Smoked Macaroni And Cheese is a tasty side OR main dish, cooked on a Traeger or smoker grill. The cheese sauce is easily made from scratch!
Smoked Macaroni And Cheese is a tasty side OR main dish, cooked on a Traeger or smoker grill. The cheese sauce is easily made from scratch!

Do you enjoy homemade macaroni and cheese? It is a favorite “comfort food” of ours. Most of the time we make an EASY version on the stove top in our kitchen (recipe here on my blog). However, we also enjoy it when we use our smoker grill to make it, which imparts a unique smoky taste we really like. I came up with this recipe to in order to use our Traeger to make this handy dandy, beloved pasta dish. 

That is the recipe I am sharing here today. We tend to make this as a side dish when we are smoking meat low and slow on our Traeger grill. This smoked macaroni and cheese is smoked at a low temperature, and tastes wonderful once done. The cheese sauce and the pasta are pre-cooked inside, then combined to put on the smoker grill. Topped with sharp cheddar and bread crumbs, this is one delicious side dish OR main dish! You can make it ahead, and then smoke it when ready, which is definitely convenient. Here’s how to make it:

Scroll Down For A Printable Recipe Card At The Bottom Of The Page

Prepare The Cheese Sauce

TIP: While making the cheese sauce, cook the macaroni pasta in another saucepan, but cook it for 2 MINUTES LESS than the package instructions say. This will give you time to cook and drain the macaroni before adding the hot, completed cheese sauce.

To make the cheese sauce, melt butter in a medium saucepan on medium-low heat. Gradually whisk in the all purpose flour and dry mustard powder, being sure to whisk constantly. Cook for approx. 2 minutes, whisking constantly, to ensure the butter does not brown. Slowly whisk in the milk, and continue to mix until the sauce is slightly thickened and smooth.

Butter, mustard powder and flour are cooked in saucepan to begin making the cheese sauce.Milk is whisked into the flour/butter sauce, and cooked until slightly thickened and smooth.

Stir the Velveeta cheese OR American cheese chunks into the hot sauce in the saucepan. Stir until the cheese has melted. If you feel the sauce is too thick once done, simply add a small amount of milk to thin it out just a little bit.

TIP#1: I’ve also made this sauce using 1 cup of shredded mozzarella and 1/2 cup of sharp cheddar. That will also make a nice, creamy sauce. TIP #2: If you are a real cheese lover, you can substitute a full pound of Velveeta or American cheese in the sauce (instead of the 12 ounces called for in the recipe). It is delicious, too!

American or Velveeta cheese is added to the creamy sauce mixture and cooked until melted.The creamy cheese sauce is seasoned, then is ready to add to cooked macaroni noodles.

Preparing The Macaroni And Cheese For The Smoker Grill

When the macaroni has finished cooking, drain the water, but do not rinse the noodles. Place the hot noodles in a large mixing bowl. Pour the hot cheese sauce over the top, then stir well to fully combine the ingredients. 

Macaroni pasta is cooked, drained, then placed in a large mixing bowl.Cheese sauce is added to the cooked pasta, and stirred until combined.

Take a quick taste, and add salt and pepper to suit your personal taste, if desired. Spray the baking pan with non-stick cooking spray (or coat with melted butter), then add the macaroni and cheese. Spread it out evenly in the pan.

Evenly sprinkle the surface with grated cheddar cheese. Next sprinkle with the bread crumbs, followed by a few sprinkles of paprika. Now your smoked macaroni and cheese is ready for the smoker grill.

Macaroni and cheese is placed into a greased or buttered baking pan.The macaroni and cheese is topped with shredded cheddar, bread crumbs and paprika.

Time For The Smoker Grill

Preheat your smoker grill to 225°F, according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Once at temperature, place the smoked macaroni and cheese pan onto the grate, leaving the pan uncovered. Close the lid of the smoker. Smoke the macaroni and cheese (pan uncovered) for 20 minutes.

After the first 20 minutes, cover the pan securely with aluminum foil, and continue cooking for another 25-30 minutes (we usually do 30), or until heated through and the cheese on top is melted.

Ready To EAT Some Smoked Macaroni And Cheese!

Now it’s time to enjoy your smoked macaroni and cheese! Serve this dish hot, grab a fork, and dig in. It has a subtle smoky taste (which we love) and tastes wonderful! This dish will yield approximately 8 small servings (can be served as a side OR a main dish. I hope you enjoy it!

Smoked macaroni and cheese, straight from the Traeger grill, hot and ready to serve.

Thank you for stopping by today. I truly hope you will come back again for more family-friendly recipes you can make for those you love. Have a great day, friends.

