Macaroni cheese - hit me with your secrets

[snappycamper]

AIBU to find macaroni cheese really dull?

The family love it but it's so plain... what do you add to yours to gift it a lift? I feel there must be a secret ingredient that I'm missing, mine is never as good as others I've had.

Sour cream.

Caramelized red onions and bits of bacon mixed through. Chopped tomatoes and a layer of cheese on the top. Put in oven til cheese is bubbling

Bit of mustard in the sauce.
Sprinkle over sunflower seeds and sliced cherry tomatoes before baking.

Really craving mac and cheese now after reading some of these!

bacon and broccoli. Oh and have some really interesting bread to go with it.

Nigella’s sweet potato macaroni. My kids love it even though they won’t eat sweet potatoes in any other form. www.nigella.com/recipes/sweet-potato-macaroni-cheese

@billy1966
It was one of my husband's experimental dinners that turned out to be a big hit. A great go to winter warmer.

I sometimes use Dijon mustard or even a touch of cayenne pepper to give it a kick. Oh and don't skimp on the cracked black pepper, either.

carlywurly

Wow do people have "signature dishes"?

as many varieties of cheese as you have in does that work?

Sounds a little muddled.

Right now in my fridge i have feta, parmesan, caboc, stilton, mozzerella, wensleydale, smoked austrian , cheshire, cheddar, Lancashire and Camembert.

Should I use them all?

Panko crumbs in the grated cheese sprinkled on top. Love a bit of crispiness!

God I love Mac and cheese.
I also put mustard in, along with a dash of worcester sauce. Drool

Bacon 🤤

A tin of tuna mixed through with a tin of sweetcorn.

A teaspoon of cumin seeds added to the butter before you add the flour.

Chorizo, sun dried tomatoes and peas in ours. Plus loads and loads of cheddar and Parmesan

English mustard and butter fried onions in the cheese sauce and I also put sliced baby tomatoes on the top before I add the extra grated cheese to grill.

A dash of mustard and chopped sweet chilli sausages

Crispy bacon lardons
The strongest cheddar you can find
Triple the amount of cheese
Add wholegrain mustard to the cheese sauce

And never ever use packet / pre-made cheese sauce

Mozzarella.
Toast some crusty bread under the grill with olive oil salt and pepper and put over the top before you chuck it in the oven.
Peas and sweetcorn on the side.
Dijon mustard.

Red onion

Delia has a recipe which is very different- souffléd with mascarpone etc

What @Shockers said. Every time.

Garlic and bacon. We had it last night and it's unreal, and I'm not a massive fan normally.

It's also really nice with chorizo 🤤

I had a version of macaroni cheese at a posh pub recently that had goats cheese and sprung onion added. That was nice

Spring onion!

tongue firmly one cheek here - all the cheese!!

Nutmeg and lots of black pepper in the cheese sauce. Bacon and sliced tomatoes on top, covered with more grated cheese. It is wonderful and lush. I consider the addition of any form of mustard to be pollution, and the thought of adding blue or goats cheese just makes me feel sad.