Recipe Box, Bleu Cheesy Mac with Pear Walnut Croutons
Tired of the same ole boring mac & cheese?
This version is mac & cheese’s elegant cousin
Rotini pasta holds the creamy bleu cheesy sauce in all it’s little crevices, and proudly sports a crown of pear & walnut croutons
This doesn’t take long to prepare, it makes a large amount and it reheats like a dream
Just a few ingredients, milk, butter, flour and cheeses for the sauce, pasta, and pear, walnuts and toast for the topping
Put the pasta on to boil and make the sauce by stirring flour into melted butter
Slowly add milk, cooking a stirring until sauce is thickened
Add cheeses
If you don’t like bleu cheese, sub something else
Flavorful cheeses are what sets this dish apart
Pour sauce over cooked pasta in a baking dish
Toss pears, walnuts and bread cubes together
and this dish is ready for baking
This recipe is adapted from Don’t Go Bacon My Heart
Bleu Cheesy Mac with Pear Walnut Croutons
Ingredients
- 2 cups rotini pasta*
- 2 cups milk
- 2 T butter
- 2 T all purpose flour
- 3 oz. Manchego White Cheddar or Cheddar, grated
- 2 oz. quality bleu or roquefort cheese crumbled,**
- 3 slices thin white bread like Pepperidge Farm thin white, lightly toasted and buttered
- 1 ripe barlett pear cored and diced {leave peel on for color and texture}
- 3 oz. walnuts chopped
- salt & pepper
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and stir. Cover pot and turn off burner. Let pot sit on burner while preparing sauce.
- Melt butter in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Stir in flour to form a roux. Slowly incorporate milk, about 1/2 cup at a time, cooking and stirring until sauce is thickened. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Remove from heat. Stir in cheeses. Return to burner on low to melt if necessary.
- Drain pasta and turn into a greased shallow baking dish. Pour sauce over pasta and gently push pasta down and around in sauce to coat and distribute.
- Cut bread into small cubes and toss with diced pear and chopped walnuts in a mixing bowl. Sprinkle evenly over top of pasta. Cover and refrigerate if desired.
- Bake pasta covered at 350 for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 minutes more. If pasta is cold, increase baking time 15-30 minutes or until pasta is hot and bubbly. Serves 6-8.
- To reheat, drizzle pasta with a little milk or cream and bake covered at 325 until heated through
Notes
The pear walnut crouton topping adds such a wonderful contrast of textures and flavor to this creamy pasta bake
Enjoy!
🍜 🍐 🧀 🍜 🍐 🧀
I will be joining these fabulous parties and blogs:
Rustic and Refined, Between Naps on the Porch, Gardens Galore Make it Pretty Monday
Coastal Charm, Cooking and Crafting with J&J, The Scoop, A Stroll Thru Life
Celebrate and Decorate, Lori’s Culinary Creations, Moonlight and Mason Jars
Full Plate Thursday Foodie Friday & Everything Else Thursday Favorite Things
Comments
8 Responses to “Recipe Box, Bleu Cheesy Mac with Pear Walnut Croutons”Trackbacks
Check out what others are saying...-
[…] Pear & Walnut Croutons are a combo of diced pear, walnut and tiny buttered toast squares, and are delicious sprinkled on just about anything for a pop of sweet and nutty flavor […]
RSS - Posts
I like the fact that it reheats well. I’ve made many mac and cheese recipes that are wonderful out of the oven but don’t reheat well. Thanks for the recipe, Jenna!
I know what you mean! If you drizzle milk or cream over it and reheat it covered it stays moist and creamy…I really enjoyed the pear topping which balances the richness of the cheese sauce >
O M GEEEEE!!!! Brilliant!!!!!!!
Jenna, a recipe after my Foodie taste buds for sure! Pairing pasta with bleu cheese and pears is perfect bliss!
Oh, this sounds heavenly!! 🧀🍐 Love blue cheese!! ❤️
Sounds yummy! 🙂
I would love for you to share this with my Facebook Group for recipes, crafts, tips, and tricks: https://www.facebook.com/groups/pluckyrecipescraftstips/
Thanks for joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J!
Consider this one bookmarked. Love bleu cheese — this looks to die for!