This simple homemade mac and cheese is a great way to add some fun to a regular mac and cheese lunch. It would also make a great side dish for a pink themed party!
What you will need.
- 1 cup Elbow macaroni 8 oz
- 2 tbsp Unsalted butter Salted is fine too
- 2 tbsp All purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp Salt Sea salt in good too
- 1/4 tsp Garlic powder Optional (see notes for other seasoning options)
- 1 cup Milk
- 1/4 cup Sour cream
- 2 cups Shredded Medium white cheddar cheese
- 2 drops Pink or red food coloring
Getting ready
I like to get all my ingredients prepared before I star cooking. So measure out your flour, salt and seasonings into a small bowl. Shred the cheese and then start by cooking the elbow macaroni according to the directions on the package. We buy elbow macaroni in bulk so I included the cook time in the instructions of the recipe. Strain the macaroni and set aside.
Making the cheese sauce
Melt butter in pan and stir in flour salt and seasonings until completely combined. Cook for one minuet before adding milk and sour cream.
Stir in milk and sour cream until smooth
Choosing what cheese to use
The basic recipe for this mac and cheese calls for white cheddar but you can get really creative with what cheeses to used. My daughters favorite combination is medium white cheddar and smoked gouda. White cheddar and parmesan is my favorite. But you an also use Havarti, Swiss, and even cream cheese. Start with a base of at least 1 cup medium white cheddar and try some fun combinations.
Add shredded cheese to pot and stir until all the cheese has melted. Make sure you have turned your burner to low to avoid boiling the cheese sauce.
Add some color
Once the cheese is completely melted add a couple drops of pink or red food coloring to make the cheese sauce pink. Stir until color is completely distributed in the sauce. If you don’t want to use a food coloring with the chemical red dye 40 there are many options to choose from. A couple of my favorites are.
Finally add the cooked macaroni into the cheese sauce, stir and enjoy!
Pink mac and cheese
Ingredients
Method
- Mix flour, salt, and garlic powder (and any other seasonings) in a small bowl and set aside.
- Bring a pot of water to boil and cook the elbow macaroni for 7 minuets. Strain pasta and set aside.
- Melt butter in a pot over medium heat.
- Add flour and seasonings to the butter and stir for 1 minuet.
- Add milk and sour cream stir until smooth.
- Heat for 3-5 minuets, stirring continually until starts to thicken. Be careful not to boil reducing heat in needed.
- Once thickened turn heat to low and add in cheese, continue to stir until the cheese is melted.
- Add food coloring and stir until the color is evenly distributed.
- Add elbow macaroni and mix until covered with cheese.
Notes
- Some other seasoning fun seasonings to add would be chili powder or smoked paprika if not using the smoked Gouda for the cheese option.
- You can use most white cheeses for this recipe in any combination adding up to two cups. If you can only find Sharpe white cheddar try adding Havarti or cream cheese. Mozzarella will make it stringy so its not my favorite to add. Parmesan and white cheddar are always good together as well.
For more recipe ideas look here.
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