Layered Italian Baked Mac and Cheese
Deliciously creamy baked Mac and Cheese with a bottom layer of Italian bolognese meat sauce. Comfort food taken to the next level!
Servings: 6
Ingredients
For the quick beef bolognese sauce
- 1 tbsp This is an affiliate link.olive oil
- 450g / 1lb lean ground beef
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 2X400g / 14oz canned chopped tomatoes/crushed tomatoes or passata
- salt to taste
For the cheese sauce
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp flour heaped
- 375ml / 1½ cups milk whole or 2%
- 200g / 1 cup cheddar grated
- 200g / 1 cup mozzarella grated
- salt to taste
Additionally
- 500g / 1lbs lbs macaroni or rigatoni
- 1 tbsp butter
- 100g / 1/2 cup mozzarella grated
Instructions
For the quick beef bolognese sauce
- Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a large pan, then brown the ground beef until no longer pink inside. Add crushed garlic, basil, oregano, canned tomatoes and bring to a boil, salt to taste. Simmer for 15-20 minutes.
Pasta
- Preheat the oven to 190C/375F. Cook the pasta in salted boiling water 3 minutes less than package instructs. Drain while reserving 1/2 cup/125 ml pasta water. Coat macaroni with 1 tbsp of butter.
For the Cheese Sauce
- While the pasta is cooking make the cheese sauce. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat, blend in flour with a wire whisk. Continue cooking for 2-3 minutes while stirring the entire time, then add milk and continue stirring until the sauce thickens.
- Take it off the heat and stir in both cheeses gradually until they are melted and fully incorporated into the sauce. Add the cooked macaroni to the sauce with 1/2 cup of reserved pasta water.
To assemble baked Mac and Cheese
- Butter a 9X13 inch rectangular casserole dish. Pour the bolognese sauce on the bottom of the dish.
- Top with the macaroni and cheese and sprinkle with 100g/ 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese and bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes until the top is golden. If the cheese is not bubbly and golden at the end of baking time, broil it for 2 minutes.
Notes
- Instead of making a quick beef bolognese sauce you can use 1/3 of Traditional Bolognese Recipe
- You can also cook a pound of ground beef with a store bought Spaghetti sauce.
Nutrition
Calories: 808kcal | Carbohydrates: 68g | Protein: 49g | Fat: 37g | Saturated Fat: 21g | Cholesterol: 143mg | Sodium: 1619mg | Potassium: 840mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 1107IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 635mg | Iron: 5mg