Sausage and Pesto Mac and Cheese
Classic homemade mac and cheese gets a flavor upgrade with the addition of Italian sausage and pesto. This easy twist is sure to become a family favorite.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 12 servings 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stovetop
Ingredients
Scale
- 16 ounces dry pasta
- 2 pounds sausage (ground/links)
- 6 Tablespoons butter (salted or unsalted)
- 6 Tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper (optional)
- 6 cups milk
- 24 oz. sharp cheddar cheese*
- 1/4 cup pesto**
Instructions
- In a large pasta pot, bring water to a boil. Once boiling, add the pasta and cook to al dente, according to directions on package. Once pasta is done, drain and set aside, stirring occasionally to keep from sticking.
- Meanwhile, heat a large deep-sided pot (6-quart is a good size) over medium heat. Add sausage to pan. If using sausage links, cut into 1/2 inch pieces before adding to pan.
- While sausage is cooking, prepare cheese sauce ingredients. Set butter to side. Mix together cornstarch, ground mustard, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Measure milk. Shred cheese, if needed.
- Once sausage is cooked through to a temp of 155-165°F, turn off heat, unless cheese sauce ingredients are ready to add.
- With sausage still in pan, over medium heat, add butter.
- Once butter is melted, stir in the cornstarch and seasoning mixture until sausage is evenly coated.
- If baking the mac and cheese, preheat oven to 375°F.
- Add milk to sausage mixture, approximately 1/2 cup at a time, stirring in until thickened before adding more milk.
- Once all milk is stirred in and mixture is thickened, add cheese. The cheese will thicken it even more to a saucier consistency.
- Once cheese is stirred in, mix pasta and sausage cheese sauce together.
- If serving from stovetop, top with pesto and swirl into mac and cheese.
- If baking: Put into 9×13 oven-safe baking dish. There will be more mac and cheese than fills this pan. I usually have another 9×11 pan of mac and cheese, which we use as lunches or put in the freezer.
- Dot top of mac and cheese with spoonfuls of pesto and lightly swirl in. Also called, take a fork and just kind of jab it in a bit. We don’t have patience for elegance around here.
- If baking, put in preheated oven for 20 minutes. (Total cook time includes baking for 20 minutes).
Notes
- Cheese: I like to use New York or extra sharp cheddar. You could also use a blend of your favorite cheeses. Using a 6 ounces of gouda in place of some cheddar makes a creamier mac and cheese.
- Pesto: this is “ish.” You may want to use a bit more or less. The amount really comes down to preference.
Keywords: mac and cheese recipe, macaroni and cheese, homemade mac and cheese, mac and cheese with sausage