We’re thinking outside the box and coming up with as many homemade, creamy and dreamy ways to serve the ultimate comfort food: Mac & Cheese!

Crazy for cheese? Click here for Bite Me More’s 10 best cheesy recipes.

1. Classic Creamy Mac & Cheese

When does out-of-the-box thinking pay off? When it comes to this Macaroni and Cheese recipe, the easiest, cheesiest way to cook up the ultimate comfort food. To get the creamiest noodles, we melt everything together on the stove, transfer the cheesy mixture to a baking dish and finish it in the oven with a tasty golden cover of crunchy breadcrumbs.

Ingredients

Creamy Macaroni & Cheese

2 large eggs
2¼ cups evaporated milk
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1½ tsp kosher salt
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/8 tsp hot sauce

1 lb elbow macaroni
4 tbsp butter
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Breadcrumb Topping

8 slices white bread, crusts removed
2 tbsp melted butter
1 tsp kosher salt
½ cup shredded cheddar cheese, for topping

Directions

1) Preheat oven to 375°F. Coat a 13×9-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.

2) In a medium bowl, whisk eggs, evaporated milk, Dijon mustard, salt, pepper and hot sauce. Set aside.

3) Bring a large pot of water to boil over high heat. Add macaroni and cook until pasta is tender. Drain pasta well and return to pot. Add butter over low heat to melt. Stir in egg mixture, cheddar cheese and Monterey Jack cheese. Continue stirring until creamy, about 5 minutes. Transfer mixture to prepared baking dish.

4) For the breadcrumb topping, pulse bread in food processor until coarse crumbs. In a small bowl, toss breadcrumbs with melted butter and salt. Evenly top macaroni with remaining cheddar cheese and buttered breadcrumbs.

3. Greek Macaroni & Cheese

A cheesy staple at your table, this Greek Mac & Cheese topped with a Feta crumble, will be sure to pull you in for seconds!

Ingredients

10 oz fresh baby spinach
¼ cup butter
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp dried oregano
¼ cup flour
4 cups whole milk
3 cups shredded sharp white cheddar cheese
1 cup crumbled Feta cheese
¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
¼ tsp kosher salt
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 lb elbow pasta

Crumble Topping

1½ cups panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
2 tbsp melted butter
¾ cup crumbled Feta cheese
Pinch kosher salt

Directions

1) Preheat oven to 375ºF. Butter a 13×9-inch baking dish and set aside.

2) Place spinach in a medium skillet with 2 tablespoons of water over medium high heat. Cook until spinach is wilted, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and squeeze out excess moisture from the cooked spinach. Chop and set aside.

4. Macaroni and Cheese Stuffed Shells

Now this is some out of the box thinking. Lisa has taken two of our favorite comfort foods – macaroni and cheese, stuffed shells – and merged them into one. Jumbo shells are stuffed with her homemade, cheesy mac and cheese and then topped with a buttery Ritz Cracker crumble. Yes, you get a perfect mac and cheese recipe AND an easy stuffed shell recipe all in one – talk about doubling down on comfort food!

Ingredients

2 cups tomato sauce

24 jumbo macaroni shells

8 oz macaroni noodles
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
3 cups whole milk
3 cups sharp cheddar, shredded
1 tsp kosher salt

Cracker Topping

15 Ritz Crackers, crushed
1 tbsp butter, melted

Directions

1) Preheat oven to 350ºF. Coat a 13×9-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Spread tomato sauce evenly over the bottom set aside.

2) In a large pot of lightly salted boiling water, cook the jumbo macaroni shells according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cold water set aside. In the same pot cook macaroni noodles in lightly salted boiling water until tender drain, rinse and set aside.

3) While the pasta is cooking, in a separate pot melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour, stirring continuously for 2 minutes, making sure it is free of lumps. Add milk slowly, continuing to whisk. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook mixture for 10 minutes, whisking frequently. Remove from heat and stir in cheddar cheese and salt. Fold the smaller cooked macaroni noodles into the cheese mixture. Spoon about 2 tbsp of macaroni and cheese mixture into cooked jumbo shells and place stuffed shells over tomato sauce in the prepared baking dish.

4) For the topping, in a small bowl mix together crushed Ritz crackers and the melted butter until all the crumbs are moistened sprinkle evenly over stuffed shells.
Bake covered for 30 minutes, remove cover and continue to bake for 10 minutes more.

Serves 8-10

5. Three-Cheese Macaroni & Cheese

We’re all for following food trends and applauding culinary innovation. However, we’re sick and tired of blue cheese, bacon, tomatoes and truffles messing with mac and cheese. For us, “gourmet” and “comfort food” don’t belong in the same breath, let alone bite. Here, our mac and cheese lets the cheese do the talking, the creamy goodness of melted Gruyere, white cheddar and Velveeta nestled beneath a crunchy golden crust speaks volumes. This homemade classic of cheesy and buttery simplicity will take you on a welcome trip down memory lane, ketchup bottle in tow.