This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #KingOfFlavor #CollectiveBias
Spicy Philly Cheesesteak Macaroni and Cheese is spicy, creamy, and hearty and makes the perfect winter dinner or tailgate food!
I hope you had a great Thanksgiving and had your fill of turkey, mashed potatoes, and stuffing! I don’t know about you, but I can only eat Thanksgiving leftovers for a day or two and then I am over it. Friday night I had already had enough and we had spaghetti and meat sauce! Much more my style than turkey! So when Sunday rolled around, this Spicy Philly Cheesesteak Macaroni and Cheese really hit the spot! When 1 o’clock rolled around, we switched off the Christmas movies and turned to football! Ryan and I each had a bowl (or two!) of this while we watched the game and it was the perfect football watching lunch!
Let me clear about one thing here, I love macaroni and cheese. And no, not the boxed kind, but the baked, cheesy, crumb topping kind. I never, ever had macaroni and cheese as a kid. My mom isn’t a fan so since she cooked all the dinners, we never had it! Actually, the first time I ever had homemade macaroni and cheese was in college.
My boyfriend (now husband!) would come to visit me every other weekend and I would make dinner for him on Fridays. He requested pork chops and macaroni and cheese one night. I thought sure, how hard could it be? I boiled some noodles and then poured milk and cheese into a pot and stirred it up and then baked it. It turned out fine, but I know now that I completely messed up.
I realize now that you need to make a bechamel sauce, melt some cheese in it off the heat, and then bake it. I have been working on perfecting my recipe ever since that college dinner. I think I have tried every recipe variation out there, and have finally settled on a standard recipe. I love to mix it up though and try different combinations. This Spicy Philly Cheesesteak Macaroni and Cheese definitely tops the list of favorites now!
I used El Yucateco® Red Chile Habanero sauce in this recipe and adds the perfect amount of rich flavor and heat! It doesn’t have as much vinegar as other hot sauces do, so you can actually taste the peppers! The small bottle is also portable and so easy to take with you on the go! It is tailgating season and spicy foods are definitely king during a tailgate. I love adding El Yucateco® to my burger meat mixture, putting a hearty dash into my chili, sprinkling some over some nachos, or putting a few dashes in a Bloody Mary! All delicious and spicy tailgate foods! The Red Chile Habanero sauce is really an all purpose sauce!
El Yucateco® is giving entrants the chance to win one-of-a-kind tailgating and homegating packages and MORE!
This red habanero sauce work so well together with the creamy cheese sauce. The tang of the cheese with the flavor of the Red Chile Habanero mesh really well together. The Green Chile Habanero Sauce would be great in this macaroni and cheese as well, even though its a little spicier than the red.
I love El Yucateco® Chipotle sauce as well and use it often during the summer on the grill! My favorite Spicy Grilled Chicken Tostadas are so good marinated in that sauce! It is the perfect substitute for BBQ sauce and has such great smoky heat flavor! If you are tailgating, it is the perfect sauce to toss your wings into!
This macaroni and cheese tastes exactly like its sandwich counterpart, but creamier and spicier! The sauce has the prettiest slightly orange hue from the hot sauce. Mixed with the fresh taste of the onions and peppers and the meaty steak pieces, it is perfection.
And because I couldn’t leave well enough alone, I went and added a sprinkle of more cheese and fried onions on top! They added the perfect crunchy topping! I normally go with panko breadcrumbs, but this was a great change of pace.
If you can find it, use shaved steak for this recipe. I am able to find it at Walmart and it is the perfect meat to use for this dish, my Italian Philly Cheeseteak Sliders, fajitas, or any other sandwich recipe. It cooks up so quickly and is the perfect texture for mixing it into the macaroni and cheese.
After a quick 10 minute bake, this Spicy Philly Cheesesteak comes out of the oven warm and cheesy and full of flavor. The perfect comfort food for the winter! This would also make a delicious tailgating recipe! Steak and spicy are the perfect combo for football games! If you are hosting a crowd and don’t want to be scooping out bowls of mac and cheese, make this meal in small ramekins or in muffin tins! You then have individual dishes to pass out which is easier when entertaining!
Ingredients
- 1 lb. cavatappi pasta
- 1 lb. thinly sliced steak, cut into bite sized pieces
- 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
- 2 medium green peppers, thinly sliced
- 12 oz. extra sharp white cheddar cheese, grated
- 3 tbsp. butter
- 3 tbsp. flour
- 2 cups of milk
- 2 tbsp. El Yucateco® Red Chile Habanero Sauce
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2. tsp pepper
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 2 tsp. steak sauce
- 1/2 cup crispy fried onions
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees and set a large pot of water on the stove to boil. When boiling, cook pasta according to directions.
- In a large skillet add the olive oil and heat to medium high heat. Add steak, onions, and peppers and quickly cook until meat isn't pink. Add 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. garlic powder and 1/4 tsp. pepper to the steak mixture. Add the steak side and stir. Set aside.
