkets. They are inevitably associated with Christmas but I use them all the year round. They have a sweetness and also a soft but firm texture that is fantastic in all kinds of savoury dishes.

Due to its deep savouriness, this dish is a great one to serve to meat-eaters. In addition to its flavour, it also has a good range of textures and a good “mouth feel” which means the lack of meat is not likely to be noticed! There are several variations that you can make to this recipe depending on your dietary preferences.

  • Vegetarian – I include anchovies in my recipe but, if you are vegetarian, you can leave them out. You may just need to add a little additional salt to the sauce.
  • Vegan – You can replace the butter with an additional tablespoon of oil, omit the anchovies and the cream. In order to make the sauce creamy, crush one third of the chestnuts into a paste and stir this into the sauce.
  • Healthier – Replace the butter with an additional tablespoon of oil and omit the cream. As above, crush one third of the chestnuts into a paste and stir this into the sauce.

You can use any kind of pasta to make Creamy Mushroom Pasta. I generally use a shorter pasta such as gigli (I love gigli!) or penne but I’ve made it with pretty much every type of pasta depending on what I have in my cupboard at the time.

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Creamy Mushroom Pasta

Creamy Mushroom Pasta with Chestnuts

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 5 reviews
  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 10
  • Cook Time: 30
  • Total Time: 40 minutes
  • Yield: Serves 6
  • Category: Pasta

Description

This Creamy Mushroom Pasta with Chestnuts is the perfect week-night supper.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 25 g butter
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 onions
  • a handful of dried mushrooms (any kind)
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 1 tin of anchovies (optional)
  • 485 g fresh mushrooms 
  • 180 g pack of peeled chestnuts
  • 2 tablespoons of double cream
  • Fresh parsley
  • Salt and pepper
  • 350 g pasta

Creamy Mushroom Pasta


Instructions

  1. Heat the olive oil and butter in a large frying pan.
  2. Peel and finely chop the onions and add them to the pan.  Crumble the dried mushrooms and add to the pan.  Cook over a low heat for around 15 minutes until the onions are sweet and caramelised and the dried mushrooms have softened.
  3. Peel and crush the cloves of garlic and roughly chop the anchovies. Add to the pan.
  4.  Finely chop half of the fresh mushrooms and slice the other half.  This gives some variety in texture to the pasta sauce.   Add the fresh mushrooms to the pan.
  5. Cook for ten minutes until the fresh mushrooms are cooked through.
  6. Roughly chop the peeled chestnuts into large chunks and add them to the pan.   
  7. Stir in the double cream and heat for a few minutes until the sauce thickens slightly.  Chop the parsley and stir into the sauce.   Taste the sauce and add salt and pepper as required.  You may not need to add salt as the anchovies will add saltiness to the mixture.
  8. In a separate pan, heat water to boiling point, add the pasta and cook according to instructions on the packet.  When done, drain and stir in the mushroom and chestnut sauce.

 

Creamy Mushroom Pasta


Notes

If you want to make this a vegetarian recipe, you can omit the anchovies.  Just make sure that you add a little salt to the sauce to compensate for the loss of their saltiness.

If you want to make this a vegan recipe, you can replace the butter with an additional tablespoon of oil, omit the anchovies and the cream. In order to make the sauce creamy, crush one third of the chestnuts into a paste and stir this into the sauce. 

If you want to make this a healthier recipe, replace the butter with an additional tablespoon of oil and omit the cream. As above, crush one third of the chestnuts into a paste and stir this into the sauce.

This recipe has been shared on #CookBlogShare at Recipes Made Easy
Cook Blog Share

Loved this recipe? You may also like the following recipes. Or checkout the Recipe Index.

