Sausage Macaroni and Cheese

Sausage Mac & Cheese – this EASY macaroni and cheese recipe is full of Italian sausage! It’s the perfect comfort food.

Is it shocking to you guys that I actually can cook too? I always assume that people think I eat cake and pie three meals a day.

(I’d be lying if I said that never happened…)

But no, I actually cook dinner too, most nights. I’d say at least 5 nights a week I cook dinner and I try to keep it healthy (protein + veg) but sometimes you just need COMFORT FOOD. Am I right? Some weeks are just so long and exhausting that come the weekend I want to make up a big batch of hot comfort food to make me forget the stress (wine helps too). When days like that happen, I turn to pasta. I rarely make pasta anymore (Mel likes to avoid carbs and Jordan doesn’t like pasta…??!!) but sometimes I make this Sausage Macaroni and Cheese, which is something Mel will ALWAYS eat and Jordan grudgingly admits is good.

That’s a win in my book. Plus I can be all “bwahahahaha I made you eat carbs!” to Mel. (Insert evil look here.)

I created this recipe about 15 years ago, back when carbs weren’t evil. We ate pasta several times a week and homemade macaroni & cheese was a staple. One time I added cooked sausage to the pan and we instantly fell in love. Now, whenever I make a meal for a pregnant friend or sick mom or a party or dinner pot-luck, this sausage mac ‘n cheese is my go-to recipe. In fact, whenever Mel mentions my dinners to people he talks about four things: my easy chicken parmesan, my cornbread stuffing, my crab cakes (thank you Emeril), and THIS cheesy macaroni dish.

I think he loves it so much because it’s not just boring plain old macaroni & cheese. Nope, this one is kicked up a notch because it’s full of Italian Sausage. Sometimes I’ll even brown the sausage in the same pot that the cheese sauce is made in so the flavor is infused throughout the dish. Mel is always begging me to add TWO packages of sausage to the recipe instead of one, because it’s his favorite part.

What I love about this dish (beyond how good and creamy and cheesy it is) is that it’s super versatile. You can serve it straight from the saucepan for dinner, or you can bake it in a pan. This makes it great for weeknight dinners, but also for Sunday dinner with all the family, or to give as a casserole when you’re dropping dinner for a friend. You can even stir cooked veggies like broccoli or brussels sprouts into it for a complete meal!

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