5 ways with macaroni cheese

This is one for fans of smoky spice. The nacho topping adds an addictive crunchy texture. Sweat a large sliced onion until soft, add 1 tbsp chipotle paste and a handful of roughly chopped jalapeños. Layer into your macaroni and top with 60g crushed tortilla chips before baking.

Go green

Cheese and basil work together in perfect harmony in this comforting green bake. Add a dollop of fresh pesto and some baby spinach to your cheesy masterpiece. Stir 100g fresh pesto, 80g bag of baby spinach and 200g frozen peas through the cheese sauce before adding to the macaroni and baking.

Garlic mushroom & stilton

You know what a standard mac 'n' cheese needs? Even more cheese, plus a pile of buttery garlic mushrooms. Fry 250g chestnut mushrooms in butter with 2 cloves of crushed garlic until softened. Assemble with the mac 'n' cheese then dot over 100g stilton before baking.
Sausage, onion & mustard

This is sure to be a crowd-pleasing family favourite. Remove 6 pork sausages from their skins and fry until crisp then set aside. In the same pan, cook a sliced onion until caramelised. Stir 1 tbsp Dijon mustard into the cheese sauce then mix everything together and bake.

Chorizo, parsley & almond

Add some Spanish flavour with our chorizo mac topped with crisp, golden almonds. Fry 200g peeled and chopped chorizo until the oils have released, then stir through the cheese sauce. Mix together a small pack parsley, chopped, with 100g chopped almonds and sprinkle over the macaroni cheese before baking.

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