How to tart up mac and cheese?

[Deathwillbebutapause]

I use a basic recipe similar to this.
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/best-ever-macaroni-cheese-recipe

Which the offspring deign to eat.

How to make it a bit fancier without altering it too much? Can you shoehorn in veg somehow inside the mac and cheese (I serve it on the side but it's not always eaten)? Can you add bacon somehow? Herbs?

A la Starbucks:
Spinach and breadcrumbs on the top, bits of mozzarella chucked in through the sauce and pasta just before putting in the oven. My fussy Dd loves it!

You can soufflé the sauce which makes it lighter and add shredded ham hock like this.

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/souffle-mac-n-cheese

Put a layer of fried onion and chopped bacon in the middle, and slices of tomato on top.

Definitely leeks and bacon. A teaspoon of wholegrain mustard added to the sauce makes it taste amazing. We put crushed plain crisps and shredded cheese on the top for a crunchy topping.

I add peas, onions, sweetcorn and diced up or shredded leftover meat. Sprinkle cheese on the top and serve it as a pasta dish - a main meal in its own right - rather than a side dish.

I add bacon lardons or chopped up streaky bacon, sweetcorn, fried leeks and shredded chicken breast to mine. I also add peas in if it's for the kids

The Andi Oliver recipe sounds amazing, would love to be served that without knowing how much fat it actually contains!

I mix cauliflower and broccoli into mine sometimes.

I cut up 2 yellow peppers a carrot, onion and some garlic. Fry it off until soft. Blend it down and add it to the milk used to make the cheese sauce. The recipe I use say 1litre of milk so I make the veg and milk mix equal that amount. My children never know the veg is in there. I also had chorizo because my kids love that. I fry off the chorizo before frying the veg and put it in a bowl to the side. I then use the same pan to fry the veg that I did the chorizo in. To soak up all that flavour

I always lightly steam some cauli or romanesco or broccoli and add them to the mac n cheese. I flavour the cheese sauce with a pinch of nutmeg, thyme, spoonful of dijon mustard and a bit of smoky paprika. Top it with toasted wholemeal breadcrumbs and grated cheddar

Oven bake it for 20 mins with either cherry tomatoes on the vine or halved tomatoes brushed with garlic paste and herbs, and streaky bacon, baked until crisp.

Bbc good food pulled pork recipe, I cook in slow cooker then freeze portions of it and serve it with the mac and cheese you.mention from bbc good food. I omit the breadcrumbs and mustard though as that's our preference. It's my two boys favourite meal, one we have as a treat as no veg or salad included.

Blitz some spinach into the sauce and make it green

I put pancetta in mine, put in a dish, sprinkle breadcrumbs and Parmesan on it then bake.

I put garlic and sun dried tomatoes in mine then top with chilli breadcrumbs and Parmesan. I also make the sauce with mozzarella and strong cheddar

We make Jamie Oliver's green mac and cheese. It's delicious!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/mac_and_cheesy_81730

This is the most bizarre but also tasty thing.

Shred and brown a load of sprouts with diced chorizo in the pan too.

I like to add cauliflower & broccoli to mine, chunks of cooked fish like salmon, sometimes a bit of smoked cod or haddock, depending what I have in, thinly sliced tomatoes over the top and a good sprinkle of grated red leicester . If I'm not using the fish, I like crispy smoked bacon on the side with a crusty baguette or roll

Can’t believe no one’s said add tuna. Was genuinely confused the first time someone tried to give me Mac and cheese and I couldn’t find the tuna. In my family it’s called tuna pasta. I don’t like Mac and cheese as it tastes like it’s missing something

salsa and bacon

Thank you, all! I will start with leeks, bacon and butternut squash, and see if it gets accepted. Chilli flakes and peas might be a step too far for now though I'm sure they're delicious.

I LOVE tuna bake @Pineapplemonkey but I don't know about it in mac and cheese. Fish and cheese don't really seem to go, or am I missing something incredible?

You can definitely put veg in. We use kale or chopped up broccoli. Peas, diced carrots, cauliflower or spinach would also work.

You are missing something incredible! I actually see your point about fish and cheese, but there are some exceptions to that, haddock mornay, salmon with a Parmesan crust and possibly best of all a tuna melt, and this is what tuna pasta bake takes its incredibleness from! Mmmmm tuna melt.......

I add bacon, leeks, and the top is breadcrumbs, parmesan and those crispy onion bits for crunch. That'll be tomorrow's dinner.

Crab mac n cheese Nigella recipe

super indulgent but delicious.

I put bacon, peas, sometimes broccoli and sweetcorn - goes down a treat, with my kids even the one who doesn't like cheese (don't tell him what's in it)