Mac And Cheese Gets 10x Creamier When You Add This Canned Seafood Item

Mac and cheese is one of the ultimate comfort foods for kids and adults alike, and for good reason. Whether you whip it up from scratch or opt for the best store-bought boxed mac, it's hard to go wrong with the gooey pasta dish. However, if you're sick of plain old macaroni and cheese and looking to level up, consider adding a canned seafood staple for an ultra-creamy twist on basic mac and cheese: New England clam chowder.

If clam linguine and lobster mac and cheese are any indication, adding seafood to mac and cheese and clams to pasta is hardly out of left field. Plus, clam chowder is basically the mac and cheese of seafood dishes — creamy, convenient, and incredibly comforting — so it only makes sense to combine the two. The silky soup blends beautifully with the cheesy pasta dish to create a velvety and flavorful comfort food mashup capable of convincing even the pickiest seafood skeptics to enjoy bivalves.

Adding New England clam chowder to macaroni and cheese, much like the pasta dish itself, can be as simple or fancy as you like. The most basic method couldn't be easier – just prepare your favorite boxed mac and cheese, and then stir in heated canned clam chowder until the dish reaches your desired consistency. You could mix in a whole can if you like it on the soupier side, or just a few spoonfuls for a hit of creamy seafood flavor.

If you're feeling ambitious and want to take your clam chowder mac and cheese to the next level, the world is your oyster. You could add canned clams (which there's no need to be snobby about) to the mix for extra seafood flavor and texture. You could even make a baked clam chowder mac and cheese casserole: Cook the pasta, stir in your cheese and clam chowder of choice, and add any other aromatics, spices, or seasonings you fancy (such as your favorite chopped alliums, black pepper, and lemon juice). Then, pour the mixture into a casserole dish, top it with crushed oyster crackers, and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until bubbly and golden (roughly half an hour). Whether you're a clam chowder lover or simply craving a creamy mac and cheese upgrade, this convenient comfort food fusion dish is well worth a crack.