The Boxed Ingredient That Turns Mac And Cheese Into The Ultimate Comfort Food

While some prefer to let their creative juice flow in the kitchen, leveling up cuisine by carefully crafting add-ons that make them pop, sometimes all you need to upgrade a dish is something simple from the pantry. Mac and cheese is the perfect example. There are endless ways to turn mac and cheese into an extra-delicious dinner with modest ingredients. Veggies, salsas, and even beer for a boozy mac and cheese are some options, but for the ultimate comfort food, reach for a box of stuffing mix.

Using boxed stuffing as a flavorful topper for mac and cheese means the dish should be baked, but honestly, that's the best way to make it anyway. The whole process is fairly straightforward. Follow the directions on your box of stuffing to get that element ready, then use your favorite baked mac and cheese recipe to create the other part. Top the soupy noodle mixture with shredded cheese to make it extra cheesy, then crown it with your stuffing and bake as normal until it's bubbly.

By topping the dish with stuffing, you're essentially combining two beloved side dishes into a carb-laden entree. But you don't have to stop there. There are plenty of ingredients that can further enhance baked mac and cheese topped with stuffing without much effort on your part.

You can easily make the dish a bit more diverse with simple ingredients you probably have on hand. Broccoli is a classic mac add-in that would break up the richness of the cheese and starch, and incorporating mushrooms will up the umami in the dish. Adding meat would likewise give your palate something to get more excited about. Chicken is always a solid choice, or you could impart some savory, salty flavors by including chopped bacon on top.

The stuffing can also be enhanced before it's added to the dish, too. One simple way to make boxed stuffing mix even better is to prepare it in a flavorful liquid, like chicken broth. For some rich, nutty sweetness, consider introducing browned butter to the mix. And if you're going all in on cheesiness, add parmesan or shredded cheddar to the stuffing.

As for the stuffing itself, you can find almost any variety you could possibly dream up in your local supermarket. Stove Top alone has several flavors. Traditional sage would have you reminiscing about your last Thanksgiving feast, savory herbs would bless your kitchen and your mac and cheese with an herbaceous aroma and flavor, and chicken would add savory notes to your creamy creation. You could also cut the richness somewhat by using Stove Top's cornbread stuffing mix for a slightly sweeter bite.