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Italian Mac and Cheese Muffins

Blogger Arlene Cummings of Cooking With Sugar shares a favorite recipe.

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Prep Time 20 min
Total Time 50 min
Servings 6

Ingredients

2: cups uncooked elbow macaroni (about 5 1/2 oz)

1/2: lb lean (at least 80%) ground beef, if desired

1/4: cup butter

2: cups milk

1: loaf (16 oz) prepared cheese product, cut into 1-inch cubes

1: bag (8 oz) finely shredded Italian cheese blend (2 cups)

: Salt and pepper to taste

1/2: cup Progresso® Italian style panko crispy bread crumbs

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Directions

1 Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 12 regular-size muffin cups with cooking spray. Cook macaroni as directed on package—except cook 2 minutes less time. Drain; place in large bowl.
2 Meanwhile, in 10-inch skillet, cook ground beef over medium-high heat 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thoroughly cooked. Drain; set aside.
3 In microwavable bowl, microwave butter, milk and prepared cheese product on High about 5 minutes. Remove from microwave; stir with whisk until cheese begins to melt. Microwave on High in 1-minute increments, stirring after each minute, until cheese is completely melted and mixture is smooth.
4 Add cheese mixture and ground beef to macaroni in bowl. Stir in 1 1/2 cups of the shredded cheese until well mixed. Add salt and pepper to taste.
5 Fill each muffin cup with macaroni mixture. Sprinkle bread crumbs and remaining shredded cheese over tops.
6 Cover pan loosely with foil, making sure foil does not touch cheese. Bake 20 minutes.
7 Remove from oven; remove foil. Cool at least 10 minutes before remove muffins from cups.

EXPERT TIPS

Expert Tips

Muffins will still be wet when first removed from the oven. But once they cool, they are easy to remove from the pan with a small metal spatula.

Kids can be picky. They might prefer them without the ground beef.

If you omit the ground beef, these cute little muffins make a great side dish. One is plenty to go with a grilled chicken breast or pork chop.

This recipe can also be made in a casserole dish for more of a traditional mac and cheese, or in individual ramekins.

Got questions? Our experts have the answers. Ask Betty now.

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REVIEWS & COMMENTS

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Posted 1/10/2012 2:30:50 PM REPORT ABUSE sarabelle09 said:

Rating:

I didn't like these and my husband thought they were okay. It made way more than the 12 openings in my muffin pan. I had lots left over and even then I must have filled them too much because the cheese boiled over all over the place. They did not come out as a muffin shape. I dug them out of the pan and they spread out on the plate. I might as well have just put it in a casserole dish. I felt like it was too cheesy, not in flavor mind you but in texture. I will not be making this again.

This reply was: Helpful Inspiring

Posted 9/4/2011 11:09:40 AM REPORT ABUSE MissMavisMinn said:

Rating:

Loved making them last night! I didnt do the beef and they still tasted good. A family member of mine suggested adding either bacon or ham instead. I'm still looking into that. After 20 min in the oven they still were white and not even close to that brown, crispy top. I decided to fold up a piece of foil and stick it under the rack where the muffins were and then take off the foil on top of the muffins. This worked to make them brown and crispy, but some of the cheese did boil over. So if you did what I did, make sure you put that foil under the muffins. Besides that they were delish! Thanks betty crocker!

This reply was: Helpful Inspiring