Chicken & basil macaroni cheese
This is a nice little twist on a classic macaroni; I’ve added chicken for extra grunt and Parmesan, basil and garlic for a lovely Italian vibe. Sneaking in loads of spinach and peas, it’s a complete meal in a dish! If your budget permits, I like adding chopped fried bacon pieces or chopped salami. If you can, use whole milk for this recipe – cooking with trim milk just doesn’t cut it for me. For a lighter option, you can use Edam cheese as the cheddar and leave out the cream.
Ingredients
4-5 chicken thighs, boneless & skinless
3 cups dry macaroni
50g butter
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsp dried oregano
2 1/4 cups milk
1/2 cup cream
¼ cup flour mixed with 1/3 cup milk
2-3 cups chopped washed spinach
1 ½ cup peas, cooked
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 cup grated Colby, Edam or tasty cheese
1 large packet fresh basil, roughly torn
Zest of 1 lemon, plus a good squeeze of juice
2 garlic pita breads, roughly chopped
Method
Preheat the oven to 180c. Season with chicken thighs with salt and pepper.
Cook the macaroni until al dente (still firm to the bite), drain and stir through some olive oil so it doesn’t stick together. Set aside.
Heat a large frying pan over a high heat. Add a splash of olive oil and the chicken thighs (whole). Cook until golden brown and crispy on one side, then turn over and cook for another few minutes to brown the other side. Transfer to a roasting dish and bake in the oven for 15 minutes to finish off the cooking. Remove from the oven and leave to cool slightly. When cool, tear or cut into bite sized pieces.
While the chicken is in the oven, reduce the heat to medium and the butter and another splash of oil to the same pan (don’t clean it first, the chicken on the bottom adds flavour). Add the onion, garlic and oregano and cook, stirring for about 5 minutes until the onion is soft.
Add the milk, cream and the flour mixture to the pan, whisking all the time as you do it until it’s well combined. Simmer for 5-10 minutes or so until the sauce has thickened. Add half the Parmesan and the cheese, and stir until melted. Lastly stir through the peas, spinach, basil, lemon zest and juice, and chicken pieces. Taste and season with salt and cracked pepper to taste (don’t forget this step – it will need seasoning!). Stir the cooked macaroni through, then pour it all into a baking or casserole dish.
Mix the chopped pita with the remaining Parmesan and a little olive oil and salt. Sprinkle on top of the macaroni as the crust. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes until golden, crunchy and bubbling on top.
I like serving this with a fresh green salad with a tangy vinaigrette made with 3 tbsp oil, 1 tsp Dijon mustard and 1 tbsp red or white wine vinegar.
Hi Chelsea
Would this be ok to freeze once cooked?
Thanks
Yes! x
Hi Chelsea looks awesome, can I freeze this?
yes x
Yum – now one of my ‘go to’ Recipes- thanks
Thank you, we don’t usually do mac n cheese and the whole family loved this, I’m making it again for a second time!
Hey Chelsea? How much does this serve roughly? Thanks heaps
Hi Chelsea, I’ve just made this for my boyfriend and he loved it! Which book is this recipe in?
It’s actually not in a book.. yet!
If you were to make this the day before you needed it would you bake it when preparing it or wait until the day you were serving it?
Hello, which recipe book is this in? Thanks!
If I double the recipe, what size dish would it fit in? going to make it tonight and can’t wait! And do you think I can prep everything and chill until tomorrow when my dinner party is? So prepare it all tonight, chill overnight, then bake it in the oven tomorrow. I work so I won’t have time to do it all tomorrow.
Made this tonight it was very tasty but the sauce had gone.I combined the white sauce & pasta just prior to baking.What should you do to stop this happening
Hi Chelsea, would this be OK to freeze?
HI Chelsea just wondering how many this recipe serves?
Fixed this a couple of months ago … so-o-o much for just me, I added a bit more milk to the leftovers a few days later and stirred it all up new and put into a smaller pan and took it to my daughters for a family affair… Everyone loved it and I liked it so much I just made it again last night and my daughter has asked for the recipe… Yummy!
New favorite in our household, my daughter works in a cafe and took leftovers for lunch, while she was on her break,customers were asking her if they could order some ? thanks for being amazing and bringing cooking/baking alive again in our house, I have found a passion for food because of you.
How many would you say this serves? I need to feed 4 adults and 3 children so a mid-week meal and this looks perfect.
Hello Chelsea. Made it, loved it! I was wondering if you could add a reference to your online recipes, indicating which of your books it is from. I have all three books, but often use your website to search for ideas/inspiration. I then get out a book to have on the bench whilst I cook. Would be great is recipes said “from At My Table” (for example), so I know which one to go to. May also encourage others to get the books that I love so much. Food for thought :-)
Caroline
This is the BEST macaroni cheese I have ever made or tasted. It takes an old favourite to a whole new level. So yummy. I didn’t have any pita bread so used bread crusts and that still worked well. I will be making this again and again. Who cares about the calories :-) Thank you Chelsea.
Hey Chelsea,
Would this be ok to double? I’m needing to feed 12 hungry mouths for lunch this week! :)
Sure!
How long does this recipe take from start to finish
Hi Chelsea,
Could you tell me if this recipe is suitable for freezing left overs?
Cheers
Sue
Delicious recipe!. Lovely flavors! There was no mention how many people this recipe would feed. I made it for about 23 people so guestimated about doubling and tripling ,in some cases , the ingredients. It worked out , well there was enough. Great for a crowd!
Hi Chelsea – just wondering with this recipe as it calls for two garlic pitta breads, do you mean the ones with the garlic butter in them? Or the ones that are just garlic flavoured? Thank you so much too for the lovely recipe shared, much appreciated :-)
The ones with garlic butter inside are the ones I use, Charlie.
I used the other pita bread and it was still crunchy goodness
Hi Chelsea,
Would this be OK to freeze. Many thanks, Julie
Made this for dinner tonight..easy and delicious, my boys loved it.
Wow this is an amzingly tasty recipe which will get used again for sure
Couldn’t see in recipe where to add cooked macaroni?
Thanks for that – fixed now!
Hello Chelsea!
I love your stuff! i love you book! I made this for dinner tonight and wow its great my boy loved it too! thanks so much for the great recipes!
Thanks!!!
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Made this last night, was absolutely scrumptious, definitely one to make again!
I made this for our dinner last night, so easy to make and delicious!
Hi Chelsea
Definitely on my favourite recipes list! Delish! So easy to make and my husband and son loved it :)
Wendy
Thanks Chelsea, I made this recipe and it was fantastic, my son ate three plates, it was so tasty I even went back for more, I shared the recipe to my friends and they are cooking it next, Thankyou.
That’s lovely to hear Donna, I’m super stoked to hear that!