Best Ground Beef Recipes for Mac and Cheese

One-Pot Cheeseburger Macaroni!  2 delicious comfort foods rolled up into one pot of creamy, cheesy, compact yumminess!  You may know it as Cheeseburger Macaroni, Hamburger Helper, or hamburger mac and cheese… any you call it, this homemade version is over the superlative succulent!

Commencement off can we talk virtually the Macaroni and Cheese part of this recipe – like existent talk??

Do yous ever wonder why some mac and cheese recipes have amazing flavor but they have this gritty texture?

Me as well!!  So I went to work – determined to create the creamiest and cheesiest mac and cheese ever!  Sans any grittiness!!

I'yard here to interruption it down for you!!

Allow me to reveal the mysteries of mac and cheese, and share the science backside making it the right fashion!

How to make the creamiest mac and cheese:

American Cheese works best for macaroni and cheese!

It all starts with practiced ole' American cheese.  Yep, mind-blowing right!?  American Cheese is the clandestine ingredient!  My friends over at America'southward Test Kitchen taught me this little play a trick on.  And now it's the but mode I brand it.

I will be honest: American cheese is not my favorite for most other purposes…  In fact I think I only buy it when I'm making macaroni and cheese.

While my feelings for information technology aren't overly fond, there's no denying it has its place…  and it'due south right hither in the almost delicious 1-Pot Cheeseburger Macaroni recipe!

Yep – American cheese will ensure yous terminate up with a silky, smooth cheese sauce.  Here'southward why… information technology's all near the additives.  American cheese is full of stabilizers, and it is those stabilizers that volition prevent unpleasant graininess from ruining your cheese sauce.

Oh and I should mention: I don't recommend using the sliced American cheese – that's a different kind of cheese!  You'll demand to go to the deli at your grocery shop and inquire for an eight-ounce piece of American cheese.  They are used to slicing it thinly for sandwiches, etc., but there'south no need to take them slice it, since you'll be grating it yourself.  They unremarkably cut mine into two thick hunks.

So in that location you accept it: American cheese is the key factor for creaminess… just non really for flavour.  And then I like to add other stronger flavored cheeses to incorporate more flavor.  Here are few cheese that would be delicious in mac and cheese… Cheddar, Parmesan, Havarti, Gouda, smoked Gouda, Monterey Jack, Gruyere and Fontina.

Don't use pre-shredded cheese:

Equally I mentioned you'll be shredding the cheese instead of using pre-shredded bagged cheese.  This is because most shop-bought shredded cheese has an anti-caking cellulose agent added to keep it from sticking together in the pocketbook.  And when melted, that amanuensis can sometimes cause the sauce to be grainy.

Continue the temp lower!

Some other fashion to create the smoothest texture for your cheeseburger macaroni is to turn the temperature down to depression before adding your cheeses.   If you lot add together cheese to super-hot liquid, the proteins can ossify, turning it lumpy or stringy… and the fatty will separate creating a greasy mess.

Although dissimilar cheeses have higher temperature tolerances, to play information technology safe just add cheese at the end of the cooking procedure and keep the temp depression.  Yous want it to just barely reach its melting point – merely not go much across it.

Another tip is to not over-stir.  Over-stirring also encourages the proteins to dodder and could create a stringy or lumpy texture.

How to reheat mac and cheese:

And my last trick on making polish and flossy homemade macaroni and cheese is as follows:  If you actually have any leftovers and want to ensure creaminess when y'all're reheating them… reserve 1-2 cups of the pasta water and save information technology.  When you are ready to reheat, bring a cup of pasta water to a eddy in a large pot, then reduce the oestrus to low , and add together the mac and cheese.

Every bit it melts, gently stir.  You can add more pasta water, a few tablespoons at a time, until the sauce has to loosened enough without diluting the rich season.

In that location you have it… all my best tricks and tips for amazingly ooey gooey mac and cheese without whatever grit!

Which brings us to the other component of our Cheeseburger Macaroni… the hearty meat element aka the burger.

How To Brand Cheeseburger Macaroni:

1. As the championship suggests this is a i pot repast, and information technology starts with cooking the meat.  Add some olive oil, the footing beef, chopped onion, and seasonings and saute until the meat is fully cooked and the onions are translucent.

2. Mix in the tomato paste and saute for a few minutes, then transfer to a bowl and ready aside.  Then become to work on the mac and cheese.

3. Cook pasta in a medium pot of boiling salted water until al dente, about 2 minutes less than parcel instructions. Drain, and reserve at least i cup of pasta water .

4. Return the empty pot to the stove over medium heat and add butter. When butter melts and foams, add flour and whisk until darkened slightly, 1 to two minutes. Add mustard powder and whisk to combine.

5. Slowly whisk in the milk and bring to a boil, and then reduce estrus to medium and melt, stirring consistently to prevent the flour from burning or overcooking, for well-nigh 3 – 4 minutes.