Looking for More Traeger Or Smoker Grill Recipes?

You can find ALL of my recipes in the Recipe Index, located at the top of the page. I have a variety of recipes utilizing a smoker grill for you to enjoy, including:

Interested In More Recipes?

Thank you for visiting this website. I appreciate you using some of your valuable time to do soIf you’re interested, I publish a newsletter 2 times per month (1st and 15th) with all the latest recipes, and other fun info. I would be honored to have you join our growing list of subscribers, so you never miss a great recipe!
There is a Newsletter subscription box on the top right side (or bottom) of each blog post, depending on the device you use, where you can easily submit your e-mail address (only) to be included in my mailing list.

You Can Also Find Me On Social Media:

Facebook page: The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Pinterest:
The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Instagram:
jbatthegratefulgirlcooks

Author's signature

0 from 0 votes
Smoked Macaroni and Cheese
Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
50 mins
Total Time
1 hr 5 mins
 

Smoked Macaroni And Cheese is a tasty side OR main dish, cooked on a Traeger or smoker grill. The cheese sauce is easily made from scratch!

Category: Main Dish, Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Keyword: smoked macaroni and cheese
Servings: 8
Calories Per Serving: 516 kcal
Author: JB @ The Grateful Girl Cooks!
Ingredients
For Pasta:
  • quarts water =10 cups water
  • 1 pound elbow macaroni
For Cheese Sauce:
  • 4 Tablespoons butter
  • ¼ cup all purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon dry mustard powder
  • 1 cup milk + more to thin sauce, if desired
  • 12 ounces American cheese (or Velveeta) , cut into small chunks
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • 1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
  • ¼ cup dried bread crumbs
  • ¼ teaspoon paprika
Melted butter or cooking spray to grease the baking dish (bottom and sides)
    Instructions
    1. Cook Pasta- Bring water to a boil in a large saucepan. Add macaroni. Cook macaroni for 2 MINUTES LESS than the package instructions say. If you cook the pasta while making the cheese sauce in a separate pan, it will save you time.

    2. Make Cheese Sauce- Melt butter in a medium saucepan on medium-low heat. Gradually whisk in all purpose flour and mustard powder, being sure to whisk constantly. Cook 2 minutes, whisking constantly, to ensure butter does not brown. Slowly whisk in milk; continue to whisk until sauce is smooth and has thickened slightly. Stir Velveeta OR American cheese chunks into sauce. Stir until cheese has melted. If sauce is too thick once done, simply add a small amount of milk to thin it out a bit.

    3. When macaroni has finished cooking, drain off water, but do not rinse noodles. Place drained macaroni in a large bowl. Pour cheese sauce over the top, then stir well to fully combine ingredients. Taste, then season with salt/pepper to suit your taste. Spray baking pan with non-stick cooking spray (or coat with melted butter), then add the macaroni and cheese, spreading evenly in pan. Sprinkle top with grated cheddar, then bread crumbs, followed by a few sprinkles of paprika.

    4. Preheat smoker grill to 225°F, according to manufacturer's instructions. Once at temperature, place macaroni and cheese pan onto the grate, LEAVING PAN UNCOVERED. Close the smoker lid. Cook for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, cover the pan securely with aluminum foil. Continue cooking another 25-30 minutes, or until heated through and cheese on top is melted. Remove from grill; serve hot.

    Recipe Notes

    TIP#1: You can make sauce using 1 cup of shredded mozzarella and 1/2 cup of sharp cheddar. 

    TIP #2: If you're a cheese lover, you can add a full pound of cheese to the sauce (instead of the 12 ounces called for in recipe). 

    Nutrition Facts
    Smoked Macaroni and Cheese
    Amount Per Serving (1 (1/8 of total))
    Calories 516 Calories from Fat 225
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 25g38%
    Saturated Fat 15g94%
    Trans Fat 1g
    Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
    Monounsaturated Fat 7g
    Cholesterol 74mg25%
    Sodium 890mg39%
    Potassium 255mg7%
    Carbohydrates 51g17%
    Fiber 2g8%
    Sugar 4g4%
    Protein 21g42%
    Vitamin A 807IU16%
    Vitamin C 1mg1%
    Calcium 604mg60%
    Iron 1mg6%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

    Here’s one more to pin on your Pinterest boards!Smoked Macaroni And Cheese is a tasty side OR main dish, cooked on a Traeger or smoker grill. The cheese sauce is easily made from scratch!

     

    Smoked Macaroni And Cheese

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    By using this Comment Form you agree with the storage and handling of your data by this website. Your email address will not be published.