Pear and Gouda cheese are natural companions. This Pear and Gouda macaroni and cheese is a great way to celebrate these great flavors and make something that is a little outside the box.
Here we are, exploring macaroni and cheese and thinking outside of the Kraft box. Last week, we made a very traditional macaroni and cheese. This week, we are going to try and expand our horizons with a pear and gouda macaroni and cheese. We are going to be putting our breadcrumb recipe to use that I just posted yesterday in this sweet and savory dish.
The traditional mac and cheese recipe calls for cheddar cheese. The fancy word for what the cheese sauce is a mornay sauce. It really is a variation of mornay, but still falls under that family. Also, it is also a bechamel sauce with cheese added. So, a mornay sauce is a bechamel sauce with cheese added. Today's macaroni and cheese is going to use gouda cheese.
I didn’t feel that just a change in cheese was sufficient for this variation post. I had considered bacon, and a gouda bacon mac n cheese would be good, but that felt too easy. Sure, bacon is great… I mean I wrote a book about bacon for pete’s sake. Just too easy. I wanted something a little different. One fruit that I love is pears, and the combination of gouda and pears sounded really good. I added a bit of our fresh rosemary for a bit of pop of flavor on top of the already sweet and savory dish.
Pear and Gouda Macaroni and Cheese
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 Minutes
- Total Time: 45 Minutes
- Yield: 4 Servings 1x
- Category: Casserole
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Pear and Gouda Macaroni and Cheese Recipe - Need to make breadcrumbs for your macaroni and cheese? Learn how to make breadcrumbs here. It is simple, tasty, and much cheaper than store-bought.
Ingredients
- 2 Pears cored and diced
- 4 Cups shredded gouda cheese
- 2 Cups whole milk
- 2 Cups of macaroni
- 4 Tbsp butter
- ¼ Cup flour
- ¾ Cup bread crumbs
- 1 Tablespoon fresh chopped rosemary
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350
- Core and dice pears
- Cook macaroni as directed on package, but only cook for about 80% of the directed time - it will be finished in oven
- While macaroni is cooking, in large saucepan melt butter on low
- When butter is fully melted, slowly start sprinkling flour in the pan and continuously mix. The idea is that the mixture of flour and butter will form almost a paste.
- Pour in just a little of the milk and whisk until smooth. Keep on repeating until all milk is blended in.
- Turn heat to medium-high and continuously stir. We want to get the sauce just to boiling and thicken, but don’t want it to scorch.
- When the sauce starts to heat up, you will notice it start to thicken. Just continue to stir and once boiling, continue stirring for one minute.
- Remove from direct heat and slowly add 2 cups of the cheese to the bechamel while stirring.
- Once this is a smooth sauce, add pears to sauce and mix
- Add cheese sauce and drained macaroni to a baking dish and mix together.
- Add remaining 2 cups of cheese to top of macaroni and cheese
- Add Breadcrumbs
- Put the dish into the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until top layer of cheese is golden brown.
- Serve!
Keywords: pear and gouda macaroni and cheese
Cheapskate Cook
I cannot even handle how amazing this looks. Mac and cheese is the best food ever anyway, but dang - gouda and pear... wow.
Jeff
This is truly unusual. And interesting. I'm imagining that the dish must pick up at least some sweetness from the pears. The texture must be really amazing.
Ben
Yeah, I really like this one. The pears mix nicely with the gooey cheese. And, yes, there is some sweetness to the dish, but I don't think it is overpowering. If it feels too sweet, maybe add some bacon for some extra savory. But you know, adding more bacon shouldn't be the answer to everything. Or, should it? 😉
Tina | The Worktop
This is mac and cheese on a whole new level! Beautiful photos!
Lisa | Garlic + Zest
Well, this sounds like the BEST THING EVER! Gouda has always been a favorite of mine, but I love the twist with the pears. And it looks so creamy and good!
Tara
Oh wow! Such wonderful fall flavors! The pear and gouda sound absolutely perfect. I can't wait to try this.
Julia
This dish has all my favorite ingredients 🙂 Love that you used pears - they are such a great fruit!
Alex
This is such a brilliant idea! Rosemary and pear go so well with nutty gouda, making it a perfect combo for fall.
Ooh! Speaking of "nutty" - a crunchy ground pecan topping instead of regular breadcrumbs might be a nice touch...
Ben
I like that thought!
Daniela
What an interesting twist on a mac and cheese recipe. It sounds and looks so delicious.
Jules
This sounds delicious, Ben! What a great combination of flavors... I'll have to give this a try!