Old-Fashioned Tomato Mac and Cheese

5 from 1 votes

Old-Fashioned Tomato Mac and Cheese

This mac and cheese recipe has a delicious old-fashioned twist—the cheese sauce has tomato juice for flavor and is baked with canned stewed tomatoes. My Grandma always added her home-canned whole tomatoes to her mac and cheese.

Prep Time30

Cook Time25

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Canadian

Servings:

Calories: 439kcal

Author: Karlynn Johnston

Ingredients

2 cups elbow macaroni uncooked
1 cup whole milk
1 cup tomato juice
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
3 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese divided
one 798 ml can whole tomatoes drained then pierced to let the juice drain from the middle as well

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease a two-quart casserole dish and set aside.
Fill a large pot with water and add approximately one tablespoon of salt for every 2 liters (2 quarts) of water. Place the pot on your stove on high heat and cover to bring to a boil while you prepare the cheese sauce.
In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour until it resembles coarse sand and is clumped together.
Pour in a small amount of milk, whisking into the flour mixture until incorporated. Keep adding in small amounts, whisking, until all of the milk has been added and the sauce is smooth. Stir in the tomato juice.
Add in 2 cups of shredded cheese by handfuls, stirring to melt it in completely after each handful. Cook for another 2-3 minutes, stirring, then turn the heat down to the lowest setting to only keep it warm. Continue to stir occasionally while preparing the pasta.
The water should be boiling by now, so prepare the pasta according to the package directions. Drain and rinse with cool water, then transfer to the greased casserole dish.
Pour the sauce over the noodles in the casserole. Stir to coat the pasta with the sauce. Nestle the drained tomatoes into the pasta, spacing them throughout the dish.
Top with the extra cheese.
Bake covered in the oven for 25 minutes or until the casserole is bubbling and the cheese on top is melted. If you want to brown the top, remove the lid and cook for another 5-10 minutes.
Remove and let cool for 5-10 minutes, then serve.

Notes

Use aged cheddar for the deepest cheese flavor, but you can play around with different types of cheese if you want.

Nutrition