The Best Traeger Mac and Cheese

This traeger mac and cheese recipe is, in my humble opinion, the best. Why? It only needs one kind of cheese while still boasting fantastic flavour. It’s not overly rich (but appropriately so) and it’s so easy to make! You can even make it in the oven if you don’t have a pellet grill.

I truly loathe recipes that use 10 cups of cheese for only a few cups of pasta. I’ve made a few of the viral ultra-cheesy, 3 cheese mac and cheese and the actual incredible flavour it might have had is so smothered under all of the fat. There is such a thing as too much cheese – fight me.

Now this recipe could easily be stepped up a bit with a mix of cheeses, but I find it’s not necessary unless you’re inviting Gordon Ramsay to dinner. This mac and cheese holds its own and my husband loves it!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Easy to make: I’ve been making a version of this recipe for years (finally perfected). Even if you mess up the roux, cook the pasta too much, or burn it a little (yum), it still tastes really good!
• CHEAP(ish): I mean this is no boxed mac and cheese, but you can use a cheap old or medium cheddar and dollar store noodles and still get a decent result.
• Simple ingredients: No hard to find fancy cheeses here! You should already have everything in your cupboard/fridge.
• High protein without any weird additions. Just one side of this (1/6 recipe) boasts 20g of protein.
• It’s the best! No really, we LOVE this recipe. I haven’t found another one that my husband and I enjoy as much as this one.

What You Need for the Best Traeger Mac and Cheese

• Traeger, pellet grill, OR oven. Yes, you can bake it in the oven at 400°F for 20-30 minutes. I like to put it on the top near the end and give it a quick broil to crisp it up.
• Oven-safe baking dish. You can pick the size, but I prefer a larger dish so there’s more surface area for crisping up! Mine is probably 15×8″
• Dry tubular pasta. I prefer cavatappi/scoobi doo noodles as they have the most surface area for holding onto sauce and they don’t overcook in the sauce like macaroni noodles do. You can use gluten-free noodles instead.
• Butter for the roux. You can use margarine but butter is best.
• All-Purpose Flour to thicken the roux/cheese sauce. If you’re avoiding gluten use a GF flour mix or starch.
• Salt for boiling the pasta and to season the sauce.
• Paprika is absolutely essential. It adds so much flavour! Use smoked paprika if you are baking in the oven.
• Dry mustard powder. You could use fresh mustard, but the dry powder is just so punchy and I love it.
• Black pepper for seasoning.
• Whole milk – 2% is fine but do not use skim or 1%, it will lack flavour and doesn’t thicken as well.
• Old cheddar is the best here but feel free to use a medium cheddar. Light does not have much flavour. Preferably full fat.

For Best Results:

• Use freshly grated cheese. Pre-grated cheese is usually tossed in cornstarch or other anti-caking agents to prevent clumping. This also prevents the cheese from melting properly. Grate your own cheese (it tastes better too!)
• Don’t skip on fat! Reducing the butter, using low fat milk, or low fat cheese will result in a thinner sauce and it may taste gritty. It’s okay to have something “unhealthy” every once in a while.
• Cook the noodles in salted water. If you skip the salt when boiling the water, you will need to add a lot more salt to your sauce – and even then it ends up being undersalted once cooked because the noodles pull the salt in. Always salt your pasta water!
• Undercook your pasta. Think about how you like to eat your pasta – soft but still with some bite (al dente). I want you to cook it at least 2 minutes under that point. It shouldn’t be crunchy and when bitten into, it shouldn’t be dry in the middle, but the noodle should be quite chewy.
• Rinse cooked noodles with cold water. Stopping the cooking is key to keep the noodles the right texture. This should keep them from sticking to each other as well.
• Bake in enameled cast iron cookware: Now this is NOT necessary, but the extra crispy edges that form on the enameled cast iron are to die for. My husband doesn’t like the crispy edges so more for me 🙂
• Use fancier noodles. Again, 100% not necessary but using noodles with ridges and more surface area like cavatappi will ensure your noodles are well coated! I have used regular “macaroni” noodles, but I find it’s too saucy and the noodles overcook quickly. The cavatappi/scoobi doo noodles are often the same price at the grocery store.

How to Make Traeger Mac and Cheese:

Prep

Preheat the Traegar to 425°F or oven to 400°F.

Bring a pot of well-salted water to a boil. Once at a rapid boil, add your noodles. Cook, stirring occasionally, until very al dente/chewy. Typically this is 2-3 minutes shorter than what I’d typically cook noodles for when eating them.

Once the pasta is cooked, drain it in a colander and rinse well under cold water until the pasta is cool. Set aside to drain.

Make the Roux

In a medium pot/skillet, melt the butter over medium-low heat.

Once the butter is foamy and melted, add in the flour, salt, paprika, dry mustard powder, and black pepper. Stir well until the flour, spices, and butter form a paste. Allow the flour and butter mixture to foam and cook for a minute or two, stirring occasionally until the colour deepens.

Add in ¼ cup of the milk, whisk/stir well until cohesive, then repeat 3-4 times until it’s not instantly thickening when milk is added. Pour in the remainder of the milk while whisking/stirring. If it begins to clump, stop adding milk and whisk until it comes together.

Once all the milk is added, cook over medium-low heat until it thickens and heavily coats the back of a spoon.

Remove from the heat and stir in ⅔ of the cheese. Stir well until melted – do not return to the heat.

Taste and adjust for seasonings if needed.

Assembly and Bake

Place the cooled pasta into an oven-safe dish and pour the cheese sauce over it. Stir well to coat all the noodles. Distribute the remaining cheese evenly over top and lightly sprinkle paprika (or smoked paprika if using the oven) over top.

Put the mac and cheese on the preheated Traeger on the “cool side” so it doesn’t receive direct heat. Close the lid and bake for about 25 minutes or until the cheese is melted and starting to brown on the top and edges.

Let it cool for a few minutes before digging in. Enjoy!

Looking for ideas on what to serve with Traeger mac and cheese?

• Traeger grilled chicken (use the hot side of the grill for this!)
• Spring salad

If you’re looking for a dairy-free version, try my Vegan Baked Mac and Cheese.