Yet its popularity is still growing. According to Datassential, 28.1% of restaurant menus featured macaroni and cheese in 2016, representing 120.1% growth since 2005, in all segments and on all menu types. That gives this perennial favorite lots of room for creative interpretation—indeed, Datassential has tracked variations ranging from cheese types (Gruyere, Fontina, cheddar) to additions such as peas, bacon, truffle, and lobster.

Macaroni and cheese is one of those craveable, widely popular foods—beloved by kids and adults alike—that can be turned into a signature dish your customers will visit you specifically to order.

Here are ways to turn mac and cheese into one of those calling cards.

Play with the Basics

Almost any pasta shape is appropriate for macaroni and cheese, beyond the usual elbows. Try ziti, orecchiette, shells, ditalini, or even a small, delicate pasta such as orzo. As far as cheese goes, switching up the flavor profile can create a big impact, particularly with specialty cheeses such as goat cheese, feta, blue cheese, smoked mozzarella, pepper Jack, or a branded or locally sourced product. Using multiple cheeses—such as an all-Italian mix of fontina, Parmesan, and Asiago—is another possibility.

Add Mix-ins

• Add vegetables, including broccoli or cauliflower, peas, asparagus tips, spinach or Swiss chard, diced roasted vegetables, or tomatoes (this is also a great way to sneak in some nutrition for kids)
• Go upscale with wild mushrooms, lobster or crab, or smoked chicken
• Stir in a flavor enhancement such as pesto or salsa
• Top with seasoned or buttered bread or cracker crumbs and bake or broil, to create an extra-crispy crust
• Enrich the mix with sour cream, puréed butternut squash, or Alfredo sauce
• Create a mac-and-cheese menu or station where customers can choose their own mix-ins and additions

Make It a Kids’ Menu Fixture
As Datassential points out, most children love macaroni and cheese—and it’s also a protein-rich menu item that many parents can feel good about them ordering.

• Pair with a side of veggie sticks and a better-for-you beverage such as juice, reduced-fat skim milk, or lemonade for a combo meal
• Use whole grain pasta and/or a whole grain crumb topping
• Accompany with a lean protein option, such as turkey hot dogs, shrimp, or grilled chicken breast or tenders
• Slip veggies into the recipe, as mentioned above, for added produce portions
• Provide mix-ins as a menu option that lets kids take charge.

Use Mac & Cheese as an Ingredient
Macaroni and cheese is perfect as a side dish or entrée, but it can also be used as a component in other specialties.

• Top a burger or slider with mac and cheese, instead of a slice of cheese
• Form prepared macaroni and cheese into balls or oval shapes, roll in crumbs, and fry, for a bite-size appetizer or side item
• Enclose between two slices of bread and bake or fry, for a variation on the grilled cheese sandwich
• Heat with stock, shredded chicken, and a chile flavor boost for a distinctive Mexicali Mac-and-Cheese Soup
• Bake into muffin tins for Macaroni and Cheese Cupcakes

Content courtesy of: Nestle Professional & Great Menu’s Start Here

As the mac & cheese craze marches on, so too must the constant flow of recipe ideas for this steadfast classic of comfort. In this rendition we’ve used gnocchi (potato dumplings) in place of the traditional use of pasta, add blue cheese and onions to the mix and you have crock full of yum!

INGREDIENTS

• 2 oz caramelized onions
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles
• 6 cloves roasted garlic (optional)
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 8 oz gnocchi (Item #13365)

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat cream, caramelized onion, dijon, blue cheese and roasted garlic (optional) until cheese is melted.
2. Fold in gnocchi (frozen is fine), transfer to baking crocks.
3. Sprinkle with more blue cheese and transfer to oven set @ 375 for 12-15 minutes; until bubbly hot.

CHEF’S NOTE: 

• Serve with house fried chips to use as an edible spoon (Item #27015)
• Serves 2

INGREDIENTS

• 8 oz uncooked, elbow macaroni
• 4 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 2 1/2 all-purpose flour
• 3 cups whole milk
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan
• 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 8 fl-oz Kogi salsa roja
• 1 cup cooked, diced, peppered bacon
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• 1/8 teaspoon paprika

DIRECTIONS

1. Cook macaroni to desired doneness, and drain. In a saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Stir in enough flour to make a roux.
2. Add milk to roux slowly, stirring occasionally. Cook over low heat until thickened. Remove from head and stir in cheeses and salsa roja.
3. Put macaroni and bacon in large casserole dish, and pour sauce over. Stir well.
4. Melt 2 tablespoons utter in a skillet over medium heat. Add breadcrumbs and brown. Spread over macaroni and cheese to cover. Sprinkle with a little paprika.
5. Bake at 400˚F until hot and bubbly, pull out of oven and serve!

Kogi Salsa Roja
Item #20919

People seek Kogi out. Driving out of their way just to get a taste. Why? One word: flavor!

People’s palates are changing. They want…no, crave original, uncommon, adventurous flavors. That’s Kogi. And now you can take advantage of this trend and serve up the fearless flavor combinations that everyone’s lining up for.

