Change up your mac and cheese with this salsa verde kick.
I don’t really remember eating macaroni and cheese growing up. The Kraft boxes did not make normal appearances in my house. And really, I didn’t care much for any macaroni and cheese until lately. Now I love it. And there are so many different versions out there that I want to try!
I was watching one of the many Rachael Ray shows I have on my DVR the other day and Rachael made this mac and cheese – with the surprising ingredient of salsa verde. She made hers as a side dish, but mentioned that it would be good if you added in some chicken and served it as a main dish. And that’s exactly what I did!
I really liked this recipe, but I wish I would have either left out the chicken or cooked my chicken differently. I just poached my chicken breast, and maybe that didn’t give it enough flavor because it almost felt out of place in this recipe. I found myself picking at the macaroni and trying to leave the pieces of chicken behind. I think this would have been much better if I would have roasted the chicken instead of poaching it. Or it would have made a great vegetarian main dish without the chicken at all!
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Mac ‘n Cheese with Salsa Verde
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
Change up your mac and cheese with this salsa verde kick.
Ingredients
- 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cooked and shredded
- 1/2 pound macaroni
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- salt and pepper
- 1 cup pepper jack cheese, shredded
- 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese
- 1/3 cup salsa verde
Instructions
- Cook pasta to al dente. Drain and reserve.
- Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat, sprinkle in flour, and whisk 1 minute. Whisk in milk and season with salt and pepper. Let thicken to coat the back of a spoon. Melt the cheeses into the sauce.
- Fold the cheese sauce into the macaroni. Add the chicken and the salsa verde and stir to combine all ingredients.
Recipe Notes:
adapted from The Rachael Ray Show
eatme_delicious says
Yumm I'm a total mac and cheese fiend!! I love the idea of adding salsa verde. We ate mac & cheese a lot growing up – my mom made a homemade one and when she wasn't around we made Kraft dinner.
Jillian says
mmmmm i am constantly craving mac and cheese so i'll have to try out this recipie. thanks!
jcd
grace says
this is my kind of cheesy mac! ah, pepper jack–my one true love. 🙂
Little Inbox says
It's a new flavor that learnt so far. 🙂 Good try!
Evan B says
I love everything mac and cheese.. I think I'd even try to make my chicken a little spicy??!
Ashley says
I love mac & cheese and love salsa verde too. Sounds like a winning combo to me!
scrambledhenfruit says
My grandson loves mac and cheese- he'd probably love this spiced up version!
Karly says
Oh, I bet this is so good! I'm on a serious salsa verde kick lately…I must make this!
Susi says
Great flavors in this dish! I love Mexican inspired pastas and my boys go nuts over it. This is a definite "must-bookmark". Thanks for sharing :o)
Pam says
Great twist on that macaroni! Rachael knows her way around the kitchen for sure and you do too!
The Meal Planner says
You know I've never really made homemade mac and cheese before! I would love to, it sounds so creamy and delicious.
Monet says
What a unique twist on one of my favorites. I could probably eat Macaroni and cheese every night of the week. Thank you for sharing…I'm sorry I've been a bit absent these last few days…we are just dealing with so much with baby Ryan. Have a beautiful weekend!
Joanne says
This is such a crazy flavor for mac and cheese! But delicious. Definitely delicious. I bet the chicken would be good roasted with some chili powder or mexican seasoning!
Georgia (The Comfort of Cooking) says
Oh my gosh, this looks so delicious, Deborah! I can never say no to a macaroni and cheese, and this one with a little spice looks particularly tempting! Thanks for sharing the awesome recipe.
Tasha says
Love the idea of the of salsa verde in mac 'n cheese! For some reason, I don't make a lot of mac 'n cheese, so when I do I like it to have a fun twist like this.