Hatch Chile Mac & Cheese
I wanted to share my favorite Hatch Chile Mac & Cheese recipe with y’all. This is also my family’s go-to mac & cheese recipe, with or without the chiles. It’s baked southern style and creates a rich, custardy, creamy delicious dish with a fabulous crunchy topping. We serve it as a side but you could easily make a meal of it! It’s THAT GOOD!
Hatch Chile Mac & Cheese
I wanted to share my favorite Hatch Chile Mac & Cheese recipe with y’all. This is also my family’s go-to mac & cheese recipe, with or without the chiles. It’s baked southern style and creates a rich, custardy, creamy delicious dish with a fabulous crunchy topping. We serve it as a side but you could easily make a meal of it! It’s THAT GOOD!
Ingredients
- 2 cups Uncooked Elbow Macaroni (or mac of choice)
- 2 Farm Fresh Eggs
- 2 cups Heavy Cream
- 2 Fresh Mild Hatch Chiles
- 2 tbsp Unsalted Butter
- 2 tsp Dry Mustard
- 1 cup Shredded Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese
- 1 cup Shredded Monterrey Jack Cheese
- 1 cup Shredded Chihuahua Cheese (Mexican Mozzarella) - For those of you that can’t find chihuahua cheese, just alter the recipe to 1 ½ cups of the cheddar and 1 ½ cups Monterrey jack.
- 3/4 cup Japanese Panko Bread Crumbs
- Kosher Salt
- Ground Pepper
- Cayenne Pepper
- Fiesta Brand Chicken Rub or Favorite Seasoned Salt
- Worcestershire Sauce
Instructions
- Rinse and dry chiles and roast under a broiler, or over a gas flame until skin is lightly blackened and place both chiles in sealed zip lock bag to sweat and cool.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cook macaroni per package instructions but undercook by 2 minutes.
- Drain and place back in the pot, stir in 1 tablespoon of the butter and about one teaspoon of the seasoned salt and set aside while preparing the cream mixture.
- Shred cheeses and mix together to create even distribution.
- Remove chiles from the bag, scrape off the blackened skin and remove seeds.
- Cut the chiles into strips and dice into ¼” pieces (or larger if you prefer).
- In a large bowl, using a wire whisk, beat eggs and cream together until well combined.
- Add a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce, dry mustard, ¼ to ½ teaspoon cayenne, 1 teaspoon kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste and mix well.
- I usually add more of the chicken rub (or seasoned salt) to this mixture, as well.
- In 1 ½ to 2 Quart pan or baking dish, place a layer of the macaroni, then some of the diced chiles and a layer of cheese.
- Repeat 2 more times ending with cheese.
- Slowly pour the cream mixture over the macaroni.
- Melt the remaining tablespoon of butter and using a fork, mix in the panko crumbs and a good sprinkle of seasoned salt.
- Sprinkle evenly on top of the mac & cheese.
- Bake 45 minutes and stick a knife in the center to see if any liquid is remaining.
- If so, bake another 5 to 10 minutes until no longer ‘milky’ but more of a custard in the center.
- You may need to lightly cover the top with foil to prevent too much browning, depending upon your oven.
- Serve warm.
Notes
- As I’ve said many times, but it bears repeating, GRATE YOUR OWN CHEESE. It makes a huge difference!
- The exception to my cheese rule is that I’ve only been able to find chihuahua cheese already grated. For those of you that can’t find chihuahua cheese, just alter the recipe to 1 ½ cups of the cheddar and 1 ½ cups Monterrey jack.
- Hatch Chiles come in two ‘flavors’, mild and hot. Sometimes, they can get mixed up in the store bends so it’s always a good idea to taste your chile before adding to your dish to make sure you aren’t putting an extra spicy chile in your mac, unless you want it extra spicy!
- I often use poblano peppers in this recipe, instead of hatch.
- I have tried this recipe with half & half and it just is not the same! It’s definitely worth the splurge to use Heavy cream! I promise!
My husband hates when Mac and Cheese is dry…is this like that at all? I have hatch chiles that I roasted last year in the freezer…I would love to try this.
Hi Mary! This recipe is luxuriously creamy! Be sure not to substitute the heavy cream with lighter cream or milk. Hope y’all love it as much as we do!
In the oven now.
Awesome!! Hope you loved it!!
Hello & thanks so much for checking in! This is a spin on my mother’s recipe for southern mac & cheese and goes wayyyy back!! Hope you enjoy it 🙂 !
Sounds about a close to grandma’s as they come. Im going to try it.