I got a request from Nelson (a BB reader) last week to make some homemade mac and cheese, and what a fantastic idea it was. I really need some mac and cheese in my life right about now. Of course, I added a good dose of broccoli to sort of balance out the meal and make sure I get my greens. ;) And I ended up using shells instead of macaroni because that’s what I had on hand. But if you don’t want broccoli shells and cheese, just leave out the broccoli, make everything else as directed, and you’ll have a good classic shells and cheese.
The Cheese Sauce Method
Making a cheese sauce can be a little bit intimidating at first, but give it a shot. Once you get the hang of it, it’s super easy. The thickening action of the roux is kinda like magic; very mysterious but you gotta learn to trust it. It will thicken.
What Kind of Cheese to Use
Sharp cheddar will give your mac the most flavor, but it also tends to “break” the easiest (turn lumpy in the sauce), so I usually use medium cheddar. I also added a little parmesan (another strong cheese) because after tasting the sauce I wanted it even cheesier! I despise a bland macaroni and cheese.
Why Add Hot Sauce?
I add just a little bit of hot sauce to my shells and cheese to add flavor but not really any heat. The hot sauce is completely optional. Many people add dry mustard which has a similar effect on the flavor. It just gives it a nice little zing of flavor on the back end. In the end, the cheese sauce is all about tasting and adjusting it to your liking. And really, who’s complaining about repeatedly tasting cheese sauce? No one.
Broccoli Shells and Cheese
Servings 4Ingredients
- 8 oz. pasta ($0.55)
- 1/2 lb. frozen broccoli florets* ($0.90)
- 1/2 small onion, about 1/2 cup diced ($0.18)
- 3 Tbsp butter ($0.33)
- 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour ($0.03)
- 2.5 cups milk ($0.65)
- 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar ($1.89)
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan ($0.24)
- Salt and pepper to taste ($0.05)
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta. Once boiling, add the pasta and continue to boil until the pasta is tender. Drain the pasta in a colander and set it aside until ready to use.
- Meanwhile, allow the broccoli to thaw. Once partially thawed, chop the florets into smaller, bite-sized pieces, and set them aside to fully thaw while you prepare the rest of the dish.
- While the pasta is cooking, begin the cheese sauce. Finely dice the onion and add it to a sauce pot with the butter. Cook the onion and butter over medium heat until the onions are softened (about 2-3 minutes).
- Add the flour to the butter and onion. The flour and butter will form a paste, or roux. Whisk the roux over medium heat for 1-2 minutes more taking care not to let it scorch. This slightly cooks the flour preventing the cheese sauce from having an overly flour or paste-like flavor.
- Whisk the milk into the roux until no lumps remain. Add some freshly cracked pepper to the sauce. Bring the mixture up to a simmer, stirring often (you may need to raise the heat just slightly). When the sauce reaches a simmer, it will begin to thicken. When it is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, it’s time to add the cheese.
- Turn the burner off and whisk in the shredded cheddar, one handful at a time, until it is fully melted in. Next, stir in the grated Parmesan. Give the cheese sauce a taste and add salt, pepper, and hot sauce to taste.
- Once you have the cheese sauce seasoned to your liking, return the drained pasta to its large pot, add the chopped broccoli, and pour the cheese sauce over top. Stir until everything is combined and coated in the wonderfully cheesy sauce. Serve hot.
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Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!How to Make Broccoli Shells and Cheese – Step By Step Photos
Shred one 8oz. block of cheddar. Just be aware that sharp cheddar tends to “break”, or become lumpy, in cheese sauces a little bit easier than medium or mild cheddar. So, if you’re new to cheese sauces, start with a medium or mild cheddar.
Allow 1/2 lb. frozen broccoli florets to thaw. Once they are thawed enough to cut, chop them into smaller, bite-sized florets. Set them aside until ready to use (and to allow them to fully thaw).
Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta. Once boiling, add 8oz. pasta shells and continue to boil until the shells are tender. Drain the shells in a colander.
While the pasta is cooking, prepare the cheese sauce. Finely dice 1/2 of a small onion (about 1/2 cup diced). Add the diced onion to a saucepot with 3 Tbsp butter. Cook the onion in the butter over medium heat until the onions are soft and transparent.
Then add 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour. Whisk and cook the flour with the butter and onions for about 2 minutes. This will slightly cook the flour and prevent the sauce from having a floury or glue-like flavor. This paste-like flour and butter mixture is called a “roux” and is what will thicken the cheese sauce.
