Best Ever Smoked Mac and Cheese (Ooey Gooey Recipe)
Smoked Mac and Cheese is the ultimate creamy comfort food side dish. Our easy smoked macaroni and cheese recipe is perfect for cookouts!
Ingredients
- 1 pound cellentani pasta
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter sliced into 1-tbsp pieces
- 4 ounces cream cheese cut into 1-oz. pieces
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- 5 cups whole milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 8 ounce block mozzarella cheese shredded
- 8 ounce block Colby jack cheese shredded
- chopped parsley and/or chives for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the smoker to 225°F. and set with your favorite wood chips/pellets.
- To a half size aluminum pan, add the uncooked pasta; Scatter chopped butter and cream cheese evenly over the pasta..
- Mix the seasonings and sprinkle evenly over the dish.
- Pour the milk and heavy cream into the pan and stir everything to combine. Ensure all the macaroni pieces are coated.
- Cover with foil and place in the smoker for 2 hours, stirring halfway through. After 2 hours, remove the pan from the smoker. Uncover, stir in shredded cheese, re-cover and return to the smoker for an additional hour, stirring after 30 minutes.
- If at 30 minutes left of cooking time, there seems to still be a considerable amount of liquid in the bottom of the dish, you can remove the foil for the remainder of the cooking process.
- Garnish with toppings of your choice and serve while warm and creamy.
Notes
- Be sure to use block cheese, as pre-shredded cheese has additives that behave the same way as flour. This can cause the mac and cheese to bind up.
- Use enough liquid to cover 98% of the uncooked pasta.
- Cook covered with foil in the smoker so as to trap steam and avoid dry spots on the macaroni.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 cup | Calories: 562cal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 34g | Saturated Fat: 21g | Cholesterol: 104mg | Sodium: 604mg | Sugar: 9g | Fiber: 2g | Calcium: 459mg | Iron: 1mg