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Homemade mac and cheese with tomatoes is a family favorite. This recipe comes from my mother-in-law; she used to make it for my husband, so its one of his comfort foods. As much as a guy can really have a comfort food. That’s usually reserved for us gals, because men would never admit that they tuck themselves under a blanket with a romance novel and eat a bowl of mac n’ cheese to cheer themselves up. Want a skillet version? My creamy skillet mac and cheese is divine and if you are feeling crazy, my sloppy Joe mac and cheese is awesome!
Tomatoes in Mac and Cheese
My Grandma and my Aunt used to put stewed, canned tomatoes in their mac and cheese and let me tell you, that is the BEST thing you will ever eat if you are a tomato lover. Homemade mac n’ cheese with tomato juice is as close as I can get to what I used to eat with them, but man, it makes me wish that I could get my hands on my Grandma’s canned tomatoes again.
I don’t even have her recipe, which makes me sad, but let’s face it, I rarely have time to can. I just want someone to can them FOR me!
Mac n’ cheese with tomatoes is a seriously old, retro way to eat your mac n’ cheese. It’s very old-fashioned – and maybe was born from the endless supply of stewed canned tomatoes that were in so many pantries on the farm so many years ago. While it doesn’t actually make the mac and cheese any lighter, at least you have some veggies in there!
Does anyone else love mac n’ cheese with tomato juice? Or stewed tomatoes?
Happy cooking all!
Love,
Karlynn
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Homemade Mac and Cheese With Tomato Juice
Ingredients
- 2 cups of uncooked macaroni pasta
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup tomato juice
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 2 cups cheddar cheese
- 1-2 cups of grated mozza or cheddar cheese
- one 798 ml can stewed plum tomatoes drained
Instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to 350°F. Grease a mediumjsized casserole dish and set aside.
- Cook your pasta according to the instructions on the box. Drain and place in a greased medium sized casserole dish.
- Time to make your cheese sauce, which is the base of any white sauce out there, your basic roux. Start with your butter in a pot, and heat it until it’s melted, then stir in the flour.
- Add in a very, VERY small amount of milk. Just enough to mix it in. Keep adding a small bit of milk at a time, constantly stirring, until you have added it all and the mixture is smooth.
- Add in your cup of juice and stir well. Add in the shredded cheese, stirring to melt it in completely.
- Once the cheese has melted and the sauce has thickened, pour over the noodles in the casserole. Stir, then add in the stewed tomatoes.
- Top with the extra cheese.
- Bake covered in the oven for 20-25 minutes, then uncover and let the cheese melt and brown for another 10-15 minutes. Serve and enjoy!
Nutrition
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Elaine Tremonti says
I’ve been eating mac and cheese with tomatoes since I was a kid. My mom cooked it different. she boiled elbow noodles then drained them. Then she would mix in a can of diced tomatoes, salt and pepper. Then she would layer half the noodles into a casserole dish then layer Colby cheese slices then the rest of the noodles then another layer of Colby cheese. Then cover it with tin foil and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 to 40 minutes. I still make it. My family loves it.
Julia says
I am going to try this! When I worked at a nursing home years ago as a cook, one of our standards was homemade macaroni and cheese with stewed tomatoes that were in a little side dish, we called them “monkey dishes.” I am almost positive that one of my grandmothers served stewed tomatoes with her mac and cheese, and she “doctored” up the canned stewed tomatoes with a little dash of sugar and believe it or not, cinnamon! SO SO GOOD! An old friend of hers gave me a recipe for a mac and cheese layered with fresh sliced tomatoes and that was really good too! Your recipe has it all wrapped into one, plus the juice which has got to be good! I am going to try this ASAP! Thank You for all the recipes you share!
Deborah says
Thank you for this recipe!!
Before I made this, my kids would only accept one way of making mac’n cheese which got to be pretty darn boring but your recipe expanded the horizons of my kids and they absolutely loved it!!
Susan Risbey says
Thank you so much for this recipe. This is exactly how my mother and grandmother used to make it. Mom passed away recently and I never did find this recipe. (She probably never had a recipe but made it from memory.) I cannot wait to make it so I can have that connection with my mom again. Plus I will be sharing your recipe with my brothers and sister too.
Susan
Dianne says
As I enjoy a glass of Clamato juice “the works” I think it would work really nicely in this recipe
-mel says
this is whats in the oven right now!! used up all the random cheeses and i can’t wait…the sauce is absolutely delightful with tomatoes/juice…thanks for sharing!!
BettyMcQuade says
I have printed my e-mail address and I got a reply saying I required to send an e-mail address . ?What can I do? B
Monique says
OMG amazing delicious mac N cheese! The best ever!
Shanonandmike says
Just made this tonight, but I converted to lactose free. I used Lactaid milk, vegan margarine and a very hard cheddar. It was loved by 6, and was demanded as a repeat by the children. As a matter of fact, there was grief about there not being enough leftover for school lunch tomorrow! Thanks, Magpie!
thekitchenmagpie says
*********@******re.com" profile_url="https://www.livefyre.com/profile/29474788/" ns="true">Shanonandmike I am SO glad you liked it!
Karlynn Johnston says
It freaks me out when people I know in real life make my recipes. You could totally find me and tell me it sucks, to my face! LOL! Glad it turned out and 3 outta 4 ain’t bad!
Melanie says
Just made this. 3 of 4 kids LOVE this. One had a fever last night and is crying. We’re gonna count that as faulty data and say this was 100% successful! YUM. (I used VGO)
Karlee says
Mmm….now I have to make some Mac N Cheese! I have a few good recipes, one with bread crumbs on top with cheese…MMMmmmmm…..best comfort food and my most favorite food on earth! 🙂