Spaghetti with Smoked Salmon, Herb Fennel and Chives

Spaghetti with smoked salmon
Smoked salmon, herb fennel and chives

Spaghetti with Smoked Salmon, Herb Fennel and Chives

Spaghetti with Smoked Salmon, Herb Fennel and Chives is probably the  quickest and easiest pasta dish.   It is done in the time that it takes to cook the pasta – which is usually around 10 to 15 minutes – and only needs a single saucepan.   It is also extremely tasty with the cream absorbing the savoury, salty smoked salmon flavour and allowing it to permeate the whole dish.   Although smoked salmon is often considered a luxury food, and can be expensive,  a little goes a long way and it is fine to use smoked salmon trimmings which are sold in most supermarkets and are a lot more affordable.

The use of fresh herbs to enhance dishes and the ease with which this can be done – you just chop them up and add them at the end of cooking – is highlighted in this dish.   I have referred to Herb Fennel, to differentiate it from the bulb fennel, often used in Italian cooking.  Both the Herb and bulb fennel share an aniseed taste.  Therefore, if you do not have Herb Fennel, dill is a good substitute.

My daughter, who is a pescatarian and therefore eats fish but not meat, describes this pasta sauce as being like spaghetti carbonara for non-meat eaters.  I think she is right – there is definitely an echo in this dish of the creamy, salty taste created by pancetta and eggs in a carbonara.

Uses

I often make this dish as a quick family supper but, as the smoked salmon makes it seem luxurious, it is also a really good easy option for a dinner party or for a date night!    It would certainly be a good choice for a romantic meal as it is so quick and tasty and is easy for those with little cooking experience to prepare (and, unusually for my pasta recipes, it does not include garlic!)

 

Spaghetti with smoked salmon
Smoked salmon, herb fennel and chives

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Smoked salmon, fennel and chives

Spaghetti with Smoked Salmon, Herb Fennel and Chives

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star No reviews
  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 5
  • Cook Time: 10
  • Total Time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: for 4 people 1x
  • Category: Pasta
  • Cuisine: English

Description

This quick and easy pasta dish combines delicious smoked salmon with fennel and lemon.   It takes a matter of minutes to prepare and is perfect for supper after a long day at work.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 500 g dried spaghetti
  • Salt
  • 100 g smoked salmon (smoked salmon trimmings are fine)
  • 2 fronds of herb fennel (or dill)
  • Bunch of chives (about 6 stems)
  • 150 ml double cream
  • A knob of butter
  • Zest of half a lemon
  • Black pepper

Instructions

  1. Fill the large saucepan with water and bring to the boil.   When boiling, add a pinch of salt, put the spaghetti in the saucepan and cook according to instructions (generally this will be for around 10 minutes).
  2. Meanwhile, cut the smoked salmon into small pieces and finely chop the herb fennel and chives.
  3. When the spaghetti is cooked, drain it and return it to the saucepan.  Stir in the smoked salmon pieces, chopped herbs, double cream and knob of butter.   Grate a little lemon zest over the pasta – the amount will depend on how lemony you like your pasta.   Season with black pepper.  There is no need to add any extra salt as the smoked salmon will be very salty.
  4. Remove the pasta from the pan and serve.

Spaghetti with smoked salmon
Mix the sauce with the spaghetti

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Prawn Pasta with Sorrel and Chive Herb Butter

Prawn Pasta with Sorrel and Chive Butter

Easy prawn pasta recipe

Prawn Pasta with Sorrel and Chive Butter

This Prawn Pasta with Sorrel and Chive Butter is an easy and adaptable supper recipe. When fresh sorrel is in season, I make it with my Sorrel and Chive Herb Butter but at other times of the year I either use other herb butters or just regular salted butter. Whatever type of butter you choose, it is a very quick, crowd-pleasing recipe which is good for a week-night supper but is also not out of place if you are entertaining.

Things you need to know about this Prawn Pasta recipe

  • It is really important to allow time for the fennel and onion to cook slowly and become soft and caramelised (step 1) as this makes a big difference to the taste of the finished dish.
  • I think my Sorrel and Chive Herb Butter works well with the flavours of the fennel and the prawns. It has a lemony taste which enhances both ingredients. However, if you can use other herb flavoured butter or just plain butter if you prefer.
  • You can use any kind of pasta for this dish. I suggest using long pasta, such as spaghetti, linguine or tagliatelle as I think this works best wish the buttery sauce. However, if you prefer shorter pasta such as penne, that also works well.

