Baked Mexican Mac & Cheese

What You’ll Need to make Baked Mexican Mac & Cheese

• Pasta – You can use any kind of short or tube shaped pasta.

• Butter – We use regular salted butter. Unsalted butter may be used instead but season the sauce to taste.

• Flour – All purpose, white flour or whole wheat flour are the best choices when making the sauce.

• Half & half – Regular milk can be substituted in this recipe but for best results add it into the flour and butter slowly (a half cup at a time works well), allowing the mixture to thicken before adding more.

• Cayenne pepper – This spice provides a nice background heat to the mac & cheese but if spice isn’t your thing, feel free to leave it out or use chili powder instead for the flavor without the kick.

• Shredded cheese – Any blend of shredded cheese will work for this mac & cheese. Some that we have tried include Mexican blend shredded cheese, Colby Jack, Mozzarella, and any Cheddar blend.

• Mexican style diced tomatoes – If you don’t like green chilies or are worried about the spice, substitute plain undrained diced tomatoes. If you can’t find or don’t have Mexican diced tomatoes, use a can of green chilies AND add a small can of diced green chilies.

• Cooked and shredded or chopped leftover meat – We typically use pulled pork or rotisserie chicken but have substituted leftover Carne Asada and shredded chicken.

• Bread crumbs – The bread crumbs make up a traditional topping on the mac & cheese before baking. Panko may be used instead.

How to make Baked Mexican Mac & Cheese

Leftover pulled pork or shredded chicken becomes the star ingredient in this delicious baked meal. This recipe is versatile and will work with pulled pork, shredded chicken, or even Carne Asada.

The sauce, pasta, meat and cheese come together in a delicious combination that is then baked in the oven, making it an awesome way to use up those leftovers in a satisfying meal that your family will love!

Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil and cook pasta to al dente according to package directions.

Drain and set aside.

While the pasta is cooking, melt 1 1/2 tbsp of butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour until it forms a paste.

Slowly add half and half (or milk) 1/2 cup at a time, whisking constantly until the sauce thickens, and allowing it to thicken before adding more liquid.

Add cayenne, salt, pepper and 1 1/2 cups of shredded cheese to the saucepan, stirring until cheese is melted and sauce is combined.

Remove from heat.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine the pasta, pulled pork, diced tomatoes, cheese sauce and remaining 1 cup of shredded cheese.

Stir and transfer to a baking dish.

Melt remaining 1/2 tablespoon of butter and combine with bread crumbs.

Sprinkle evenly over the top of the mac & cheese.

Bake for 45 minutes in 375 degree F oven until edges are bubbly.

Serve immediately. Enjoy!