Just in time for National Mac & Cheese Day!
Happy Arbitrary Food Holiday Day! Also, Christmas in July – who wouldn’t feel good stuffing their face with a giant pot of comfort food during a month where apparently it’s okay to binge on Hallmark movies?
Cheesy romance and cheesy pasta. Count me in.
Mac and cheese is the pinnacle of comfort food, in whatever form it takes. Boxed mix is charming in its own way, frozen has a place in my heart, but this One Pot Baked Jalapeño Popper Mac & Cheese slides itself straight into my heart’s crevices. It filled the void after we chomped up the Crab Mac & Cheese awhile back, and I’m sure it will fill your hungry holes just as well, too.
Thick, gooey sauce flavored with lots of crumbled tofu bacon (or regular, as per uje) and sliced spicy peppers, tossed into al dente pasta, baked for a caramelized top crust? Orgasmic. Ridiculous. Every appropriate adjective you can conjure in your graymatter.
Pop It
Cue Miley Cyrus singing her diddy in your noggen.
My baked mac and cheese recipes are quite similar and easily adaptable, so if you’ve read or made one of my dishes prior, this formula is probably familiar.
First, in your oven-safe skillet (or, if you don’t have one, a regular pot is good. Just be sure to transfer the whole shebang before baking), boil some water with salt and toss in your pasta. Cook according to package directions. DO NOT DRAIN THAT WATER. The starchy liquid helps create the base of our sauce.
Measure in some dijon mustard, garlic and onion powders, then stir in butter and softened cream cheese. Pro tip: I always recommend tempering your cream cheese with a little hot water from the pan before mixing, else it might be lumpy.
Then, create a slurry with the corn starch and about a tablespoon of water from the pot, then pour into the pot with your whole milk, chopped jalapeño peppers, and crumbled tofu or regular cooked bacon. Stir until a bit thickened, then mix in half of your allotted cheddar and pepper jack cheeses.
If you’re transferring the mac to an oven-safe dish, do so at this point. Otherwise and either way, top off your pasta with the rest of your cheeses and extra bacon and jalapeño peppers.
Bake at 425 for 12-15 minutes or so until golden, with a slightly crisp top and gooey bubbling cheese below.
Scoop out a huge ladleful, or whatever utensil you opt to use, and dig right in that fucker.
Leftovers? Mac and cheese keeps well for up to 5 days in the fridge, or 3 months in the freezer. In either case, you may need to reheat with a touch extra milk, maybe 2 tablespoons or so, to reconstitute the sauce.
Too spicy? You can swap out the pepper jack for another, milder cheese, like mozzarella.
Enjoy, kids!
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!
Jalapeño dinner business:
Cheddar Ranch Jalapeño Poppers
Chipotle Shrimp Tacos with Jalapeño Peach Salsa
one pot baked jalapeño popper mac & cheese
Ingredients
- 12 oz short cut pasta
- 4 cups water
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 oz cream cheese, softened
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 1/3 cup jalapeños, sliced, divided
- 1/2 cup crumbled tofu or regular cooked bacon, divided
- 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
- 2 cups pepper jack 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. Do not drain the water.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low. Stir in the dijon mustard, garlic powder, onion powder, 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 1/4 cup of the sliced jalapeños, 1/4 cup of crumbled tofu bacon, and whole milk and stir until the sauce thickens slightly. Stir in half of each cheese.
- Sprinkle the remaining cheeses, tofu bacon, and jalapeños 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!
Notes
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Drain and press a block of extra firm tofu to remove excess water for about 5-10 minutes. I make a homemade press by placing paper towels on a large plate, then the tofu, then more towels, another plate, and a skillet.
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Preheat oven to 450 degrees and lightly grease a large baking sheet. Slice the tofu very thin (as thin as you can without breaking it) and place onto the baking sheet.
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In a small bowl, whisk 1/3 cup soy sauce, 2 tbsp maple syrup, 1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika, 1/2 tsp chili powder, and 1/4 tsp black pepper. Pour over the tofu and, using a basting brush, coat each slice. Flip, and brush the sauce over the opposite side. Let sit while the oven heats.
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Bake for 20-25 minutes, flipping once halfway through baking time. Let cool on the baking sheet: the tofu will continue to crisp up.
