A saucy nduja mac and cheese which will blow your mind! This silky cheese sauce has my favourite ingredient nduja mixed in for the ultimate flavour bomb. It's a spreadable sausage paste with a hint of chilli, the perfect thing to elevate a simple mac and cheese to something truly magnificent.
Hello! I am SO excited to write up this recipe for my best mac and cheese ever! I have a recipe for a nduja and cheese pasta sauce (which you should also try!). It's made with a roux, like a mac and cheese and gave me the idea for this. The nduja gives this simple dish such a lift in flavour plus the panko crumb topping has brown butter and thyme soooooo, yeah pretty much the dream dinner.
What is nduja?
Nduja is a spreadable sausage paste from Italy. It is red in colour and either comes in a jar or vacuum packed in a bag. The flavour is hard to describe, you have to trust me on this one. It is super savoury and has a kick of chilli but not overly spicy if used sparingly.
I love to use it in pasta sauces as it adds such a unique and delicious flavour note. It really is an amazing secret weapon to have in your fridge. Pop a spoonful into a tomato sauce, throw some into some stir fried or roasted veges, the possibilities are endless!
Most specialty supermarkets should have nduja, just google it in your area. If you really can't find it you could blend some chorizo. I always think if I can find something here in New Zealand you must be able to find it anywhere!
How to make an nduja mac and cheese
Make the panko topping
- Make the panko topping first. Brown the butter, if you aren't familiar with browning butter check out my 10 minute brown butter for pasta. Then mix it with the panko crumbs and thyme, set aside.
Cook the pasta
- Cook the pasta according to packet instructions but undercook by one minute
- After draining mix in 1 tbsp of butter, it stops it from overcooking.
Make the cheese sauce
- Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat until it starts to sizzle.
- Add the flour and whisk vigorously for a minute.
- Lower the heat slightly and add the milk in a slow stream, whisking the whole time making sure you get all the flour mixture from the sides of the pan.
- Cook for a few minutes until it thickens slightly and coats the back of a wooden spoon.
- Add the cheese in 3 or 4 lots, whisking and letting it melt in between each addition.
- Add the nduja and whisk to combine.
- Taste! You can add more nduja if you wish and also season with salt and pepper. It might not need any salt but I like to add a few cracks of black pepper here.
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Mix the pasta in and bake!
- Mix the cooked pasta into the sauce.
- Pour into your baking dish and top with the panko crumbs.
- Bake in the oven for 25 minutes.
Tips for success
- Browning the butter for the panko crumbs - why not make the crumbs a little bit extra? I start with 70g of unsalted butter because some of it will evaporate in the browning process. Brown the butter until the milk solids are brown NOT black.
- Add 50g of the finished butter to the panko crumbs.
- Mixing butter with the cooked pasta - this was a trick I learned from Recipe Tin Eats! It stops the pasta bloating up and overcooking in the sauce. Genius!
- Making the roux - Make sure when adding the milk you are getting all the flour/butter mixture off the bottom and sides of the pan. Tip your pan up so you can see what's going on at the bottom.
- A mix of cheese - I like to use three different cheeses. I use a basic cheddar, mozzarella and parmesan. I do really suggest using all three but you could sub the mozzarella for more cheddar to make it easier. Just make sure it's 270g all up.
- Nduja - if this is a new flavour to you or you aren't a huge chilli fan then just add 2 tbsp to start and taste it to see. I add 4 tbsp but just add a bit at a time. You be the judge.
- Baking the mac and cheese - don't over bake it! If you know me at all you know I am ALL about the sauciness and baking it too long will soak it all up. Just bake until the panko are lightly golden, it shouldn't need more than 25 minutes.
How long to boil macaroni
It is absolutely KEY to undercook the macaroni or other pasta shape by 1 - 2 minutes. This will ensure it doesn't get too soft and overcooked in the oven. It should still have a nice al dente bite after it is baked.
