Cheesiest Hatch Chile Macaroni and Cheese

Deliciously cheesy, pleasantly inexpensive, macaroni and cheese is a warm blanket of comfort food that gives us every reason to engage in a lifetime love affair.

From the low-brow out-of-the-box, to clever and fancy expensive restaurant combinations to stove-top homemade … we love it all.

We love this version simply because we’re adding Hatch Peppers, and for its use of Colby Jack Cheese. And lots of it.

Colby Jack is an American made marbled cheese, a combination of Colby Cheese and Monterey Jack Cheese. A mild and mellow flavor, it’s a great melting cheese that compliments those chile peppers.

To make a great mac and cheese, you must get the cheese sauce just right. For this recipe we’re using six cups of shredded cheese paired with just the right amount of dairy, brings you a luscious sauce for the cheesiest and creamiest macaroni and cheese recipe.

And because we love Hatch chile peppers so much, this macaroni and cheese with green chiles might just be our all-time favorite.

Let’s take a look.

• Macaroni: I feel mac and cheese should be made with elbow macaroni. It’s just seems traditional. I chose large elbow shells for this recipe. You can use any curly shape of pasta to make this recipe. Rotini also works well here.
• Dairy: Half and Half and Whole Milk. A big pot of macaroni and cheese is not the time to count fat calories. Please use whole milk as opposed to 2% or even worse, skim milk. You’ll be happier with the creamy texture that a full fat milk product brings.
• Cheese: For this recipe, we’re using a Colby Jack Cheese, a mix of Monterey Jack and Colby Cheese.
• Flour and Butter: Is used to make the roux.
• Panko Bread Crumbs and Butter: Are used to make an au gratin style crunchy topping.
• Chopped Tomatoes: To add red color and a bite of sweetness.
• Hatch Chile Peppers: Chopped. The star of the show.
• Seasonings: Kosher Salt, Chile Powder (preferably Chimayo), White Pepper and Ground Mustard.

Ingredient Substitutions

• Chile Powder: This recipe calls for Chile (with an e) powder, a single blend ground chile. I have a stash of New Mexico Chile Powders, Chimayo being the recommended. You can substitute cayenne pepper if you don’t have a New Mexico chile powder. Please don’t use chili powder (with an i). Chili powder is a blend of spices used to make Chili Soup, like this Bourbon Beef and Bean Chili.
• Hatch Chiles: I purchase Roasted Hatch Chile Peppers from vendors each Fall, keeping a stash in my freezer. If you simply don’t have access to fresh roasted peppers, you can use eight ounces of canned Hatch Chiles found on the Mexican aisle at the grocery store. Roasted Poblano Peppers would be a good substitute here.

How to Make Hatch Chile Macaroni and Cheese

Cook pasta according to package instructions for al dente. Reserve ¼ cup of the cooked pasta water.

• Step 1: Melt 1 Tablespoon butter in a small fry pan. Add Panko bread crumbs and cook until toasted. Stirring often for about five minutes. Add a little bit of chopped cilantro, if you’d like, for extra flavor. Remove from heat and set aside.

• Step 2: Heat a stick of butter over medium heat until melted, then stir in the flour. Stir until the mixture is blended and smooth, about 1-2 minutes.
• Step 3: Remove from the heat and slowly whisk in the milk. Add the dry mustard, white pepper and Chimayo chile powder, and salt. Return to heat and stir until mixture begins to simmer. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for three minutes, stirring occasionally, until it starts to thicken.

• Step 4: Stir in the grated cheese and blend well.
• Step 5: Stir in the chopped Hatch chile peppers, tomatoes, and cooked elbow macaroni.

• Step 6: Drizzle the half and half and reserved pasta water over the top of the casserole. No need to stir.
• Step 7: Cover the Hatch mac and cheese and bake 20 minutes. Remove the lid, add the toasted Panko bread crumbs and bake uncovered an additional 10 minutes.

• Step 7: You can serve the Hatch chile mac and cheese directly from the Dutch oven, or from a favorite Southwestern serving bowl.

Tips For Success

• Be sure to cook the macaroni according to package instructions for al dente. The macaroni will continue to cook during the baking process. Over-cooking during boiling may compromise the texture of the macaroni to turn out mushy.
• Why save pasta water? It’s pure gold. Adding the starchy water before baking will improve the texture of the macaroni.
• There’s a lot of cheese in the recipe, use a food processor cheese grater attachment to make quick work of the task.
• Set the milk and half and half out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes before starting this recipe. Room temperature ingredients will simply lessen the time it takes for the sauce to thicken.

What to Serve it With

Anything and everything. This is a side dish that will compliment your favorite grilled burger, like this Steakhouse Burger, or this popular Cole Slaw Burger.

Grilled steaks are also a good choice. Take a look at this Tangy Grilled Flank Steak, or these Grilled T-Bone Steaks.

Don’t forget about chicken dinner recipes. This Mexican grilled Chicken Asado recipe would truly love to be served with Hatch Chile Macaroni and Cheese. As would this more traditional Grilled Half Chicken recipe.

In Conclusion

Please tell me you’ll give Hatch Chili Macaroni and Cheese a try. Whenever I serve this macaroni and cheese recipe, I get overwhelming compliments. It’s brings a just right spicy warmth to everyone’s favorite comfort food.

And if you’re pasta lovers like us, don’t miss my Pasta Category, You’ll find lots of comfort food recipes including the most popular on my site for Fettuccine mio Amore.

And if you’re looking to learn more about Colorado and New Mexico Chile Peppers and how to use them, don’t miss my article on Chile vs Chili … Know The Difference.

As far as Southwestern Pasta dishes go, this is a favorite along with this very popular recipe for Cowboy Spaghetti. It’s Yee-haw good.