Whisk in 2.5 cups whole milk until there are no lumps. Also, add some freshly cracked pepper (5-10 cranks of a pepper mill). Continue to cook and stir the milk until it comes up to a simmer, at which point it will begin to thicken.
When the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, it is time to add the cheese.
TURN OFF THE HEAT, then stir in the cheddar, one hand full at a time, until it is fully melted into the sauce. It’s important to remove the sauce from the heat and melt in the cheese slowly to prevent the sauce from “breaking” or turning lumpy.
Once all the cheddar is melted in, stir in 1/4 cup grated Parmesan.
It’s now time to taste and season. I added a few dashes of hot sauce and just a little salt. You can use any hot sauce you like, Tobasco, Franks, Cholula, Sriracha, whatever. The idea is to add just enough to give the sauce a little zing, but no heat.
Once the sauce is seasoned to your liking, return the drained shells to the large pot, add the chopped broccoli, then pour the cheese sauce over top.
Stir everything together until that glorious cheese sauce is coating every inch of pasta and broccoli.
I mean, does it get any better than homemade Broccoli Shells and Cheese??
The cheese sauce didn’t quite come out as intended, tried three times. Always ended up with a very unpleasant and grainy mixture; I hesitate to call it sauce.
I don’t know what went wrong, but I had to make my own cheese sauce…
I just made this recipe. I liked the home-made feel of it and so easy! but it tasted a little watery and was kinda clumpy. I love the added brocc.
I like to add cayenne pepper to homemade mac & cheese. It adds a nice little kick, plus I think the little red flecks look pretty up against the cheese sauce :)
a way to make this even cheaper would be to use defrosted frozen broccoli..frozen veggies are usually close to a dollar and anything you dont use can just be put back in the freezer for another time (awesome for me since I live alone and fruits/veggies used to go bad before I could finish them). I also buy frozen chopped onions..they are already cut up so I dont have to and I rarely use a whole onion in a recipe so once again it doesnt waste food
this was very good :) my husband loved it. i followed it exactly but added panko breadcrumbs and baked at 350 for 15 mins (couldn’t wait any longer). adding hot sauce (we used franks) was definitely a good and in my opinion necessary addition. we added maybe 1tsp. then when we ate it we sprinkled it with ceyenne pepper. a very good and easy beginner’s mac & cheese!!! (ps: the more broc the better!)
I love adding veges in with Macaroni Cheese when I make it – especially things like tomatoes, mushrooms and silver beet (swiss chard). I like to add a pinch of nutmeg whenever I make cheese sauce. That helps wham up the flavour without having to add too much extra cheese. Or if I’m feeling really decadent, I’ll crumble in some blue cheese (but that starts to add to the price of course…).
This was sooo good! I loved it.
I’ve never been a big fan of homemade cheese sauces, but the hot sauce was the key! It really made the whole thing so much better. Thank you so much for sharing!
Great recipe! I added two cloves of garlic instead of onions then put frozen artichoke hearts in with the broccoli, stirred a half pound of spinach in with the cheese sauce, topped it all with a mix of pankow and Parmesan and baked it for 20 minutes.
I made this recipe tonight and it was really good! One complaint though… I absolutely LOVE onions and this recipe had wayyy too much onion for me.
I just made this and it was so yummy!! Thanks!!
Packaged, preshredded cheese is coated with chemicals to prevent clumping and can also make it difficult to melt smoothly–that may explain the issues with melting posted above.
Made this and then baked it with breadcrumbs and parmesan on top, and the roommate adored it. Excellent recipe, will definitely be using it again in the future. :D
Thanks for the tip, Beth, that might be it. I wasn’t confident about judging when the milk had properly thickened, so I let it cook for a while–maybe too long. I’ll keep that in mind if/when I try cheese sauce again!
Checarina, I think if the sauce over cooks it will “break” and start to separate or curdle… Was the graininess like very small curdles? If so, try turning off the burner just after the milk/roux has come to a simmer and thickened. The residual heat of the liquid should be enough to melt the cheese in. I hope that helps! Cheese sauce can be a little tricky at first but once you get into a groove with it, it’s easy!
I just tried this! My first attempt at making a cheese sauce, and I found your instructions easy to follow, and the results pretty darn tasty! The only thing is that the sauce is a little grainy–I was wondering if that was normal, or if it might be due to the flour? I did cook the roux for the 1-2 minutes recommended. Not that the texture is a dealbreaker; I’m just wondering if there’s a way to get a smoother sauce.