Shrimp Macaroni and Cheese Recipe

Shrimp Macaroni and Cheese Recipe

What can you do to dress up your mac and cheese? Gourmet mac is all the rage. If you've got seafood lovers, this shrimp macaroni and cheese recipe is an easy weeknight dinner that will please even the most hard to please palates. 

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Shrimp Macaroni and Cheese Recipe.

How to Make Shrimp Mac and Cheese Recipe

Ingredients

1/3 cup Panko breadcrumbs (See note)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan

1 tsp dried parsley

2 tbsp olive oil, divided  

8 oz elbow macaroni 
1 lb peeled raw shrimp
3 garlic cloves
2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp flour
2 cups milk

3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp ground mustard
1.5 cups cheese (cheddar, Cojack, or your favorite), freshly grated if possible (see tips below.)
3/4 cup mozzarella cheese, freshly grated if possible.

How to Make Recipe
Preheat broiler on high.

Mix together bread crumbs, Parmesan, parsley, and 1 tbsp olive oil.  Set topping aside.
Cook macaroni to al dente according to package directions.  
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a medium skillet over high heat.
Add shrimp, sprinkle with salt and pepper.   Cook for 1 minute. Add garlic and cook for another minute until the shrimp has changed color but not fully cooked.
Transfer to bowl. Turn heat down to medium.
Melt butter. Add flour and cook for 1 minute.
Pour milk in slowly, while stirring. Once the mixture is smooth, season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and mustard.  Continue to stir until thickened.
Add cheeses and stir until melted.  Then add shrimp. Adjust seasoning to taste.

Transfer to an oven safe casserole dish.

Sprinkle with breadcrumb mixture, then place under the broiler until the top is golden. 

Finally, serve your delicious shrimp macaroni and cheese dinner!

Tips:  I never have Panko bread crumbs, but I have found a nice alternative. I save the heels from my loaves of bread in the freezer.  When I need bread crumbs, I thaw a couple of them in the microwave for a few seconds, break them into smaller pieces, and pulse them in the blender until I get the desired consistency.

Packaged shredded cheese is coated to keep the cheese from sticking together.  Your cheese sauce will be smoother if you're able to grate the cheese yourself.  However, the packed shredded cheese will work.  I have made it both ways and have had no complaints!

Recommended:

Make Shrimp Rustica Pasta

BLT Mac and Cheese Recipe

Forget it, just buy mac and cheese on Amazon!

Pizza Mac and Cheese Recipe

Easy Pizza Flavored Mac and Cheese

If your kids have unadventurous palates, you may find yourself making a lot of mac and cheese. Sometimes, we make a big pot of homemade mac and cheese with Velveeta and then change up the leftovers. Want something different, but delicious? Make easy homemade pizza mac and cheese with this recipe. Enjoy!

Pizza Mac and Cheese Recipe.

Easy Pizza Mac and Cheese

Ingredients:
Leftover mac and cheese or make it from scratch
Milk
Pizza sauce or favorite spaghetti sauce
Oregano
Mozzerella Cheese
Salt, Pepper, and Parmesan
Pepperoni or Sausage (Optional)

The day after mac and cheese usually requires some freshening up. My daughter says "it's frozen" when she sees it hard and congealed.

The best way to doctor leftover mac and cheese is to place it over low heat on the stovetop and stir in milk until desired consistency.

Then, depending on how many leftovers you have, add 1/2 - 2
Cups pizza or spaghetti sauce. Don't add too much or it will taste like spaghetti soup. It should look orange and creamy (see picture).

Add pepperoni or sausage if desired.

Add a cup of Mozzerella Cheese.

Stir in a pinch of salt and pepper to taste.

Next, add a dash of Oregano to desired taste. Keep stirring over low heat until heated through.

Plate out, and sprinkle on the Parmesan.

Delishhh!


Recommended:

Velveeta Mac and Cheese*

More Easy Recipes

Mac and Cheese Story*

ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products. *We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)

Easiest Mac and Cheese Recipe Ever SIMPLE

Easy, Cheesy Mac and Cheese Recipe

Mac and Cheese is easiest in the microwave, but it isn't the best tasting. If you want the BEST easy macaroni and cheese, we've found the perfect pasta for you! This recipe is simple, and it tastes good. Enjoy!

Barilla® Pronto™ is an amazing time saver.

