baked one pot broccoli cheddar mac & cheese
I had a mean mac and cheese craving last week, which translated into today’s dish.
Before you start digging up my butt, yes, I know a hot pot of pasta isn’t necessarily commonplace for the brunt of summer. In fact, it was indeed one of the autumn concepts I intended to test in the coming months.
But I really wanted mac and cheese recently. For whatever reason, my Pinterest home feed kept spooning photos of gooey, cheesy goodness onto my screen, and I couldn’t help but just knock this beauty out early and enjoy it for the week as I prep for my vacation.
This Baked One Pot Broccoli Cheddar Mac & Cheese is truly a good one to prep for your kids’ lunches throughout the week, and unless you have like 5 kids, suits your own workday lunchbox beautifully as well. Hearty, rich, but simple, all simmered then baked in the same pot for minimal cleanup. It is GOOD SHIT. Will be tonight’s dinner again with some leftover bbq shrimp.
So Baked, Man
All from this one pot.
Now, if you don’t have an oven-safe skillet, you can certainly cook the bulk of this recipe in whatever large pot you have and transfer to a casserole dish or similar. Just make sure it’s big enough for the job.
Pour some water into your skillet, season with salt, and bring to a rolling simmer. Add your pasta of choice. I love shellbows, but either elbows or shells will work great too.
Cook your pasta according to the package directions. In the final minute, dump in a good heap of chopped broccoli and stir to give it a lil cookin’. Do not drain the remaining liquid. This is an imperative part of your sauce.
Now, for all the good seasonings and embellishments and all that shit. Start with some dijon mustard, garlic powder, onion powder, and cayenne pepper, as well as a generous hit of salt and pepper. Then, melt in butter and cream cheese.
Remove a bit of the liquid from the to a small bowl and whisk in some corn starch. Drop back into the pot along with lots of whole milk and stir until the sauce thickens. Finish with lots of cheddar and mozzarella cheese, half a block each, shredded, if you bought 8 ounce blocks.
Sprinkle the rest of the cheese overtop. Bake at 425 degrees for 12-15 minutes or so, until bubbly, gooey, melty, and darkening in spots. Holy crapsicles, it is a sight to behold. Sunshine in a fucken skillet.
Cool the mac for about 10 minutes to help the sauce stick to the noodles. Dish it up and serve! Or, cool further and divide into bento boxes or meal prep containers for noshing throughout the week.
You can prep the mac a couple days ahead of time. Prep as directed until time to sprinkle on the cheese. Let the pot cool completely, cover with foil well, and refrigerate until ready to bake. When the time arrives, move out of the fridge while the oven preheats, then sprinkle on the cheese and bake as directed!
Mac and cheese also freezes extremely well. Seal tightly and store for up to 3 months. To rewarm, pop a portion in an oven safe container at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes. I like to place a baking tray of water in the oven to add moisture to the mac as it warms.
A nice little prelude to the new recipe season to come. Enjoy!
Tried this recipe out? Leave a rating and comment below with your thoughts, and don’t forget to come say hi on Instagram and show me what you made!
Mac attack:
No Boil Baked Pumpkin Mac and Cheese
Stovetop Buffalo Cheddar Mac n’ Cheese
Stovetop Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese
No Boil Spinach Artichoke Mac n’ Cheese
baked one pot broccoli cheddar mac & cheese
Ingredients
- 12 oz short-cut pasta
- 4 cups water
- 4 cups broccoli, chopped about 1 inch florets
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 oz cream cheese, softened
- 2 cups whole milk
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
- 2 cups low-moisture mozzarella cheese, shredded
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Bring the water and 2 teaspoons of salt to a rolling summer. Pour in the pasta and cook according to package directions. In the final minute, add the broccoli florets and stir.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low. Stir in the dijon mustard, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, and a big pinch of salt and pepper. Then, stir in the cream cheese and butter until both are melted.
- Remove about 1 tablespoon of the hot liquid from the pot. Whisk in the corn starch until dissolved into a slurry. Pour into the pot along with the whole milk and stir until the sauce thickens slightly. Stir in half of each cheese.
- Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top of the pasta. Bake 12-15 minutes until the cheese is melted, bubbly, and gooey. Let sit 10 minutes before scooping and serving!
