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Home ยป Side Dish Recipes

Adult Mac and Cheese is the Ultimate Creamy Comfort

Published: Apr 30, 2021 ยท Modified: Apr 13, 2022 by Madalaine ยท This post may contain affiliate links ยท

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This adult mac and cheese dish is made with a cacio e pepe sauce which directly translates to cheese and black pepper in Italian. Since this recipe calls for only a few ingredients, choose them carefully. By the way, I've entered this recipe in a contest SideChef is having this month. Wish me luck!

adult mac and cheese

Pick the best ingredients you can and you will be rewarded with a rich creamy peppery mac and cheese that beats all the rest.

How to make cacio e pepe pasta (or adult mac and cheese)

ingredients to adult mac and cheese cacio e pepe

Use this recipe with fettuccini or angel hair pasta and forego Italian herbs for a more traditional cacio e pepe pasta. If you're going for an adult macaroni and cheese, pick a small elbow or shell pasta.

  • Melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. When the butter has completely melted, bloom 2 teaspoons freshly cracked black pepper and 2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning in the butter for 2 minutes until fragrant.
adult mac and cheese blooming pepper and Italian seasoning in butter
  • Whisk in ยพ cup milk.
pour milk into sauce for adult mac and cheese
  • Continue to whisk vigorously and add 6 cold tablespoons of butter 1 tablespoon at a time. Do not add the next pad of butter until the previous one is completely incorporated. Lower the heat if the milk starts to bubble around the edges.
whisking butter into cheese sauce
  • Add 7 ounces of finely grated parmesan or pecorino romano cheese and stir until melted.
add parmesan into cheese sauce
  • After the cheese has melted into the sauce, stir in ยผ cup heavy cream. Turn heat off and set aside.
add heavy cream to adult mac and cheese sauce
  • Add ยผ cup kosher salt to a large pot of water and bring to a boil. Add 16 ounces pasta and boil until tender, about 9 minutes for dried box pasta.
adding pasta to boiling water
  • When pasta is tender, drain it but reserve the water.
  • Return the cheese sauce to low heat and stir until the sauce completely coats the pasta.
  • Slowly add 2 tablespoons of pasta cooking water to the mac and cheese. Stir thoroughly. If the sauce is gritty, gently stir in another tablespoon or 2 of pasta water.
  • Fold in 5 strips of cooked crispy bacon chopped and 26 (or 2 short sleeves) broken Ritz crackers.
fold in bacon
  • Transfer mac and cheese to a serving dish and top with 2 tablespoons of fresh chopped parsley and 2 teaspoons of fresh chopped sage.

Adult Mac and Cheese Pro Tips:

CREAMY TIP: The real secret to this recipe lies with the liquid gold. This is a term some chefs use to describe the leftover pasta cooking water. The starch in the warm water helps bind the sauce, gives it moisture, and creates an extra creamy texture. Don't skip this step!

Make ahead - If you make the pasta ahead of time, run it until cool water to stop it from continuing to cook. Then drizzle it with olive oil to keep it from sticking.

Crunch - The crackers should be folded in immediately before serving. If not, they'll lose their crunch.

Grated cheese - Instead of using a box grater to grate your cheese, pulse the cheese in a blender until it is ground into powder. This is a fast way to pulverize a hard cheese so it blends quickly into the sauce.

Fixing a broken sauce - If the sauce looks like it is starting to separate, whisk in a little pasta water.

Rewarming cold mac and cheese - Microwave pasta until warm or cover with tin foil and reheat in the oven. If the pasta looks dry, stir in a little reserved pasta water.

If you are making this sauce to go with a long noodle like spaghetti, cook the pasta until it's al dente. This means it should not be crunchy but it should be firm. Don't cook it until it is too tender. Each mouthful should have a substantial body to it.

plated adult mac and cheese

Comfort food

This pasta dish is one that our family asks for again and again because not only does it seem to be the side dish that goes with everything, but it's deeply satisfying.

Personally, I like this mac and cheese recipe over ones made with cheddar cheese because I love the spicy bite of good romano cheese. Pecorino romano is very bold and if that's not to your liking, try asiago.

Asiago is milder and has a nuttier flavor. High-quality parmesan cheese is also a good choice and its flavor profile falls in between the other two.

Regardless of which hard cheese you choose, the simple combination of cheese, butter, milk, and freshly ground pepper is simply divine. It'll please the most sophisticated of grown ups while delighting their inner child.

What to serve with Cacio e Pepe Adult Mac and Cheese

Try some of these to go with your pasta:

  • Sous Vide Pork Chops
  • Pork Wellington
  • Restaurant Style Steak
  • Make Ahead Meatloaf
  • Chicken Saltimbocca
plated adult mac and cheese
5 from 1 vote
Print

Adult Mac and Cheese | Cacio e Pepe Mac and Cheese

For a true cacio e pepe you should probably leave out the dried Italian seasoning, but I love it in this dish. Pick your favorite hard cheese like Parmesan, Pecorino Romano, or Asiago to use in this sauce and you may find yourself licking your plate clean.

Course Side Dish
Cuisine Italian American
Keyword cheese, pasta
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Servings 12 people
Calories 339 kcal
Author Madalaine

Ingredients

  • 8 tablespoons unsalted butter cold
  • 2 teaspoons fresh ground pepper
  • 2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning
  • ยพ cup milk
  • 7 ounces parmesan grated
  • ยผ cup heavy cream
  • 5 strips bacon cooked to a crisp
  • ยผ cup fresh parsley chopped
  • 2 tablespoons fresh sage chopped
  • 16 ounces small pasta shells

Instructions

  1. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a saucepot over medium heat.

  2. After the butter has melted, bloom pepper and dried Italian herbs in it until they smell fragrant, about 2 minutes.

  3. Whisk in milk and continue to whisk vigorously while adding 1 tablespoon of cold butter at a time. Only add the next pad of butter after the previous one has been completely incorporated in the emulsion. Turn off heat and set aside after all the butter has been added.

  4. While whisking butter into the milk, bring a large pot of salted water to boil. When boiling add 16 ounces of pasta and cook until tender, about 9 minutes.

  5. When pasta is done, drain it and reserve the pasta cooking water.

  6. Add cooked pasta to the cheese mixture and gently stir to completely coat pasta with sauce.

  7. Return sauce to low heat and stir in heavy cream and fold in chopped bacon.

  8. Slowly add 2 tablespoons of reserved pasta cooking water. Stir to incorporate and smooth out sauce. If sauce tastes gritty, continue to add pasta water 1 tablespoon at a time until smooth.

  9. Serve mac and cheese in a casserole dish and top with fresh chopped parsley and sage.

Nutrition Facts
Adult Mac and Cheese | Cacio e Pepe Mac and Cheese
Amount Per Serving (0.5 cup)
Calories 339 Calories from Fat 162
% Daily Value*
Fat 18g28%
Saturated Fat 10g63%
Trans Fat 1g
Cholesterol 46mg15%
Sodium 338mg15%
Potassium 159mg5%
Carbohydrates 30g10%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 2g2%
Protein 13g26%
Vitamin A 574IU11%
Vitamin C 2mg2%
Calcium 240mg24%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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Comments

  1. Amia says

    December 30, 2024 at 2:41 pm

    Looks delcious! Thanks for sharing this awesome recipe!

    • Madalaine says

      February 23, 2025 at 10:12 pm

      thanks for the feedback!

5 from 1 vote (1 rating without comment)
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