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.

Mustard and broccoli, grated cheese on top and whack under grill to crisp the top

I haven't been here in so long, I'm shocked my account was still active. I'm American. Do you have condensed milk over there? I have a recipe that comes closest to what I got in the deep south and it calls for condensed milk instead of regular milk, and that is a world of difference. Mustard powder, mix of cheeses, and cream cheese (Philadelphia?) are all musts, also.

I make a wicked cauliflower cheese with onions, bacon and roasted peanuts. I expect it would work well with macaroni cheese too.

Super strong mature cheddar and when you think you’ve put enough in, put in loads more!

Bacon. And nutmeg in the sauce.

Tsp of colmans mustard powder and a pinch of cayenne pepper in the sauce. Strong cheddar cheese. I make my roux for the sauce with butter and cornflour, add milk, stir til thickens and then turn off heat and melt in the cheese. If being posh i put it in a heat proof dish, add pre-grilled bacon and sliced tomato, cheese top and grill til cheese melts and starts to brown. All my kids favourite!

Two or three different types of cheese in the sauce.

And make a PROPER roux sauce before adding any of the milk or cheese etc, it makes such a difference having this as a base. I didn't know what it was called until this year.

I am 33. I am also partial to bacon cooked until crispy and chopped on top.

Fuck, I'm well hungry now.

It's got to be lobster mac "n" cheese!

Vegetables, as others have said. I like kale and mushrooms. Also, I add fresh bay leaves and mace to the milk as it heats up then some curly parsley at the end.

Proper roux sauce, loads of mature cheese, mustard. I stir in frozen chopped spinach and canned sweetcorn. Depending on what's in the fridge I sometimes add ham, bacon or tuna. My kids absolute favourite!

Mustard and that vegan cheesy yeast, but in non vegan mac n cheese. Serve with Garlic and Onion dip from Asda or Coleslaw 🤤

Grate in some nutmeg. Makes it amazing!

A girl I was once friends with used to add a tin of tomato soup, it was actually amazing!

DH crumbles a cube of vegetable Oxo over the top before it goes into the oven. Game changer 😁

@freerangechickens do you mean condensed or evaporated? We have both here, condensed is thickened with sugar and one step from caramel, evaporated is cooked down the become concentrated milk with no added sugar.
I can imagine it with evaporated, but condensed seems a step too far!
Not being nasty, I know there are plenty of words that don't translate between USA and UK, genuinely curious

Smoked cheese and cheddar cheese

DH crumbles a cube of vegetable Oxo over the top before it goes into the oven. Game changer

The game changer for me would be D I V O R CE !!

Oxo = yuk!!

Chorizo Mac and Cheese is my utter fave!! With crispy panko topping and some tabasco sauce!

I'm positive that this has been said many times already on this thread.

BACON 🥓🥓

Coleman's mustard and half a teaspoon of grated nutmeg. My family's favourite.

I'm a purist. Proper cheese sauce made from roux and good strong cheddar with mustard powder too, topped with more cheese and grilled and served with an undressed side salad and ketchup squirted on top!

Eight pages in and the last post I come to, Outfoxed's post, has it exactly right.

Proper roux, mustard, cheddar, with ketchip squirted on top, not mixed in.

I like a LOT of mustard.

So many tips!

Mustard and garlic in the cheese sauce. Bacon lardons in there too. Top with sliced tomato, oregano, a drizzle of olive oil and parmesan before putting in the oven.

I add fried pancetta or bacon lardons, diced fresh tomatoes, mushrooms, leeks, broccoli, basically anything I have in the fridge that adds a bit of flavour, and have a pile of salad with it. I find it really sickly and otherwise, unfortunately it's one of DD's favourite meals.

As pps have said, I also add a bit of mustard in the sauce and a mountain of strong cheddar on top, there's no such thing as too much cheese imo.