This baked macaroni and cheese with jalapeño and sausage is cheesy and spicy. It's made with fresh jalapeño peppers and smoked sausage for a spicy, savory bite.
A nice, creamy stove-top macaroni and cheese is my absolute favorite. My dad, on the other hand, is quite a fan of oven-baked macaroni and cheese with its crunchy texture on top.
One of our old favorite restaurants, the now-closed GrillSmith in Tampa, used to make a wonderful baked jalapeño macaroni and cheese that we could both agree on. For my take on this dish, I added some smoked sausage.
Ingredients
What makes this baked macaroni and cheese with jalapeño and sausage perfection is the combination of sharp cheddar with smoked gouda.
- elbow macaroni
- butter
- onion
- jalapeño peppers
- smoked sausage
- flour
- whole milk
- cayenne
- salt
- pepper
- egg
- sharp cheddar
- smoked gouda
- panko bread crumbs
See the recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350ºF and grease a 2-½ or 3-quart baking dish.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the macaroni according to package directions for al dente pasta. Drain and pour in the casserole dish.
Meanwhile, melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, jalapeño, and smoked sausage and cook until the onions begin to turn translucent. Top macaroni with veggies and gently mix in.
In a medium saucepan, melt 3 tablespoon butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour. Add milk and cook, stirring frequently until the mixture thickens, roughly 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add spices. Whisk in egg and add cheeses. Stir until the cheeses are melted. Mix cheese into the baking dish.
In the skillet that you cooked the veggies in, melt the remaining 2 tablespoon butter and mix in panko bread crumbs. Top the dish evenly with the panko.
Bake for 30 minutes.
Jalapeno and Sausage Macaroni and Cheese
Ingredients
- 16 oz elbow macaroni
- 6 tablespoon butter divided
- ½ onion finely chopped
- 2 jalapeño peppers seeded and finely diced
- 13 oz smoked sausage cut into bite-size pieces
- 3 tablespoon flour
- 3 cups whole milk
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- 8 oz sharp cheddar shredded
- 8 oz smoked gouda shredded
- ¾ cup panko bread crumbs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF and grease a 2-½ or 3 quart baking dish.
- Bring large pot of water to a boil and cook macaroni according to package directions for al dente pasta. Drain pasta and pour in the casserole dish.
- Meanwhile, melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, jalapeño, and smoked sausage and cook until the onions begin to turn translucent. Top macaroni with veggies and gently mix in.
- In a medium saucepan, melt 3 tablespoon butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour. Add milk and cook, stirring frequently until the mixture thickens, roughly 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add spices. Whisk in egg and add cheeses. Stir until the cheeses are melted. Mix cheese into the baking dish.
- In the skillet that you did the veggies in, melt the remaining 2 tablespoon butter and mix in panko bread crumbs. Top the dish evenly with the panko.
- Bake for 30 minutes.
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