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Cajun Mac and Cheese

A creamy macaroni dish with cheese, shrimp, crawfish, crabmeat, and sausage, baked with Cajun seasonings.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 15 ingredients
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Why it works: Milk and romano cheese share more aroma than cooks usually use. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and 52 recipes mention both. Both carry ethyl 2-methylbutyrate, which smells fruity, apple. The science ↓

The recipe

Oven350°F
Time45 minutes

Ingredients

Contains: egg, milk, shellfish (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)

Directions

Prepare the macaroni

  1. Cook macaroni and drain.

  2. Dump the drained macaroni into a large mixing bowl.

  3. Add milk to the macaroni.

  4. Add all but ½ cup of the Cheddar cheese.

  5. Add all of the Mozzarella cheese.

  6. Add butter on top of the macaroni.

  7. Mix thoroughly.

Season and add the mix-ins

  1. Add salt to the mixture.

  2. Add black pepper.

  3. Add half of cayenne pepper.

  4. Beat the eggs by hand until frothy.

  5. Add the beaten eggs to the macaroni mixture.

  6. Add hot sauce.

  7. Blend well.

  8. Dump whole small cooked shrimp into the mixture.

  9. Dump chopped crawfish meat into the mixture.

  10. Dump crabmeat into the mixture.

  11. Dump sausage into the mixture.

  12. Mix well.

  13. Let stand tightly covered for 5 minutes.

Bake and serve

  1. Place the mixture in a large casserole dish.

  2. Cover the top with grated Romano cheese.

  3. Cover the top with the rest of the Cheddar cheese.

  4. Sprinkle enough cayenne pepper on top to give the dish a rosy hue.

  5. Bake in a 350°F oven for 45 minutes.

  6. Bake until the top is browned, bubbly, and ready to eat.

  7. Serve with fresh salad.

  8. Serve with hard rolls.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

This recipe comes from the Recipes Wiki on Fandom and is licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Our formatting and summaries are shared under the same licence.

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.

  1. Milk + romano cheesetop 7% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together52 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

  2. Mozzarella cheese + romano cheesetop 1% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together62 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

  3. Mozzarella cheese + cheddar cheesetop 1% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together271 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

  4. Cheddar cheese + romano cheesetop 1% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together15 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

  5. Milk + buttertop 3% of all pairs
    Aroma overlapstrong
    Mentioned together81,222 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

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

What each ingredient does

Macaroni
Provides the starchy body that holds the sauce and cheese together.
Eggs
Set when baked, binding the mixture into a creamy, sliceable custard.
Cheddar cheese
Melts into the sauce and gives the dish its sharp, rich flavor.
Mozzarella cheese
Adds stretch and smooth melt, helping the sauce stay creamy.
Milk
Forms the liquid base of the cheese sauce, adding moisture and creaminess.
Andouille sausage
Adds smoky, spicy flavor and firm texture to the baked dish.

The step that matters

Bake until the top is browned and bubbly. Eggs and dairy need enough oven heat to set into a firm, creamy custard. Underbaked mac and cheese stays loose and watery, while the top browns through the Maillard reaction, adding color and flavor.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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