This creamy baked tomato mac and cheese is a classic family favourite. Comfort food for cold winter days. Creamy and cheesy, crispy breadcrumb topping with a bit of pesto to make this mac extra special. And its an easy recipe. No separate cream sauce - nope all the ingredients come together to make the tastiest, creamiest sauce without any special effort on your part. This is doable for a enough for a weeknight meal.
One of my favourite things about the cold weather is that I feel like I have all the reasons to make creamy and cheesy pasta dishes - like this one - also a February recipe. I have permission. It's expected and needed. It's cold and we need something warm and cozy to go with it. You know what I'm saying? I don't make creamy pasta dishes in the summer. Homemade Mac and Cheese just doesn't happen in July. But in February. February I love you because I can make creamy, baked mac & cheese. I think my kids thank February too for that.
How to make baked tomato mac and cheese
This is a weeknight baked mac and cheese. For real. Baked mac and cheese on the table on a Tuesday! Yes.
This isn't a less than 30-minute meal, but it's not that time-consuming, either. And for those of you that are a bit intimidated by making a cream sauce as a base for a mac and cheese, you don't have to here!! And considering most of the pots and plans will be cleaned up while everything is getting all cozy in the oven, it just might make it worth the effort on a weeknight.
The game plan here is to start the water for the pasta and then assemble your other ingredients in a large bowl while you wait. Turn on your oven too, so it's all ready to go when you need it.
This mac and cheese makes it own sauce!
This bakes up into the cheesiest, creamiest pasta with a little help from the sour cream - the secret in the sauce! Sour cream gives this mac and cheese great tang and avoids the otherwise necessary béchamel sauce.
Ingredients
Pasta - I like traditional elbow maceroni, but use what you have. Small penne, shells, etc.
Cheese - I like a good sharp cheddar for flavour. Cheddar stands up nicely to the tomatoes. Fontina or a casserole blend will also work.
Sour cream - is the secreat ingredient! Sour cream blends with the cheddar as it melts around the hot pasta and creates a silky creamy sauce so you don't have to make a from scratch cream sauce and dirty another pot.
Tomatoes - I used a small can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes. I love this product for it's size, perfect for this kind of application where you just want a little bit of tomato. The tomatoes are full flavour for a canned tomato and still have their skins on adding colour and texture. Use your favourite 398ml, or 14oz, can of diced tomatoes.
Pesto - pesto is a simple way to add some complex flavour to the dish without a lot of effort. If you don't have any on hand go ahead and leave it out. Also store-bought pesto might be a bit salty, so as I instruct below, make sure you have tasted your dish for salt before you add more.
Once the pasta is cooked it really is just a matter of dumping everything into a large bowl to mix it together before baking it into your favourite casserole dish to bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
📖 Recipe
Baked Tomato Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 3 cups small shell macaroni measured dry, then cooked to packaged directions
- 2 cups cheddar cheese I used sharp white cheddar
- 1 cup sour cream
- ¼ cup parmesan
- 398 ml 1 can fire roasted tomatoes
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne
- 2 teaspoons oregano
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 Tablespoon pesto optional
- salt and pepper to taste
Topping:
- ½ cup bread crumbs
- 1 tablespoons butter cut into small pieces
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 and lightly spray a 2.8 lt (3 qt) casserole dish with cooking spray.
- Cook pasta according to package directions in plenty of salted water. To al dente, reserving some of the pasta water, just in case, to thin the sauce later if needed.3 cups small shell macaroni
- Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix together cheddar, sour cream, parmesan, canned tomatoes and spices (cayenne, oregano, dry mustard, salt and pepper) and pesto if using.2 cups cheddar cheese, 1 cup sour cream, ¼ cup parmesan, 398 ml 1 can fire roasted tomatoes, ¼ teaspoon cayenne, 2 teaspoons oregano, 1 teaspoon dry mustard, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, 1 Tablespoon pesto
- Add the cooked and drained pasta to the cheese mixture and toss until well combined. Add a little of the reserved pasta cooking water if the dish seems a bit dry. Taste for seasoning and adjust by adding more salt and pepper if necessary. It will depend on the type and saltiness of your cheese and pesto (if using). Pour mixture into prepared casserole dish. Pushing it down gently to even out the top.salt and pepper to taste
For the toppings:
- In a small bowl, combine bread crumbs and butter and squeeze the butter through the bread crumbs with your fingers to form a very loose meal. Once butter feels evenly distributed, sprinkle over the casserole dish.½ cup bread crumbs, 1 tablespoons butter
- Bake in 350 oven for about 30 minutes. The casserole should be bubbly around the edges and starting to brown. If you want the top to brown a bit more, go ahead and use the broiler for a minute or so to just toast the crumbs a bit.
- Serve
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