Hearty comfort food at its best, this Spanish style Macaroni Cheese with Chorizo and Manchego takes the humble mac and cheese to the next level!
I am a bit of a macaroni cheese fan…can you tell? One of the most popular recipes on my site is my Super Simple Macaroni Cheese. I’ve also created Macaroni Cheese with Bacon and Leeks – which is one of my favourite ever recipes, a Three Cheese Macaroni Cheese – with cheddar, mozzarella AND parmesan, and a Butternut Squash Macaroni Cheese version too…and I’m constantly working on new variations (it’s a tough gig!).
One idea I’ve had for ages is to create a Chorizo Macaroni Cheese – basically I love mac and cheese AND I love chorizo…so why not put the two together? But me being me, I wanted to take this to the next level.
Not content with just throwing chorizo into my usual macaroni cheese recipe, I decided to go for the full on Spanish experience and use Spanish cheese too. And one of my favourite cheeses just happens to be Spanish… Manchego!!
Manchego cheese is made from sheep’s milk in the La Mancha region of Spain. It has a lovely nutty sweetness and a slight sharpness, without being too strong. It grates well and melts really well too. To be honest, when I tried it I had no idea if it would work in macaroni cheese, but it was worth a go!
And I am very glad I did try it because it worked brilliantly – the sweet, nutty, salty flavours complimenting the spicy, garlicky flavours of the chorizo and softened by the buttery creaminess of the sauce – mac and cheese heaven!
To add extra texture and flavour I topped this chorizo mac and cheese with my storecupboard favourite: panko breadcrumbs. I love panko breadcrumbs because they can be kept in the cupboard to be used whenever you fancy making a quick and easy crunchy topping for macaroni cheese, pasta bakes, fishcakes or anything else you fancy.
In this recipe I simply mix the panko breadcrumbs with more of that delicious manchego cheese and sprinkle over the top of the macaroni cheese before popping in the oven – couldn’t be simpler!
And of course, it’s very easy to make too. You can whip this Spanish Style Macaroni Cheese up in under half an hour, and yet it feels totally luxurious and treaty. It well down well with the kids too, who love chorizo, making it a perfect midweek meal.
I feel with the Spanish flavours of chorizo and manchego, this macaroni cheese needs a Spanish wine to go with it, and my choice to cut through the creamy, cheesy, spiciness of this dish would be a gutsy Rioja Rosado or a young red Rioja (or similar style wines from other regions of Spain). If you’d rather a white a zingy zesty Sauvignon Blanc would work well with this too.
Spanish style Macaroni Cheese with Chorizo and Manchego
Ingredients
- 300 g macaroni
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 150 g chorizo diced
- 25 g butter
- 1 onion diced
- 1 clove garlic crushed
- 2 tablespoons plain flour
- 500 ml milk
- Black pepper to taste
- 200 g manchego cheese (or another hard cheese such as cheddar or parmesan)
- 50 g panko breadcrumbs
- Green salad to serve
Instructions
- Pre heat your oven to 220C / 200C fan / gas mark 7 / 425F.
- Cook the macaroni in plenty of boiling salted water for about 3 minutes less than you would normally do it. This is important, or your macaroni will end up soggy and stodgy. Drain reserving a little of the cooking water.
- Meanwhile, heat a wide, oven proof saucepan or cast iron casserole dish over a medium heat and add the olive oil and chorizo. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Tip the chorizo onto a plate.
- Turn down the heat and add the butter to the pan you just used for the chorizo. When the butter is melted add the onions and fry with the lid on for about 3-4 minutes, until the onions are nicely softened. Add the garlic and fry for 1 more minute. Stir occasionally.
- Sprinkle the plain flour over the onions/garlic and stir well, then add the milk very slowly, stirring constantly until thickened. When the sauce is roughly the thickness of double (heavy) cream, add in a few twists of black pepper, the chorizo and 150g/5oz of the cheddar cheese. Stir until the cheese is melted and then turn the heat off.
- In a small bowl, place the panko breadcrumbs and the remaining 50g/2oz of the cheese. Mix together to make the topping.
- Tip the macaroni into the cheese sauce, together with about a tablespoon of the cooking water, and stir to combine. Scatter the panko topping evenly over the top and place in your preheated oven for 10-15 minutes or until golden and bubbling.