- In a small sauce pot, add the butter and melt over medium heat. Once melted, whisk in the flour until a roux forms. Cook for 1 minute or until roux is golden brown. Slowly whisk in the milk. Cook over medium heat or until milk starts to bubble and thicken. Once thick, about 5 minutes, add the hot sauce. Whisk to combine.
- Off the heat, add 2/3 of the cheese and whisk well.
- In a large mixing bowl or your pasta pot, mix together the steak mixture, pasta, and cheese sauce. Stir well and then add additional seasonings to taste. Pour into a casserole dish and top with remaining cheese and the fried onions.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes or until bubbling.
- Serve immediately.
Want to save this recipe for later? Pin it!
I got all of my ingredients at Walmart
Check out more info on El Yucateco®
I have some left over pasta and turkey at home and I want to leave work and go make this! How yummy is this? Thanks for sharing, it very well might be dinner tonight!
Yummy this looks so good and perfect for tailgating. Thanks for participating in this shop ~ client
This looks delicious and for once I have everything in my pantry including El Yucateco Red Chile Habanero Sauce….. definitely going to try this recipe.
I love when I find a good recipe and already have all the items!
I love Thanksgiving, but like you also need a break asap! And, love mac and cheese – so this looks like a recipe I would love and so would my hubs!
We all love mac and cheese here, and my husband is a big philly cheesesteak fan. I have to give this recipe a try!
I love your college first try story! I’ve totally done that! I’ve never been able to perfect the sauce but my husband makes it so well! Totally need to give him this recipe to make, it sounds soo good!
HAHA thanks! My husband tells me now that the mac and cheese wasn’t that bad but I think hes just being nice!
We love macaroni and cheese at our house and have it at least every other week. I like this take on it though we will have to give it a try!
This looks like a quick and easy dinner, so important during the holidays! I am a huge fan of tweaking mac and cheese so this is right up my alley.
Yes! Definitely quick and easy and makes a lot for leftovers!
As a fan of the Philadelphia Eagles, eating Philly cheesesteak mac and cheese while I watch the Eagles sounds like perfection! Can’t wait to make a dish!
That sounds like the perfect idea!
I am not a big fan of mac and cheese, but this version sounds delicious and worth a try.
You could definitely leave out the mac and cheese part and just saute up some spicy philly cheesesteaks!
Ooh. Nom nom what a delicious twist on mac & cheese. Philly steak is a great combo and beautiful photography as well xx
Thank you Ana!
I love love love mac and cheese! This is a combo I wouldn’t think of, but I am definitely going to try. Spicy anything is a win in my book!
Me too! I love spicy!
Oh I’m going to have to try this one! This looks like the perfect mash up of my husbands two most favorite foods!
This is definitely a husband approved dinner! 🙂
I love hot sauce so much, so this would be perfect for me to take on the road! I made a mac and beef cheesy bake last night and topped it with some hot sauce, you are so right cheese and tanginess of hot sauce taste so good together. Pinned your recipe to try soon!
Thank you for pinning!
Oh my goodness- YUM! I can’t wait to make this recipe. The fried onion topping is making me hungry!
The fried onions really make the dish! They were a last minute decision and I’m so glad I added them!
I am saving this recipe for sure! We’d love it for dinner! My husband is all about Philly cheesesteaks!
My husband too! But whats not to love about steak and cheese together!?
I make Naked Philly Cheesesteaks all the time, but I bet my Mini Me would love this take with the Mac and Cheese. A White Cheddar Mac with cheesesteak ingredients and some Cholula – my mouth is watering!
Naked Philly cheesesteaks sound great! Is that just without the bun?
Yes…just the meat, veggies and cheese (plus I add a little mayo – I know that’s a Philly sin, but ohhhhh so good!)
Nothing wrong with a little mayo! 🙂
I just had my dinner, yet seeing this making me hungry ?. I make macaroni and cheese a few of times, but never would I think about incorporating peppers or spicy sauce into it. Great idea!
It is so good spicy! Cheese and spice go so well together!
I think pairing mac & cheese and philly cheesesteaks are an excellent idea! My hubby loves making new recipes, and I think this is one our entire family would love! #client
well doesn’t that look amazing? I love this. My husband and I love both mac and cheese AND philly cheesesteaks so I guess we will need to try this recipe VERY soon! Thanks for the recipe!
Two of my favorites rolled into one. I swear I am drooling right now.
This recipe looks so so incredible and the photos are making my mouth water! YUM!
Thank you Kendall!
Yum! This sounds fabulous, something my entire family will love. Also, a good way to use my left over crispy onions from my green bean casserole at Thanksgiving!!
This is beyond yummy! It looks so yum I wanna eat it but I can’t cause I’m lactose intolerant.
Wow! This dish looks amazing! I can’t wait to whip it up for my family and see what they think! Thanks for sharing!
I hope they love it as much as we did!
This looks like it could possibly be the best thing I’ve ever had. I just pinned it on a few boards, definitely trying!
It is sooo good! Thank you so much for pinning!
Omg can we say yum?!?! These are two of my favorite foods and you combined them together!!! Must give it a try!
Im literally drooling over this. Wow this is a different dish I would love to try this!