one pot baked crab mac & cheese
$40 for a pound of lump crab meat? Worth it for this mac. Swear.
Ingredients
- 12 oz short cut pasta
- 4 cups water, plus more as needed
- 1 tbsp Old Bay seasoning
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 oz cream cheese, softened
- 2 tsp corn starch
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 1 lb lump crab meat
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 2 cups shredded pepper jack cheese
Ritz cracker crumble
- 1 1/2 cups Ritz crackers, crumbled
- 2 tbsp butter, melted
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
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 Old Bay, 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 the crab meat and whole milk and stir until the sauce thickens slightly. Stir in half of each cheese.
- In a bowl, toss the crackers with the melted butter, garlic powder, onion powder, and a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Sprinkle the remaining cheese and the cracker crumbs on top of the pasta. Bake 12-15 minutes until the crumbs are deeply golden and the cheese is melted, bubbly, and gooey. Let sit 10 minutes before scooping and serving!
Notes
*Crab substitute: If lump crab is way out of your budget, you can use surimi (imitation crab). Or, swap out half of the crab meat for cooked shrimp: if using larger shrimp varieties, roughly chop into smaller bits about 1/4 inch large.