Pizza Macaroni & Cheese
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Love pizza and love mac and cheese? Now you don’t have to pick one or the other! This ultra cheesy and extremely satisfying Pizza Macaroni & Cheese is topped with pepperoni and features a creamy béchamel sauce and a pizza sauce!
I’ve loved pizza my entire life but ever since coming to Canada a soft spot in my heart (and belly!) has made room for mac and cheese!
I’m always super excited when it’s a mac and cheese dinner, and recently I’ve been loving ordering some mac and cheeses at restaurants! I just love how the elbow macaroni sucks up sauce, and personally I prefer a crust over my mac and cheese! Are you team stovetop or baked? Let me know in the comments!
However, when I’m at a restaurant with some great options, I get torn between wanting pizza and pasta. Why can’t we just eat whatever we want all the time? If you know the dilemma I face then you know! I always want to devour the entire menu, but sadly I don’t have the cash or space in my stomach to do so!
If you’ve followed the blog for awhile, you know that I love to make my pizza fusions. From pizza bagels to pizza fries to making a pizza out of naan dough (BBQ Chicken Naan Pizza!), I’ve officially made it a mission to try to “pizza-fy” as many dishes as I can!
Now back to the dilemma of when you want to pick mac and cheese or pizza. Why not enjoy the best of both worlds in this Pizza Macaroni & Cheese? The best part: you won’t believe how QUICK this pasta dish is to make! You may get intimidated seeing the different components going into it, but trust me the time will just fly by and you’ll get this superb mac and cheese on the table in no time! It’s great for a weeknight dinner to hit two birds with one stone to satisfy the cravings!
In my top 5 tips to explore your potential in the kitchen, Make Cooking Fun!, I go into more details about how having a theme can get you inspired to get cooking and make some pretty wild creations! I have to admit creativity always sparks when I know I’m gonna be making a pizza-style recipe, and if you love pizza the way I do, then I recommend you have a pizza theme for the week! If you love pizza and mac and cheese and this concept is making your mouth water, then definitely try this dish out as part of your Live to Cook one month challenge - I guarantee you’ll put your heart on this plate for your friends and family at your next dinner party or game day night!
To follow along as I prepare this Pizza Macaroni & Cheese, be sure to watch the video at the bottom of this post! If you’re not already, I’d appreciate it if you subscribe to my YouTube channel and hit the bell button so you’re notified when all of my video recipes go live! I love to share the videos to go with the written recipes so you’ve got all the tools you need to guarantee success! Let’s get cooking!
Ingredients for PIZZA MACARONI & CHEESE
Don’t forget to scroll to the bottom of this post for the FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD to save the recipe for later and for complete recipe ingredients and instructions! The recipe card will also allow you to scale the ingredients based on how large of a casserole you want to make - all ingredient quantities are automatically adjusted!
For more details on preparing the béchamel sauce, I recommend you check out the full recipe here!
For the béchamel sauce
Milk
Butter
For the Pizza sauce
salt
Garlic cloves, minced
For the Pizza Mac & Cheese
Old cheddar cheese
Mozzarella cheese
Gruyere cheese
Emmental cheese
Pepperoni
Onions
Green pepper
Tips For an excellent pizza mac & cheese
WELL SEASONED WATER
A lot of people make the mistake of not seasoning the water before cooking their pasta. Seasoning it after the fact will result in a much less flavourful dish overall. The only time to season pasta is while it is cooking, so that the salt can disperse evenly throughout.
It is definitely possible to over season the pasta water so it is important to have an idea of how much salt to add. For 1 pound of pasta, add about 2 Tbsp of salt to 4 quarts (16 Cups) of water.
A SMOOTH, CHEESY BÉCHAMEL SAUCE
Béchamel sauce is so easy to make! For more details check out my Classic Béchamel White Sauce recipe! There is a misconception that a béchamel sauce also consists of cheese, which is inaccurate. The traditional French béchamel is just made with butter, flour and milk. The addition of cheddar cheese turns in into an English version of a classic French Mornay sauce (which is traditionally made with Gruyère).
The secret to a smooth sauce is to sauté the roux until it smells slightly nutty and the rawness of the flour cooks off. Next, cold milk is crucial to ensure no lumps. Add the milk in parts and whisk to bring the mixture together until you have used all of your milk.
Next, once the béchamel comes up to a simmer, gently cook until it thickens and evenly coats the back of a spoon. Then, take the pan off the heat and add the cheese in small batches. Mix well to ensure the sauce accepts the cheese and remains smooth and cheesy.
VARIETY OF CHEESES
This dish is a great time to try a variety of cheeses and experiment, so go on and make your ultimate pizza mac & cheese. Let me know which one is your favourite down below!
Make your own pizza
The toppings I suggested are just that. You can pick any combination of toppings to make this pizza mac your own!
How to Make Pizza macaroni & Cheese
For the béchamel cheese sauce
Heat a large pot of water and bring it to a rolling boil. Once boiling, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Once cooked, drain and set aside the pasta. Preheat the oven at 400 F.
