cabot extra sharp white cheddar mac and cheese

You can also top this mac with apple slices or diced apples for a fun garnish. Add some spice with a bit of diced jalapeño if you like! For a lighter sauce, swap the flour and milk for our favorite Magic Cauliflower Cream! Add grilled chicken, sausage, or pulled pork for extra protein. Broccoli, spinach, and kale are all good here.

Add some veggies or extra meat to make this dish a little heartier.

We stuck with a white cheddar cheese here, but you can use just about anything you have on hand! Brie and smoked gouda are our favorite cheeses to use in place of (or in addition to) the white cheddar, but you could also swap in havarti, fontina, or goat cheese.

If you’re a vegetarian, you can swap your favorite meatless “bacon” substitute or top this mac with a generous pinch of flakey sea salt.

Even dry ciders will lend a bit of sweetness here, so don’t skip the bacon! That hit of saltiness is what balances out the sauce.

Note: If you prefer to skip the alcohol, you can use a dry apple juice or non-alcoholic cider here. When in doubt, give your local beer or liquor store a call and ask for a recommendation. If you’re in a great apple region like Washington, Oregon, or New York, you’ll likely have some great local brands to choose from! In New York, we love the Northern Spy and Geneva Russet ciders from the Finger Lakes Cider House (they ship to most states!)

Cidergeist Semi Dry Hard Cider – a good middle-of-the-road option.

McKenzie’s Original Cider – this is a bit on the sweeter side, but crisp enough that it works pretty well here.

Angry Orchard (Their flagship Crisp Apple cider is a tad too sweet for me as a drink, but if you like that slight sweetness when you’re drinking it you’ll like it in this sauce! I personally prefer their Stone Dry or Green Apple Ciders in this recipe).Some of the best nationally- (or at least multi-state) distributed hard cider brands we’ve tested here are: Hard cider brands and varieties will vary depending on where you live. Stay away from anything overly sweet and avoid any kind of syrupy apple dessert wine. I personally like using (and drinking!) an apple cider on the drier side. Our best advice: choose a hard cider that you enjoy drinking! Different brands will give you different flavors in this recipe, so it might take a few tries to find your own favorite combination. The brand and style of hard cider you use here really does matter.

What apple cider should I use in this mac and cheese? The cider lends some sweetness to our creamy white cheddar cheese sauce and makes you feel like autumn showed up and punched you right in the face (but in a good way). This recipe is similar to our favorite beer mac and cheese, but instead of beer we’re adding a generous dose of hard apple cider. If you’ve never put hard apple cider in your macaroni and cheese, I’m going to need you to jump on this bandwagon with me ASAP.

Cabot extra sharp white cheddar mac and cheese