1. 6. Adjacent, reduce the heat to depression and add in the cheese in three batches, starting with the American cheese.  Whisk to fully combine, then follow with the cheddar and Parmesan (whisk to fully combine after calculation each cheese).  Season the cheese sauce with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/ii teaspoon pepper.

7. And so fold the meat mixture into the cheese sauce.

8. And finally fold the pasta noodles into the mac and cheese, and you've got the most delicious and hearty repast ever!

Yous tin can ever customize the recipe and sneak in some veggies.  Some steamed broccoli or cauliflower, or some peas and carrots would be a nice addition.

And of course you tin always bandy out the pasta for other varieties like shells, penne, or rigatoni.  Whatever y'all choose, one thing's for sure, it will be absolutely succulent!

Merely exist ready, this is gonna be ane those meals when the kiddos and teenagers ask for seconds and thirds.

You might consider making a double batch – just sayin'!!!

Melt Time 45 minutes

Full Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

For The Meat Mixture:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ane medium onion, finely chopped
• 1½ pounds lean ground sirloin
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 2 teaspoons garlic pulverisation
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon chili pulverization (or hot chili powder if y'all like it spicier)
• iii tablespoons tomato paste

For The Mac And Cheese:

• 1 pound curt pasta, such every bit elbow macaroni
• 3 cups whole milk, warmed
• iii tablespoons butter
• ¼ loving cup flour
• 2 teaspoons mustard powder
• eight ounces finely chopped American cheese (2 cups) *See Note
• 12 ounces grated extra sharp cheddar cheese (three cups)
• ii ounces grated Parmesan (1 loving cup)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Instructions

1. Add olive oil, chopped onion, basis beef, and seasonings to a large pot and saute until the meat is fully cooked and the onions are translucent. Thoroughly mix in tomato paste, saute for two minutes, then transfer the meat mixture to a basin and set aside.
2. Use the same pot to cook pasta in boiling salted water until al dente, virtually two minutes less than parcel instructions. While pasta is cooking, warm the milk in a separate pot.
3. Drain pasta one time cooked, ***reserving at least one cup of the pasta water.***
4. Return the empty pot to the stove over medium oestrus and add butter. When butter melts and foams, add flour and whisk until darkened slightly, 1 to two minutes. Add mustard powder and whisk to combine.
5. Slowly whisk in the warm milk and bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring consistently to foreclose the flour from burning or overcooking, for about 3 – 4 minutes.
6. Reduce heat to low and add together cheese in iii batches, starting with American cheese. Whisk to fully combine, then follow with cheddar and Parmesan (whisk to fully combine later on adding each cheese). Flavour with one teaspoon salt and one/2 teaspoon pepper.
7. Fold the meat mixture into the cheese sauce, and then fold in the pasta, and serve.

Notes

Do not swap out another cheese for American Cheese:

• American Cheese is the cardinal ingredient that will ensure you lot end upward with a silky, polish cheese sauce. It's because American cheese is full of stabilizers, and it is those stabilizers that will foreclose unpleasant graininess from ruining your cheese sauce.
  
• I do not recommend using the sliced American cheese – that's a different kind of cheese! You'll demand to go to the deli at your grocery store and ask for an 8-ounce piece of American cheese. They are used to slicing information technology thinly for sandwiches, etc., but there's no need to have them piece it, since yous'll be grating it yourself. Ask them to cut information technology in i-2 thick pieces.

How to keep mac and cheese from beingness grainy or stringy:

• Mitt shredding blocks of cheese (instead of using numberless of pre-shredded cheese) works better in this recipe considering block cheese typically melts more easily and helps prevent graininess.

• Cheese can also become grainy if y'all have the heat too high. Information technology's best to refuse the rut and melt information technology slowly, because overheating the cheese will make it lumpy and stringy. Also, use summit-quality well-aged cheeses that will melt more smoothly.

How to reheat mac and cheese:

As mac and cheese cools, the sauce tightens and loses some of its creaminess. Only if you lot don't serve it correct away, no worries -- but place the pot over a low heat, and stir in reserved pasta water, a few tablespoons at a time to loosen the sauce without diluting the rich flavor.

How to shop mac and cheese leftovers:

Make sure it's cooled completely before storing information technology in the fridge. Shop mac and cheese in an airtight container in the refrigerator for upwardly to 3 days, or freeze in an airtight container up to ii months.

Nutrition Information

Yield

12

Serving Size

8 Ounces
Amount Per Serving Calories 450 Full Fat 28g Saturated Fatty 15g Trans Fat 1g Unsaturated Fatty 10g Cholesterol 111mg Sodium 976mg Carbohydrates 17g Fiber 1g Sugar 6g Protein 32g

This nutrition card uses an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. This estimate is not a substitute for a professional nutritionist'due south communication!

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Source: https://tasteandsee.com/one-pot-cheeseburger-macaroni/

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