Decadent and creamy this Roasted Hatch Chile Mac and Cheese is a southwestern twist on the classic. It’s a great comfort food side dish!
So I’m kinda obsessed with hatch chiles. And by kinda I mean I’m totally obsessed with hatch chiles. But now that I have added them to a macaroni and cheese the obsession has reached a whole new level. A “I want to buy all the hatch chiles” level. Just try this Roasted Hatch Chile Mac N’ Cheese. You’ll see.
What are Hatch Chiles?
Hatch Chiles are chiles that are grown in the Hatch Valley region of New Mexico. They have a very short season and you can only usually find them in the produce section during late summer. As far as heat level goes, Hatch Chiles are on the lower end of the heat scale, below the jalapeno. But some have known to be hotter! If you want to learn more about spice levels, check out my Guide to Chile Peppers.
Hatch Chiles are usually always roasted before they are added to a dish. The roasting gives them a light smoky flavor. Which works well in so many different recipes, including this Roasted Hatch Chile Mac and Cheese.
What ingredients do you need:
- FRESH HATCH CHILES: You can find them in the produce section of your local grocery store. If you can’t find them, the closest substitute would be the Anaheim pepper but Anaheim peppers are much more mild than hatch chiles.
- MACARONI: Traditional for macaroni and cheese but you could also use penne, or shells.
- YELLOW ONION: For flavor.
- BUTTER/FLOUR/MILK: This helps make the base of the cheese sauce.
- JACK OR PEPPER JACK CHEESE: Jack if you want to keep things mild, pepperjack if you’d like to add a little more heat.
- CREAM CHEESE: This makes your macaroni and cheese even more decadent.
- SALT: Just a little because the cheese is salty.
- PANKO/OIL: This will create a crunchy top for the macaroni and cheese.
Step by Step Photos and Instructions:
- STEP #1: Turn on your oven broiler. Place chilies on a baking sheet 6 inches away from the broiler. Broil 4 – 5 minutes on each side or until skin has started to blister and blacken. Place chiles into a paper bag, close and let set for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, peel away the skin of the chiles and remove the stem and seeds. The more seeds you leave the spicier the mac n’ cheese will be. Dice the chiles.
- STEP #2: Bring a large pot of water to boil. 7 – 8 minutes or until al dente. Drain.
- STEP #3: While pasta is cooking, melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add in onions. Cook just until softened about 3 minutes. Whisk in flour. Allow to cook for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in milk. Once milk has warmed, add in the jack and cream cheeses. Cook until melted. Fold in macaroni and roasted chiles. Season to taste with salt.
- STEP #4: Pour macaroni and cheese into a 2 quart casserole dish. In another bowl combine panko and olive oil. Sprinkle over the macaroni and cheese.
- STEP #5 Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes or until the edges are bubbly. Turn on the broiler and broil for 2 minutes or until the bread crumbs turn golden. Serve hot.
If you want to make this ahead of time complete steps 1 – 4 and then refrigerate until you’re ready to cook. It may need to cook a bit longer if it’s cold when you put it in the oven.
This will keep in the refrigerator for a few days in an air tight container. To reheat, place into an oven safe dish and heat at 350 until warmed through.
This Roasted Hatch Chile Mac and Cheese is super decadent, super cheesy and bursting with southwestern flavor. Your whole family will love it!
Looking for the perfect main dish or side dish to serve along side? Here are some of my favorites:
Note: this post was originally written in 2013. It was updated in 2021 with new photos, step by step photos and nutritional information.
Servings
Ingredients
- 5 hatch chiles
- 2 cups elbow macaroni
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/2 yellow onion (diced)
- 4 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 2 cups whole milk
- 3 cups shredded jack cheese
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- salt
- 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
- Turn on your oven broiler. Place chilies on a baking sheet 6 inches away from the broiler. Broil 4 - 5 minutes on each side or until skin has started to blister and blacken. Place chiles into a paper bag, close and let set for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, peel away the skin of the chiles and remove the stem and seeds. The more seeds you leave the spicier the mac n' cheese will be. Dice the chiles.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Bring a large pot of water to boil. 7 - 8 minutes or until al dente. Drain.
- While pasta is cooking, melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add in onions. Cook just until softened about 3 minutes. Whisk in flour. Allow to cook for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in milk.
- Once milk has warmed, add in the jack and cream cheeses. Cook until melted. Fold in macaroni and roasted chiles. Season to taste with salt.
- Pour macaroni and cheese into a 2 quart casserole dish. In another bowl combine panko and olive oil. Sprinkle over the macaroni and cheese. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes or until the edges are bubbly. Turn on the broiler and broil for 2 minutes or until the bread crumbs turn golden. Serve hot.
I am so happy to hear that you liked it! :)
I made this last night and it was amazing! I have a ton of frozen roasted hatch chiles in my freezer, and this was a perfect way to use some up. I mostly followed the recipe – I used reduced fat cream cheese and no breadcrumb topping to reduce calories, although in retrospect it’s mac’n’cheese, how much reducing can you actually do??? Haha. Anyway I loved the smoky hatch flavor, and the base mac’n’cheese recipe was so good I could see myself using it in the future without chiles. Putting 3 cups of cheese plus cream cheese in 2 cups of milk almost seemed like too much; it almost became just a pot of melted cheese! But it came out perfect. Trust the recipe. I just had leftovers for lunch. Yum!
I’m making this tonight but forgot the boyfriend had accidentally left the milk out last night, so all I had was 1 cup heavy cream which I diluted with 1 cup of water. I didn’t have jack cheese so I shredded 2 cups cheddar and used 1 cup mozzarella that I needed to get rid of. Added some roasted chicken breast that I had frozen and the chiles were also previously roasted and frozen so I just threw those in. It’s in the oven now, and I may not be able to move later! :)
[…] Chili Mac ‘n Cheese (from Life’s Ambrosia) Serves 6-8 as a […]
[…] Read More… […]
[…] Roasted Hatch Chile Mac n’ Cheese by Life’s Ambrosia […]
This looks so good! I just purchased a 25lb box of hatch chiles and had them roasted at the market. This is the first time I have purchased hatch chiles, and they are good. Can’t wait to use them in this recipe. Thanks for sharing!
Ooh, I have never heard of hatch chilies, but they sound fantastic! This looks great!
I am going to get some Hatch chilis today at the market, this is a must make for me!! Sounds amazing!
Jodie- I’ve never tried mac n’ cheese with tomatoes but that is definitely something that is on my to make list now. Sounds fantastic!
This sounds wonderful. I think for my family I will make a couple of changes. One I will make it without the chilies for my husband. He doesn’t do well with spicy, but I will add drained chopped canned tomatoes to the bottom of the casserole. Also, instead of the jack cheese I will use Dubliner cheddar. It is extra sharp. I will add the chilies to my casserole along with the tomatoes on the bottom. If you have never had mac & cheese with the tomatoes they are really worth trying at least once. The combination is very tasty. One of those dishes that you just keep going back to the kitchen for more all evening long til there are no leftovers. tysm for all the tasty recipes.