In the meanwhile, prepare the béchamel sauce. Heat a pan on medium heat and add butter. Once the butter melts, mix in the flour and garlic powder and whisk for 2-3 minutes until the rawness of the flour is cooked out. The roux will begin to smell nutty.
Pour in your milk, little bit at a time while whisking to work out any lumps. Once all your milk is mixed in, wait until your sauce starts to come up to a simmer.
As soon as the sauce comes to a simmer, it will begin to thicken. Once the béchamel is thick enough to evenly coat the back of a spoon, season with nutmeg, salt and pepper.
Once the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, turn off the heat and add the cheese. Mix well until the cheese is molten and then add in the macaroni and mix well.
For the pizza sauce
Separate the core, seeds, skin and any excess water from the San Marzano whole tomatoes into a bowl. The remaining liquid from the can, can be reused for another dish.
In the bowl with the tomato pulp, add the remaining ingredients for the sauce and mix well to combine. Taste and adjust the seasoning with more salt or chilli flakes.
To prepare the Pizza mac and cheese
Transfer the pasta to a casserole and then top with the tomato sauce. Lightly stir the sauce just over the top layer of the mac and cheese, without mixing it all the way.
Top with mozzarella, pepperoni, green peppers and onions, or any other combination of ingredients for your pizza.
Bake for 10-12 minutes and then turn on the broiler to get a slight char and crispiness over the cheese and pepperoni.
Slice and serve hot!
Variations of Pizza Mac & Cheese
You can top the mac and cheese in any way you’d like to top your favourite pizza! The possibilities really are endless, but if you want some inspiration, here are some ideas:
Protein: Other excellent protein options can be grilled chicken, ground beef, sausage, or shrimp. If you are a vegetarian, you could top the mac and cheese with paneer or tofu.
Veggies: Onions and green peppers are my favourite veggies over pizza. Feel free to change the diced onions to thinly sliced onions if you desire. Other tasty veggies include red pepper, mushrooms, jalapeño, or corn!
Sauces: If you want to switch up the sauces, you could try BBQ sauce, Alfredo sauce, or buffalo sauce!
Cheeses: You could use any type of Swiss cheese. I also recommend Monterey Jack cheese, provolone, and Parmesan cheeses for pizza. You could even use gouda!
Other Mac & Cheese Recipes
Watch How to Make PIZZA MACARONI & CHEESE Here:
If you liked this recipe please let me know in the comments. Tag your post on social media using #cookingwithanadi and mention me @cookingwithanadi. Thank you!
Pepperoni Pizza Macaroni & Cheese
Ingredients
- 28 oz can Italian/San Marzano type tomatoes
- salt to taste
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- Red chilli flakes to taste
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 1/2 Tbsp butter
- 1 1/2 Tbsp all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 1/2 Cup cold milk
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 3/4 Cups old cheddar
- 3/4 Cups Gruyere
- 3/4 Cups emmental
- salt and pepper to taste
- 8 oz elbow macaroni
- 1 Cup mozzarella
- Pepperoni slices, as needed
- 2-3 Tbsp diced red onions
- 2-3 Tbsp diced green peppers
Instructions
- Separate the core, seeds, skin and any excess water from the san marzano whole tomatoes into a bowl. The remaining liquid from the can, can be reused for another dish.
- In the bowl with the tomato pulp, add the remaining ingredients for the sauce and mix well to combine. Taste and adjust the seasoning with more salt or chilli flakes.
- Heat a large pot of water and bring it to a rolling boil. Once boiling, add the pasta and cook until al dente. Once cooked, drain and set aside the pasta. Preheat the oven at 400 F.
- In the meanwhile, prepare the béchamel sauce. Heat a pan on medium heat and add butter. Once the butter melts, mix in the flour and garlic powder and whisk for 2-3 mins until the rawness of the flour is cooked out. The roux will begin to smell nutty, which is a good indicator
- Pour in your milk, little bit at a time while whisking to work out any lumps. Once all your milk is mixed in, wait until your sauce starts to come up to a simmer.
- As soon as the sauce comes to a simmer, it will begin to thicken. Once the béchamel is thick enough to evenly coat the back of a spoon, season with nutmeg, salt and pepper.
- Once the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, turn off the heat and add the cheese. Mix well until the cheese is molten and then add in the macaroni and mix well.
- Transfer the pasta to a casserole and then top with the tomato sauce. Lightly stir the sauce just over the top layer of the mac and cheese, without mixing it all the way. Top with mozzarella, pepperoni, green peppers and onions, or any other combination of ingredients for your pizza.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes and then turn on the broiler to get a slight char and crispiness over the cheese and pepperoni. Slice and serve hot!
Nutrition Facts
Calories
835.86Fat (grams)
45.89Sat. Fat (grams)
23.99Carbs (grams)
67.04Fiber (grams)
6.18Net carbs
60.83Sugar (grams)
15.66Protein (grams)
41.44Sodium (milligrams)
1128.5Cholesterol (grams)
126.08Nutrition info is an estimate.
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Welcome to Cooking With Anadi. This platform is all about making cooking exciting and finding new ways to bring classic flavours and recipes at your service. Join me in my personal journey in the world of cooking. Hope you have a great ride!
