Name: One-Pot Alfredo Mac and Cheese
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 20 min
Yield: 8
Ingredients: 8 ounces, fluid Mezzi Rigatoni Pasta; 4 cups Milk; ½ teaspoons Kosher Salt; ½ teaspoons Freshly Ground Black Pepper; ½ teaspoons Dry Minced Onion; 1 pinch Freshly Grated Nutmeg; ¼ cups Cream Cheese, Room Temperature; 1 Tablespoon Butter; 3 cups Freshly Grated Grand Cru Surchoix Cheese, Or A Blend Of Parmesan And Swiss Cheeses

Why it works: Cream cheese and cheese match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 473 recipes. Both carry ethyl 2-methylbutyrate, which smells fruity, apple. The science ↓

One-Pot Alfredo Mac and Cheese

Serves 8

Prep5 min

Cook20 min

Ingredients

8 ounces, fluid Mezzi Rigatoni Pasta
4 cups Milk
½ teaspoons Kosher Salt
½ teaspoons Freshly Ground Black Pepper
½ teaspoons Dry Minced Onion
1 pinch Freshly Grated Nutmeg
¼ cups Cream Cheese, Room Temperature
1 Tablespoon Butter
3 cups Freshly Grated Grand Cru Surchoix Cheese, Or A Blend Of Parmesan And Swiss Cheeses

Directions

Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →

By tastykitchen. Recipe from Open Recipes.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Cream cheese + cheesetop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together473 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
Pasta + nutmegtop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together119 recipes

Shared aroma: maltol (caramel, sweet).
Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together81,283 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Pepper + nutmegtop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together13,015 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Cream cheese + buttertop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,747 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Flavor stand-ins for the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pasta, milk, pepper, nutmeg, cream cheese, butter, cheese):

Chivebetter flavor fit
Spinachbetter flavor fit
Potatobetter flavor fit
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against pasta, milk, pepper, nutmeg, cream cheese, butter, cheese. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).

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