Notes
Pin Spanish Style Macaroni Cheese with Chorizo and Manchego for later
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Jo Allison - Jo's Kitchen Larder says
Wow, Eb! Sounds delicious! I love the colour too! It must be all that gorgeous chorizo deliciousness and that’s why I cook with it so often too. I simply love the flavoured oil it gives out which gives oomph to anything you pair it with 🙂 Fantastic recipe! x
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Jo! Yes, it’s the chorizo that’s responsible for the amazing colour!!! Like you I am a HUGE chorizo flavour and it goes so well with so many things! Eb x
Jessica Cantoni says
When I saw this on the cookblogshare linky, I knew it was one yours Eb! I absolutely love mac n cheese too AND chorizo.. or any cured meat for that matter! This looks like the dream and I’m going to make it for sure! xx
Eb Gargano says
Hahaha – I love that you can recognise my food – I’m clearly doing something right with ‘branding’ – hahahaha! If you love mac n cheese and you love chorizo, you are going to LOVE this recipe 😀 Eb x
Monika Dabrowski says
This mac and cheese certainly does not look humble, sounds delicious! I didn’t know this Spanich cheese but if it’s responsible for pretty the colour of this dish I like it! #CookBlogShare
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Monika 🙂 The vibrant colour is from the chorizo…the cheese is quite pale in colour…BUT it is full of flavour and well worth trying! Eb x
Donna says
This looks gorgeous. I’ve somehow never had mac and cheese! #CookBlogShare
Eb Gargano says
WHAAAAAT??? NEVER HAD MAC N CHEESE???? You need to fix that girl, and pronto!! So, so good. And lots of versions to try on my site 😉 Eb x
Cat | Curly's Cooking says
I really love chorizo and manchego cheese is delicious too. This looks so tasty and comforting I could eat a big bowl right now! x
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Cat! If you love chorizo and manchego, you are going to love this! It is definitely one of those recipes where you need a BIG bowl (if not two!). Eb x
CakePants says
I’ve never met a macaroni and cheese that I didn’t like, but this one really stood out to me! Manchego sounds like a lovely addition, and chorizo is always a good idea. Yum!
Eb Gargano says
Hahaha – I’ve had a few bad ones in my time (not cooked by me I hasten to add!) All too often I find the pasta woefully overcooked and the whole dish just sticks together in one congealed mass – bleurgh. But a good mac n cheese is a beautiful thing indeed. And the manchego chorizo combo works a treat. Thanks for your kind comments. Eb 🙂
Jan says
I’m not sure that this will beat your bacon and leek macaroni cheese but I love chorizo and manchego so will definitely make it next week!
Eb Gargano says
Aw, thanks Jan – I’d love to know how you get on and which one you decide you prefer! Eb 🙂
Rick says
I see you use the bechamel method – if you want really super easy mac and cheese I can heartily recommend the method that uses the naturally starchy pasta water as a thickener, combined with evaporated milk. It tastes delicious and can all be done on a single pan.
I adapted Nigella Lawson’s sweet potato mac and cheese to work with this method and it tastes identical but takes much less effort: http://toastetc.blogspot.co.uk/2017/06/a-much-easier-sweet-potato-macaroni.html
Eb Gargano says
I do! I have to say I love making a cheese sauce using this method. There is something rather comforting and traditional about it. And so long as you do everything on a low heat and stir a lot it really is a doddle to do and takes about 5 minutes! I have experimented a little with other methods and I haven’t been that impressed, that said, I have never tried using evaporated milk…intriguing. I might have to try that one! Eb 🙂
Corina Blum says
This looks delicious and I am also a huge fan of chorizo and manchego although I don’t think I’ve ever actually used manchego in a recipe. I definitely need to try it! x
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Corina 🙂 Oh yes, if you like Manchego, you should definitely try cooking with it – it’s really good! 😀 Eb x
Kate - gluten free alchemist says
Yes please!!! I haven’t had mac & cheese for ages…. we have often added bacon or ham….. not sure why we haven’t used chorizo?! It’s a perfect choice! And I adore Manchego…. xx
Eb Gargano says
Oh if you like it with bacon/ham, you are going to LOVE it with chorizo!! Eb x
martin cooley says
Tryed for the first time really tasty but for me would have preferred it to be a bit more saucey maybe next time will make a few tweeks ..
Eb Gargano says
Hi Martin, thanks for the feedback… glad you found it really tasty! To make it more saucy, you can either add more cheese, or more milk, or both. Do come back and let us know how your experiments turn out! Eb 🙂
martin cooley says
Thanks for your advice will try that and let you know ?
Christina L says
I happened to have chorizo leftover from taco night, a block of manchego from a gift box, and I’ve been craving Mac and cheese – and thus the stars aligned and led me to your blog! Thank you for this recipe, it was so simple and utterly delicious. It’s better than the Anna Hezel recipes I’ve made. I luckily had some cheesy shortbread cookies made from Nigella Lawson’s recipe that were getting old, so I crushed that up and mixed it with manchego for the topping. Also I kid you not, somehow we had a bottle of Tempranillo from La Mancha in the fridge!!! It was the perfect dinner; I’m looking forward to the leftovers and making this recipe again 🙂 People if you’re reading the comments to decide whether or not to make this – do it! You will be enormously rewarded ?
Eb Gargano says
Aw, thanks so much Christina… those Spanish themed stars really did align well for you ? I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe so much… and thanks for taking the time to write this lovely recipe – and especially for the 5 stars! Eb 🙂