Barilla® Pronto™ will save you time without sacrificing the flavor or texture you have come to expect from Barilla® Pasta. You can find it at Kroger in the canned and packaged goods section- right next to the regular pasta. Kroger offers Elbows, Rotini, Penne, Spaghetti, and Linguine.

Make your mac and cheese gourmet by mixing in frozen peas and pepperoni.

You can customize Barilla® Pronto™ to your liking. We boiled up a pan of penne and tossed in our favorite ingredients. See the simple mac and cheese recipe below. It is so fast, you won't believe how much time it saves!

Barilla® Pronto™ Penne.

Easy PEAS-y Mac and Cheese Recipe

#OnePanPronto
Frozen Peas
Pepperoni
Black Pepper
Your Favorite Cheese Sauce in a Jar

Here's the tricky part: Sit pan on stove. Add water according to package directions. No need to turn on stove and preboil water! Pour in your favorite Barilla® Pronto™ Pasta variety- we chose Penne. Turn on High heat to boil. Stir to keep from sticking.

• Boil until most of water is gone (about 10 minutes).
• No need to rinse and drain!
• Add your favorite cheese sauce from a jar, sprinkle in pepper, and frozen peas.
• Optional: Toss in Pepperoni. We served it on the side due to our picky eaters.

You can customize Pronto™ to your liking by adding sauce, seasoning, vegetables or proteins for unlimited meal options!

Find Barilla® Pronto™ at your local Kroger in the pasta aisle

Click here for Barilla® Pronto™ recipes.

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This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Barillo. The opinions and text are all mine.

Family style BLT Mac and Cheese Recipe

Easy Weeknight Dinner: BLT Mac and Cheese

Who wouldn't enjoy this grownup version of Mac and Cheese Recipe? Our BLT Mac and Cheese Recipe makes enough to serve the whole family, and it is easy to make dinner on a weeknight. Enjoy!

BLT Mac and Cheese Recipe make an easy weeknight dinner.

We loved this Family Style BLT Mac and Cheese Recipe* including the kids, who normally don't like any mac and cheese unless it comes out of a box. Want to make this a well rounded dinner? Add some cooked chicken to it!

How to Make BLT Mac and Cheese

(There isn't any "L", but you could serve it on a bed of lettuce.)

5 C. of Water
10 slices of Turkey Bacon
4 oz. White Sharp Cheddar Cheese 
1 oz, Parmesan Cheese
4 oz. of Cream Cheese
1 lb.  Rotini Pasta
1 tsp. of Salt
1/2 tsp. of Pepper
5 Green Onions
3 lg. Roma Tomatoes 

Bring water to a boil in a 8 Qt. stockpot.

Meanwhile, slice bacon crosswise into thin strips; place in skillet and cook til crisp. Remove bacon and drain on a paper towel.

As the bacon cooks add Rotini Pasta, cream cheese, and other cheeses to pot of boiling water. Cover and simmer vigorously for 5 min. stirring occasionally. 

Cook's Tip: When you add the cheeses at the same time, they get stuck to the bottom of the pot, you have to constantly stir. Maybe wait until pasta is nearly done to add the cheese.

As pasta mixture cooks, dice green onions, and then stir into pasta mixture.  

Cook uncovered 5-7 minutes or until pasta is cooked to desired tenderness and sauce is thickened, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, cut tomatoes in half lengthwise remove cores. Dice tomatoes; reserve 1/4 C. for garnish. 

Remove stockpot from heat; stir in remaining tomatoes and half of the bacon. Spoon pasta mixture into a serving bowl and garnish with reserved tomatoes and bacon. 

Eat, the best mac and cheese ever!

Best mac and cheese ever recipe!

Recommended:

Easy Mac and Cheese Cooker*

More Recipes from Kids Creative Chaos

Mac and Cheese Book for Kids*





ADS DISCLOSURE: We've partnered with some wonderful advertisers who may sponsor blog posts or send us samples to test. Some companies pay us to review their products.

*We also use affiliate links, if you make a purchase we get a tiny commission. Kids Creative Chaos participates in the Amazon LLC Associates Program*, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a mean for blogs to earn advertising fees by linking to Amazon properties, including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com. We also offer Tapinfluence, Google Adsense, SoFab, and Izea ads here. Thanks so much for helping us keep the lights on! :)