Smoked Mac and Cheese

Smoky, full of all the cheesy goodness, this Smoked Mac and Cheese is super easy with a tasty crunchy topping. Great for your spring or summer dinnertime meals.

I absolutely love mac and cheese, it was something I grew up with and one of those things that you just don’t grow out of.

What you do as you get older though, is get more creative with your recipes and this Smoked Mac and Cheese is one of them.

We love to smoke things whenever we can and this is one of those recipes just seems to get better when it is in the smoker.

It has a great flavor without being too overpowering, a tasty pasta recipe that can be made for lunch or dinner.

My whole family begs for this recipe when we finally whip our smoker out for the year and I’m always happy to oblige.

If you are a fan of mac and cheese, you need to add this Smoked Mac and Cheese to your must make list.

Some of our other favorite pasta recipes that we have on our site include: Skillet Lasagna, Bacon Pasta and Tortellini Carbonara.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:

• With a mix of cheese you have a great flavor combination.
• The panko topping gives it a nice crunch texture that adds to the recipe.
• Easy and available ingredients help this come together quickly.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED (FULL RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST):

Elbow macaroni
Salted butter
All-purpose flour
Milk 
Heavy cream 
Ground mustard powder
Salt
Coarse ground pepper
Onion powder
Cream cheese
Cheddar cheese
Smoked gouda cheese
Panko breadcrumbs
Parsley for garnish, optional

HOW TO MAKE SMOKED MAC AND CHEESE, STEP BY STEP:

1. Cook the macaroni in a salted pot of water until 1 minute shy of al dente. Drain pasta well. 
2. Preheat your smoker to 225 degrees F. 
3. While the macaroni cooks, in a 10-inch cast iron skillet, melt the butter over medium heat.
4. Add the flour and whisk continuously for 1 minute.
5. Then, add the milk in slowly while whisking followed by the heavy cream.
6. Add the mustard powder, salt, pepper, and onion powder and whisk. Continue whisking frequently until the sauce starts to simmer and thicken.
7. Reduce heat to medium-low and add the softened cream cheese. Mix until melted and combined.
8. Add both cheeses a small handful at a time, letting it melt in between each addition.
9. Add the pasta into the sauce and mix to combine. 
10. Mix the breadcrumbs and melted butter together and top the macaroni with the mixture. 
11. Place in the smoker, uncovered for 45 minutes-1 hour.
12. Remove from the smoker and serve hot. 

WHAT IF I DO NOT HAVE A CAST IRON SKILLET?

You can use a large dutch oven pot instead of a skillet if you don’t have a cast iron skillet. 

If you don’t have anything that would be smoker proof you can transfer the mac and cheese to a 4-5 qt disposable aluminum pan before topping with the breadcrumbs and smoking. 

CAN I BAKE THIS?

If you don’t have a smoker you can serve without smoking or the topping. Or you can bake it in the oven for about 20 minutes at 375 degrees F.

WHAT OTHER CHEESE’S CAN I USE?

While we love the combination of cheese we use in this recipe you can change it up to your liking. Some other cheese’s what will work include:

1. Monterey Jack
2. Colby Jack
3. Pepper Jack
4. Fontina
5. Provolone

You will want to use a cheese that will melt nicely. You don’t want clumps of cheese in your pasta.

You will also want to use freshly shredded cheese rather than bagged as it melts easier.

HOW LONG SHOULD I SMOKE THIS?

We recommend smoking from 45-60 minutes. You can smoke up to 2 hours, but it will really take on that smoky flavor.

So if you want a lot of smoky flavor then you can smoke longer, but we found the 45-60 minutes a really good flavor.

HOW TO STORE:

This can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator where it will keep for up to 3 days.

You can also freeze this recipe, let it cool completely and place in a freezer container and it will keep for up to 3 months.

To defrost remove from the freezer into the refrigerator until thawed. To reheat, place in the microwave until heated through.

TIPS AND TRICKS:

• The macaroni will continue cooking as it smokes so do not overcook the pasta or it will be soggy in the end. 
• If you don’t use salted butter add about ¼ teaspoon extra salt to the recipe or to taste. 
• You can use other cheese’s in this recipe, see above on how to do that.
• If you don’t cook your noodles in salted water, you will likely need a bit more salt in your sauce. I usually add about 1-2 tablespoons of salt to a large pot of water.
• This can be frozen, see above on how to do that.
• You can smoke this for up to 2 hours but the noodles take on the smoke flavor pretty fast so it will taste very smoky at 2 hours. 
• This can be baked instead of smoked, see above on how to do that.

When it comes to mac and cheese, you will not be able to resist this Smoked Mac and Cheese and need to add it to your must make list.

If you like this recipe you might also like:

• Slow Cooker Mac and Cheese
• Pulled Pork Mac and Cheese
• Pepper Jack Bacon Mac and Cheese
• Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese

If you’ve tried this SMOKED MAC AND CHEESE or any other recipe on my site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and what shenanigans I’m getting into!