Traeger Smoked Mac & Cheese

With a burst of triple cheddar flavor and all the right spices, Smoked Macaroni & Cheese is perfect for family barbecues, weeknight meals, or packed up to take to a potluck dinner. Tender noodles covered with a velvety rich cheese sauce and a buttery crumb topping is classic comfort food in a cast iron skillet! With nacho inspired spices, smoking the mac & cheese low and slow for an hour makes for wonderfully different side dish that is so easy and absolutely perfect every time!

INGREDIENTS:
1 pound elbow macaroni noodles (cooked according to package instructions)
3 cups triple cheddar cheese (sharp, mild & white)
1-1/2 cups gouda cheese
½ cup unsalted butter
4 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon mustard powder
3 cups half & half
8 ounces cream cheese
1 tablespoon Barbecue Sweet Rub
1 tablespoon smoked paprika

CRUMB TOPPING:
1 cup ritz cracker crumbs, panko bread crumbs or crushed cornflakes
¼ cup butter (melted)
1 tablespoon Barbecue Sweet Rub
1 tablespoon smoked paprika

OPTIONAL ADD-INS:
smoked ham
caramelized bacon
pulled pork
smoked brisket
barbecued chicken
kielbasa sausage
lobster chunks

BARBECUE SWEET RUB:
¼ cup dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon coarse sea salt
2 teaspoons cracked black pepper
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon ground mustard
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (add more for an extra flavor kick)

SERVE WITH:
Barbecue Sauce (your favorite flavor!)

HOW I MAKE THIS:

Shred cheeses and set aside; cut cream cheese into cubes.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook macaroni noodles until they are al dente, meaning they are not too soft and still have a little bit of chew and texture.
PREPARE SMOKER: Preheat your smoker to 225 degrees F using a mild hardwood. My favorite is mixed fruitwood - cherry or apple are great!
Grease a grill-safe baking dish or medium foil grill pan. You can also use a 12-inch cast iron skillet.
PREPARE SAUCE: In a large Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium-low heat. When melted, whisk in the flour and mustard powder.
Slowly add half & half and increase heat to medium, whisking frequently until it just starts to simmer and bubbles form.
Reduce heat to low and add cream cheese; whisk until melted and well blended.
Whisk in the shredded cheese, barbecue seasoning and smoked paprika; whisk until melted and smooth.
Turn off the heat and pour in the cooked noodles. Stir gently until the noodles are evenly coated with cheese sauce.
Pour macaroni and cheese mixture into prepared pan.
PREPARE TOPPING: In a microwave safe bowl, melt butter. Add seasonings and crumbs and stir until combined.
Sprinkle topping evenly over top.
Place the pan or skillet in the smoker, close the lid, and smoke for 45 minutes to 1 hour. The noodles will take on quite a bit of smoke flavor fairly quickly, so you don’t want to overcook. After one hour, cover pan with foil and keep warm until ready to serve.
Serve warm with barbecue sauce on the side - drizzle on top for an amazing treat!
Refrigerate leftovers in a covered container in the refrigerator; best served within 5 days.
Any leftovers reheat really well – just add a little milk or half & half and stir occasionally while reheating in microwave on 50% power, or on the stove over low heat.

YIELD: 12 servings

RECIPE NOTES:

Let’s talk about cheese! For creamiest cheese sauces, always shred your own cheese, rather than using pre-shredded cheese, which contain additives to prevent it from clumping together – and which also cause the cheese to get all clumpy when melted.
If you’ve been using a smoker for a while, you know that soft and moist foods take on smoke flavor really quickly, which makes this perfect to whip this up as a side dish for smoked ribs, smoked brisket or pulled pork. You can pull off your smoked meats to let them rest for an hour, which is the perfect amount of time to cook up this Smoked Mac & Cheese without having to preheat your grill.
You can use either a 12-inch cast iron skillet or a medium grill pan on your smoker. For a crowd, I typically prepare my sides ahead of time in medium grill pans and cover with foil until I’m ready to load them on the smoker for this last magical hour before serving – which makes serving and clean-up a breeze too!
Set your smoker temperature on a low 225 degrees – anything over that will overcook your noodles and dry out your macaroni & cheese.
I recommend using mild and sweet fruit wood pellets for this recipe – cherry, apple, maple or pecan wood pellets all work well!

Not making these in a smoker? Add a ½ teaspoon of liquid smoke to add a smokey flavor without any smoke. Bake in 350 degree pre-heated oven for 50-60 minutes, or until sauce is bubbling and golden.

RECIPE VARIATIONS:

To ramp up the smoked flavor, try using smoked cheeses for this recipe!
For something different, trying adding smoked ham, crumbled caramelized bacon, pulled pork, smoked brisket or barbecued chicken to make this a meal all by itself! For a truly decadent and special treat, add chunks of lobster meat for Smoked Lobster Macaroni & Cheese!
If you like a little kick to your macaroni and cheese, add green chiles, cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes to your favorite level of HOT and spicy!
For Barbecue Smoked Mac & Cheese, stir in 1 cup of your favorite barbecue sauce, or serve with barbecue sauces on the side – if you’ve never tried drizzling macaroni and cheese with barbecue sauce, you are in for a treat!
For Smoked Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese, stir in 2 cups of Smoked Buffalo Chicken Dip or Buffalo Chicken Dip. Top with blue cheese crumbles before serving. Delightful!
For Tex-Mex, add 1 diced green or red sweet pepper and ½ yellow onion (both sauteed in butter or olive oil until tender), 2 cups cooked taco meat, and replace barbecue seasoning with taco seasoning and chili powder to taste.

COOKING VARIATIONS:

CAST IRON: Prepare in a 5 quart cast iron Dutch oven – you can even cook your macaroni in the pan, and then prepare the cheese sauce in the same pan to get things started!
GAS GRILL: For conventional grilling, follow the same temps and times.
CHARCOAL GRILL: Cast iron works best for this – just watch the heat, stir every 20 minutes, and remove as soon as cheese sauce is bubbling and golden.
CROCKPOT OR SLOW COOKER: Add prepared mac & cheese to your large crockpot and cook on high for 1 hours or low for 1-2 hours. Note that the crumb topping will not be crisp with this method.
CONVENTIONAL OVEN: Cover pan with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until bubbling and golden.
SERVING SUGGESTION: If you’ll be serving these at a barbecue or picnic that will last for more than a few hours, you can transfer the Smoked Mac & Cheese into a crock pot or slow cooker to keep them warm for hours on a warm setting.

Original recipe posted June 2018; revised and reposted June 2022.

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