Dinner

Maryland-Inspired Crab Macaroni and Cheese

Hi all! Long time no see. Sorry for the lack of recipe posting lately; I was traveling for work and preoccupied with my glamorous day job in compliance. 🙂 For this adventure, I was lucky enough to travel to the beautiful state of Maryland, see a few sights (I see you, beautiful cherry blossoms), and eat crab cakes to my little heart’s content. (If you follow my blog, you know I am OBSESSED with all things crab.)

As if I hadn’t had enough crab to tide me over earlier in the week, I decided to share a little east coast love with my hubby and came up with this riff on my standard recipe for macaroni and cheese. Cheese? Crab? It’s the perfect east coast meets midwest love affair! Even if you’re not a crab lover like myself, if you’re looking for a mind-blowing, transformational, easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy recipe for macaroni and cheese, please try mine. This recipe is SO versatile and can accommodate even the pickiest of eaters. Experiment with different cheeses, proteins, and more – life is too short to be anything but happy. And as my fellow cheese heads can attest, cheese, oh delicious cheese… cheese makes this Wisconsin girl happy.

Enjoy! 🙂

Maryland-Inspired Crab Macaroni and Cheese

Print Recipe

Serves: 4 hearty servings Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

8 oz macaroni noodles, prepared per package instructions for al dente pasta
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1-2 tablespoon mustard (I used Dijon mustard but you can also use dried mustard powder), optional to taste
1 tsp paprika
2 cups milk (I used skim milk)
Salt and pepper, to taste
3 cups of cheese (I used a combination of mozzarella and parmesan this time, but a good cheddar would also be delightful)
8-10 Ritz crackers, crushed
8 oz fresh crab meat (I used claw meat because I like the red color against the white of the cheese)

Instructions

Prepare macaroni per package directions for al dente pasta. Set aside in large mixing bowl.

Set oven to 400 degrees.

In a sauce pan, melt butter. When butter is melted, whisk in flour until thoroughly mixed, about 2 minutes.

Next, whisk mustard, paprika, salt and pepper into butter/flour roux.

Slowly add milk and bring sauce to a simmer. Cook until sauce begins to thicken, about 5 minutes.

Add in cheese a little bit at a time, stirring slowly so cheese melts into your cream sauce. Salt and pepper to taste.

Retrieve your mixing bowl of pasta and slowly fold cheese sauce into pasta until noodles are fully covered.

Fold about 6 oz of crab meat into your pasta mixture.

Lightly oil an 8-inch round casserole pan and add pasta mixture to pan.

In a small mixing bowl, add remaining crab with crushed Ritz crackers and lightly toss together.

Sprinkle cracker crab mixture on top of your macaroni and cheese.

Place in oven and cook about 25-30 minutes, until cheese is bubbling and crust is golden brown.

Notes

This recipe is my go-to, basic macaroni and cheese and can be modified to your tastes. For example, crab can be substituted for any other protein your heart desires. Some I've tried include bacon, ham, and chicken. You can also play with the cheeses - for example, want to add chicken to your macaroni and cheese? Maybe try a blue cheese and make it buffalo style!