Recipe FAQs
Easy! If you have people coming over and want to get ahead this can be assembled right up until the point you put it in the oven then cover and pop it in the fridge! Bring it out of the fridge 20 mins or so before cooking in the oven. In terms of storing left overs you can keep it in the fridge for 2 - 3 days but honestly, if you don't eat this whole thing in one go I'm judging you a little bit!
Sure! It will still be a delicious classic mac and cheese without it. You could stir in some crispy bacon bits if you wanted a bit more flavour.
Most importantly you just want to use cheeses you like the taste of. I do a mix of a basic supermarket cheddar, a mozzarella for that classic cheese pull and parmesan for a boost of flavour. I've made it before with all cheddar and it's amazing so don't worry too much!
Want some other recipes to try?
If you love this nduja mac and cheese, I have a fast and delicious creamy nduja sauce you have to try! Or you could try my original nduja and cheese pasta sauce that inspired this recipe. If you want something completely different my favourite two recipes are my white pork ragu and my cacio e pepe with olives and basil.
Made this recipe and loved it?
I would love love LOVE if you could leave me a review down below and let me know what you thought! I love to hear any changes or adaptions you have made too. Also if you put a photo on instagram, please tag me so I can see, it makes my day!
Recipe
Nduja Mac and Cheese
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Ingredients
For the panko crumbs
- 75 g panko crumbs
- 70 g unsalted butter cubed
- 1 tbsp thyme leaves chopped
For the pasta
- 280 g macaroni
- 1 tbsp butter
For the sauce
- 60 g unsalted butter
- 45 g plain flour
- 625 ml milk full fat please!
- 270 g cheese I used 90g mozzarella, 140g cheddar, 40g parmesan
- 3 - 4 tbsp nduja taste the sauce and add more if you like!
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180c (350f)
For the panko crumbs
- Melt the butter over medium heat for 3 - 4 minutes, swirling the pan until it browns then take off the heat and mix into the panko crumbs straight away. It's hard to tell how much butter will evaporate for you so I used 50g of the melted brown butter with the crumbs. (see notes)
- Add the thyme leaves in and then set the crumbs aside.
For the pasta
- Cook the macaroni according to the instructions but undercook it by a minute.
- Drain and mix with the tablespoon of butter and set aside.
For the sauce
- Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat until it starts to sizzle.
- Add the flour and whisk vigorously for a minute.
- Lower the heat slightly and add the milk in a slow stream, whisking the whole time making sure you get all the flour mixture from the sides of the pan.
- Cook for a few minutes until it thickens slightly and coats the back of a wooden spoon.
- Add the cheese in 3 or 4 lots, whisking and letting it melt in between each addition.
- Add the nduja and whisk to combine.
- Taste! You can add more nduja if you wish and also season with salt and pepper. It might not need any salt but I like to add a few cracks of black pepper here.
Baking the mac and cheese
- Mix the pasta into the sauce and pour into a baking dish. I used a 9 x 9 inch metal pan
- Sprinkle the panko crumbs in an even layer over top and bake in the oven for 25 minutes until bubbly and slightly golden on top. Don't bake it for longer as the sauce can get too soaked up.
- Let it sit for a few minutes before serving then dig in!
Notes
- As mentioned with the brown butter, all butters brown differently so I have started with 70g knowing it will be less than that after browning as the water in the butter evaporates. Make sure you weigh out 50g to mix with the crumbs (or more if you like lots of butter!)
- I really like using a mix of the cheeses as I feel like they all bring something different to the party! You could definitely just use all cheddar to make it easy though.
- Mixing the tablespoon of butter with the pasta after cooking is a tip I learned from Recipe Tin Eats, it stops the pasta overcooking.
Jennie Steed says
This is delicious! Thank you....
Emilie Pullar says
Thanks so much Jennie! You've reminded me I need to make this one, I haven't in ages! 🙂
Eimear says
Hi
Trying this recipe and what temp to set oven at for baking for the 25 minutes?
Looking forward to trying this.
Emilie Pullar says
Hi, it says in the recipe 350f 🙂
Ana says
The BEST Mac & cheese of my life!
Emilie Pullar says
Yay! Thank you!