Stovetop Taco Macaroni and Cheese
Try this stovetop taco macaroni and cheese. It’s creamy, cheesy and loaded with taco flavor. You only need one pot for the pasta and one pot for everything else, making clean up a breeze.
Ingredients
Pasta
- 8 ounces shellbow pasta
Cheese Sauce
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
- 2 tablespoons AP flour, all purpose
- 1.5 cups 2% milk
- 6 ounces Velveeta cheese, cut into smaller cubes for easy melting
- ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- ½ cup pasta water, use if the cheese sauce is too tight
- 1 packet taco seasoning
Toppings
- ½ small avocado, peeled and sliced
- ¼ cup Frito lays chips, crushed
- 2 tablespoons jalapeno, diced - remove the seeds and veins
- 1 tablespoon scallion, chopped
Optional Toppings
- bell peppers
- black beans
- sausage, shredded chicken, blackened shrimp
- grilled sweet corn kernels
Equipment
- 11-inch saucepan
- pasta pot
- colander
Instructions
Prepare the Pasta
- Boil a pot of water and cook your favorite pasta according to the package. Al dente is best, as the pasta will continue to cook in the pan with the cheese sauce. Reserve a 1/2 -1 cup of pasta water for the cheese sauce. Drain the rest of the water using a colander and set the cooked pasta aside.
Prepare the Cheese Sauce
- Grab a large saucepan and over medium heat, add butter and AP flour to form a roux.
- Once the roux (butter / flour mixture) begins to bubble, slowly whisk in your 2% milk. Once all of the milk is combined, you should have a creamy white bechamel sauce. Reduce the heat to medium-low.
- Next, add in ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese, and 6 ounces of Velveeta cheese. Cut the Velveeta cheese into smaller cubes so it can melt more easily. Once the cheese is melted and well combined, stir in one taco seasoning packet.
- Next, add the cooked pasta into the pan with taco cheese sauce and stir until the pasta is well coated in cheese sauce. If the cheese sauce begins to tighten, simply add some of the reserved pasta water. Stir well. You can use as much or as little of the reserved pasta water as you like.
- Top with sliced avocado, crushed Frito chips, scallions and jalapeno. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving which is 1/4 of the mac n cheese without any toppings, Calories: 521kcal, Carbohydrates: 60g, Protein: 22g, Fat: 22g, Saturated Fat: 13g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 66mg, Sodium: 1605mg, Potassium: 415mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 11g, Vitamin A: 1773IU, Vitamin C: 4mg, Calcium: 438mg, Iron: 2mg