INGREDIENTS

Serves: 4

17 ounces refrigerated fully-cooked boneless pot roast with gravy or au jus
1 1/2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons flour
2 1/4 cups skim milk
1 cup shredded Monterrey jack cheese
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3/4 cup Gorgonzola cheese, divided
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage

DIRECTIONS

1. Prepare pasta according to package directions; drain. Set aside. Prepare beef pot roast according to package directions. Remove beef from gravy or au jus reserve gravy for another use. Shred beef with 2 forks. Keep warm; set aside.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in large non-stick skillet over medium heat until hot. Carefully whisk in flour; cook 3 to 5 minutes or until lightly browned, whisking constantly. Whisk in milk; cook 8 to 10 minutes or until thick., whisking constantly. Remove pan from heat and stir in Monterrey jack cheese, salt and pepper, stirring until cheese is melted. Stir in pasta, 1/2 cup Gorgonzola cheese and sage.
3. Evenly divide pasta mixture among four plates; top with beef and sprinkle with remaining Gorgonzola cheese, and serve!

First up, from Hood, we’ve added Karnival Stix popsicles – a delicious summer treat for the young and young at heart. From Ambrosia Foods we’ve added delicious, healthy and trendy White Quinoa. From Sapore Grand we’ve added premium 1oz beef and pork meatballs. New in from the grab-able Mexican food experts El Monterey, Chicken and Cheese Taquitos. Kids menus and school food programs alike will love this next item! From McCain we now carry their brand new emoji-inspired shaped potato fries – Emoticons! In gluten free products, we’ve added gluten free rice-panko bread crumb from Homai. Adding a delicate crispiness, these crumbs can be used as a breading for your favorite poultry, seafood, vegetable or other fried items. New in from J.T.M. Food Group we now carry their delicious deli style Macaroni and Cheese. From the folks you can confidently put your turkey trust in, Jennie-O, we’ve added Grand Champion brown and serve, skin-on turkey breasts. In non-foods we’ve added 4 new items from WNA’s Comet line – 2 new serving trays, and 2 high-dome clear lids.

Dennis Paper & Food Service delivers thousands of foodservice products and supplies to restaurants and food operations in Maine and New Hampshire. If you have a question or are interested in becoming a customer contact us or call 1-800-439-2727.

Stock status subject to change. Posted 7/18/18.

INGREDIENTS

1 pizza dough ball
1 1/2 cup macaroni & cheese item #76610
1/2 cup grilled and fan sliced chicken breast item #11962
1/4 cup chopped, cooked bacon item #3699
1/2 cup shredded Monterrey jack cheese
1 cup flour
Garnish: olive oil for brushing the crust, fresh chopped chives

DIRECTIONS

• Dust the dough ball in flour and hand stretch into 12″ crust
• Brush dough ball with olive oil.
• Top the dough with the macaroni & cheese.
• Top the macaroni & cheese with bacon and then chicken.
• Sprinkle the shredded Monterrey jack cheese on top of the macaroni & cheese, bacon and chicken.
• Bake at 500˚F for 5-7 minutes until cheese is golden brown.
• Let is rest for 1 minute and garnish with chopped chives.

See More Recipes

INGREDIENTS
Serves: 100

50 cups cooked whole grain pasta (elbows preferred)
6.25 lbs reduced fat, shredded, American cheese
75 oz Whole Grain Cheez-It®
10 cups skim milk (or dry powder milk reconstituted)
6 cups water
16 tablespoons low fat butter substitute
8 tablespoons black pepper

DIRECTIONS

1. Cook pasta according to directions. Rinse, drain and set aside.
2. Grind Cheez-It® crackers in a food processor/blender (or mash) until corse. Reserve 8 cups for topping.
3. Mix remaining ground Cheez-It® crackers and the rest of the ingredients in a tilt kettle, or large pot. Stir and bring to temperature. Cook until thickened (5-10 minutes).
4. Add cooked pasta that was set aside to sauce mixture. Stir until well mixed.
5. Divide mixture evenly into 4 shallow full-pans. Wrap and place in holding oven.
6. When ready to serve, sprinkle 2 cups each of crushed Cheez-It® crackers over the top of each pan.
7. Use 6 oz ladle/cup to serve.

Here we are with another Thursday edition of our Podcast; the last few episodes have been recorded on Thursdays rather than our usual Wednesday schedule. This made me reflect on how, even with schedules and planning, the unexpected can cause a hiccup in our regular routines. In this episode I’ve got some advice to help you overcome unforeseen changes and challenges to your routines.

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST

This week we have 8 new items to share with you which were just added to our inventory including an ABF honey ham from McKenzie Deli, French baguettes, new salad dressings and more. There’s something “marrowvelous” in the world of burger condiments that fits perfectly with our discussion from last week’s episode about signature burgers. We cap that off with some recent burger statistics from industry data firm Technomic. Our new test kitchen gets its first use on Friday and Stouffer’s will be there with a new premium mac and cheese that everyone is looking forward to trying. We’re hitting the road with Social Media and there’s an update on our upcoming Summer Buying Brochure. All that and more in this episode of Dennis Knows Food!

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