Loved this recipe? Check out the Recipe Index

Other simple pasta suppers

This recipe for Prawn Pasta is a great week-night supper option. It is easy, tasty and uncomplicated and can be made in ten minutes. Here are some of my other simple pasta supper recipes.

  • Basic Tomato Sauce – this is an easy recipe for a rich sauce using store-cupboard ingredients. Delicious stirred into pasta as it is and open to lots of variations and additions!
  • Creamy Mushroom Pasta – this is simple vegetarian sauce combines mushrooms and chestnuts and lots of garlic. It can be used with any kind of pasta but I prefer it with short pasta such as gigli or penne.
  • Spaghetti with Smoked Salmon – this simple recipe can be made in 15 minutes. Smoked salmon trimmings are combined with fennel and chives and a squeeze of lemon.
  • Macaroni Cheese – this is a brilliant make-ahead vegetarian recipe which has a secret layer of caramelised onions and a bit of cayenne to balance its rich cheesiness. Topped with a layer of crisp breadcrumbs it is perfect served with a simple green salad.
Other seafood recipes

I love all kinds of seafood. It always seems like a bit of a treat and it is generally very quick to cook. In addition to my seafood pasta recipes, I also have a few others that I make regularly.

I make a couple of savoury tarts that have a seafood filling. My Crab and Prawn Tart includes Asian-inspired flavours such as lime and coriander. My easy-peasy Smoked Salmon Tart with Prawns is a great combination of tasty smoked salmon and juicy prawns. Another really easy recipe that uses smoked salmon is my Smoked Salmon Pate which tastes delicious and is made in minutes.

I also have a great simple supper recipe, Moroccan-inspired Seafood Stew, which is really quick and easy to make. It is one of my regular week-night recipes but it is special enough to bring out at a dinner party or celebration meal.

Easy prawn pasta recipe

Recipe for Prawn Pasta with Sorrel and Chive Herb Butter

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Sorrel and Chive Butter

Prawn Pasta with Sorrel and Chive Herb Butter

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star No reviews
  • Author: Tastebotanical
  • Prep Time: 5
  • Cook Time: 20
  • Total Time: 40 minutes
  • Yield: for 4 people 1x
  • Category: Pasta
  • Cuisine: English

Description

Prawn Pasta with Sorrel and Chive Herb Butter is an easy and tasty supper dish.


Ingredients

Scale
  • Half bulb of fennel
  • 1 onion
  • 25 g  (1 oz) butter
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 clove garlic (optional – there is garlic in the Sorrel and Chive Herb Butter)
  • 165 g (6 oz) peeled raw prawns 
  • 1 portion of Sorrel and Chive Herb Butter
  • 350 g (12 oz) dried long pasta (eg spaghetti, linguine or tagliatelle)

Instructions

  1. Melt the 25 g butter in your frying pan over a low heat.  Finely chop the fennel and onion and add to the pan.  Season with salt and pepper and cook slowly for around 15 minutes until soft and sweet.  Either chop the garlic clove finely or squeeze through a garlic press and add to the mixture and cook for a further couple of minutes.  
  2. Add the raw prawns, and the tiger prawns if you are using them,  to the pan  and fry for around five minutes until pink and cooked.
  3. Meanwhile, boil water in a big saucepan, add salt to taste, and cook your pasta as specified on the packet.  This would usually be for around 10 minutes.
  4. When the pasta is cooked, drain it and add it to the frying pan with the fennel, onion and prawns.  (It is always best to add the pasta to the sauce rather than the other way around as this makes sure that the balance of pasta to sauce is as you like it.).
  5. Add your Sorrel and Chive Herb Butter to the frying pan, let it melt into the pasta and prawn mixture and serve.

Loved this recipe? Check out the Recipe Index