Comfort food. It means different things to different people. What does comfort food mean to me? Well, it’s got to be something decadent, cheesy, or rich. No wonder why macaroni and cheese is one of my ultimate comfort foods. And with this Cajun Mac and Cheese I’m adding a kick of heat for a delicious blend of cheesy and spicy.
You’ll need about 45 minutes to whip this up, and trust me it’s worth every minute!
Ingredients
Let’s dive in to what you need to make this cheesy, spicy, and irresistible macaroni and cheese!
Pasta. I like to use a traditional elbow macaroni for this! But you can use whatever you’d like, but I recommend a small shaped pasta noodle.
White Cheddar cheese. It’s super sharp and for this recipe I didn’t want the added orange coloring from Cheddar. For this recipe I used this White Cheddar cheese.
Red peppers. You’ll need one red pepper, diced small.
Andouille. If you’ve never had andouille before, it’s a spicy smoked pork sausage and is perfect for Cajun inspired dishes! This is the andouille sausage I buy every time!
Cajun seasoning. You can make your own Cajun spice blend, or buy a premade version. I use a premade mix, you can find them in the spice area of your grocery store!
Seasonings and sauce ingredients. The final ingredients for the sauce is some cream or milk, Cajun seasoning, here is one Cajun seasoning I’ve used, or another one like this spice blend. Last, you’ll need some smoked paprika to sprinkle over top before baking.
Cooking Tips
- Make sure you dry the oil off well from the andouille and peppers after they’ve cooked. You don’t want to add too much extra oil into the Cheddar cheese sauce or it could make it too runny.
- If the cheese sauce does get runny, you can add an additional tablespoon of flour to help thicken it up.
- Like most mac and cheese recipes, this is best eaten fresh the day you’ve made it. Once it sits in the fridge it won’t be as creamy and cheesy when you reheat. So, if you’re planning to bring this to a party I recommend making it that day!
- The sauce itself is not overly spicy. Most of the heat comes from the andouille. Looking for a super spicy mac and cheese? Add some cayenne pepper to the sauce!
If you like this Cajun Mac and Cheese you’ll love some more of my comfort food dishes!
Want more mac and cheese goodness? I’ve got an Easy Baked Mac and Cheese, a Beer Cheese Mac and Cheese, and this easy and quick Stovetop Mac and Cheese.
More comfort food? Make these and enjoy!
Baked Penne Vodka is a perfect blend between baked penne ziti and penne vodka.
A creamy soup is always going to bring comfort! Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup and Creamy Mexican Corn Chowder.
Last, this fun spin on French onion flavors…French Onion Meatballs are the perfect Sunday dinner!
Want more recipes, food pics, and cooking tips? Find me on Instagram!
If you make any of me recipes, tag me so I can share them! I love seeing you enjoying these recipes, or sharing them with family and friends.
Cajun Mac and Cheese
Cajun Mac and Cheese is a spicy and zesty mac and cheese dish. Lots of white Cheddar cheese and seasoned with Cajun seasoning, andouille sausage, and red peppers, this is a perfect comfort food that will leave you wanting seconds and thirds!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 1 casserole
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Saute
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
2 and 1/2 cups uncooked elbow noodle pasta
6 andouille sausages, diced (you want to use the sausages that come in packs of 4 like this andouille)
1 red pepper, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 8oz blocks of white Cheddar cheese, grated
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 and 1/2 cups milk
1/4 teaspoon salt (you can add more if you’d like, but the Cajun seasoning has some salt in it too)
1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
Smoked paprika
Instructions
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil, cook the elbow noodles according to package directions. In a large pan, heat the 1 tablespoons of olive oil of medium-high heat. Add the red peppers and and andouille and cook for 10-15 minutes until browned. Using a slatted spoon, remove the peppers and sausage and place in a bowl. Wipe the pan clean. At this time, preheat your oven to 350.
2. In the same pan, over medium heat melt the 2 tablespoons of butter, then stir in the flour and salt. Slowly stir in the milk, and cook until smooth and slightly thickened. Lower heat to low, then pour in 4 cups of the shredded cheese. Whisk until the cheese has completely melted, then stir in the Cajun seasoning.
4. To the cooked cheese sauce, add the noodles and the peppers and sausage. Stir together to make sure all noodles are coated, then pour into your baking dish. Top with the remaining shredded cheese then sprinkle the whole top with smoked paprika. Bake for 15 minutes, then place under the broiler for several minutes until the cheese is browned. Keep an eye on it when it’s under the broiler so it gets browned but not burned!
Allow to cool slightly then eat! You can also sprinkle a little extra Cajun seasoning over top before eating for some extra kick!
The directions call for milk but there is no milk amount listed on the ingredients list.
Oh my gosh, thank you! Fixed it…it’s 1 and 1/2 cups 🙂
Hello
The proportions of cheese and milk seem a little off. Is it really 1/2 cups milk to a pound of cheese?
Thanks
The ingredient listing notes “1 and 1/2 cups milk”. So 1 cup + 1/2 cup 🙂
What is the servings per 1X, 2x, 3x? What size baking dish will each (#X) fit in? Just trying to make sure everything fits as I cook.
Hi! The way the recipe is for 1x if you’re eating this as the main dish I’d say this is good for 4-5 servings depending on how generous the portions. If you’re making this as a side dish to a main meal you can stretch the servings much more.
Family loved this and i have 2 picky eaters! Definitely will make again 😉
Awesome! Glad the family enjoyed.
So your step “4” should be step 3 lol you went 1, 2, 4.
Oops! Was getting ahead of myself writing. Correct, I mislabeled the steps there’s nothing missing!
This recipe was delicious!! I added a green bell pepper & topped it with breadcrumbs. I will definitely make this again! Thanks for sharing!!
So glad you enjoyed!
This recipe is AWESOME! entire family loved it. Going to double next time 😁😁
I’m so glad everyone loved it!!
I am hoping to make this for a luncheon ahead of time. Do you have an crockpot variations or can I make it at night and warm it in a crockpot in the morning until lunch? Thanks!
Hi! I don’t use a crockpot so don’t have a method for cooking it in one, but I think re-warming it in one would be Ok! Maybe keep a little extra cream and cheese on hand to add to it, mac and cheeses have a tendency to lose some of the epic “creaminess” after sitting in the fridge.
Making this tonight. What size dish to bake?
I usually use a rectangle size that’s slightly smaller than a 9×13.