Mac and cheese might be considered cozy comfort food but it’s a dish you can elevate quite easily. Add not only seafood but two different kinds of seafood, and you can transform a relatively simply recipe into an exquisite one!
Crab and shrimp pair up with macaroni and cheese, and this seafood dish also has Cajun spices and Old Bay seasoning to add all the flavor you need. You can use any kind of cheese you want, either what’s listed in the recipe or your own choices. Feel free to mix and match two or three different kinds. Just make sure you buy it in a block form and shred it yourself (pre-shredded cheese is covered in potato starch and preservatives).
As for the seafood, jumbo crab and shrimp give a great result. Mussels, lobster, clams or scallops would also be good in this. For the results, cook seafood from fresh instead of using ready-cooked or cooked frozen seafood.
Why You’ll Love the Recipe:
This recipe combines a classic cozy comfort food dish seafood to transform it into an exquisite dish that’s impressive enough for a dinner party.
How to Serve It:
Enjoy this seafood macaroni and cheese hot, perhaps paired with a fresh green salad.
Can You Make It Ahead?
No, this is something that deserves to be made fresh. It won’t be as good if prepared ahead and reheated.
Storage Instructions:
Leftovers will keep for a couple of days in an airtight container in the fridge.
Variations and Substitutions:
Use any cheese you want in here. Just a few ideas include romano, muenster, fontina, white cheddar, orange cheddar, gouda, and edam, but you can mix and match anything really. Use block cheese and shred your own (the pre-shredded kind has additives that don’t melt that well, so you can get a much better result with cheese you shred yourself). You can use cellentani pasta in place of the macaroni (this type is like a longer corkscrew macaroni).
Ingredients:
- Shrimp
- Elbow macaroni
- Crabmeat
- Butter
- Cajun seasoning (optional)
- Old Bay seasonings
- Milk
- All-purpose flour
- Heavy cream
- Cream cheese
- Shredded mozzarella
- Shredded sharp cheddar
- Shredded parmesan
- Onion powder
- Cooking spray, as needed
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
How to make Creamy Seafood Mac and Cheese:
Step 1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Step 2. Follow the instructions on the package to cool the macaroni in a pot, then rinse under cold water.
Step 3. Heat a skillet on the stove and add a tablespoon of butter.
Step 4. Let it melt and then add the shrimp and Old Bay seasoning. Add Cajun seasoning too if liked. Cook for 3 minutes or until cooked through.
Step 5. Add the crab and stir, then take the mixture off the heat.
Step 5. Heat another skillet on the stove and melt 4 tablespoons of butter in there.
Step 7. Whisk in the flour, bit by bit, to make a roux. When it’s combined, mix in the milk and cream.
Step 8. Add half the cheese (plus the cream cheese if using) and keep stirring until most of it is melted.
Step 9. Stir in salt, pepper and onion powder, then taste and adjust the seasonings if necessary.
Step 10. Put the cooked pasta in the pot you cooked it in, drizzle the cheese sauce on top and stir.
Step 11. Stir in the seafood as well as the butter sauce from the seafood and season again if necessary.
Step 12. Grease a 13 x 9-inch baking pan with nonstick spray.
Step 13. Add half the pasta and half the cheese on top, then repeat with the remaining pasta and remaining cheese.
Step 14. Bake for about half an hour or until the cheese has melted and is bubbling.
Step 15. Keep cooking or broil if you want a golden crust on top.
Step 16. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.
This mouthwatering macaroni and cheese with seafood is an elegant and impressive recipe. It’s really easy to make. You simply cook the pasta, then cook the cheese sauce and seafood. Layer everything in a baking dish and cook. This is a recipe you’ll want to make again and again.
PrintCreamy Seafood Mac and Cheese
This mouthwatering macaroni and cheese with seafood is an elegant and impressive recipe. It’s really easy to make. You simply cook the pasta, then cook the cheese sauce and seafood. Layer everything in a baking dish and cook. This is a recipe you’ll want to make again and again.
Ingredients
- 1 pound raw large shrimp in 1-inch pieces
- 1 pound elbow macaroni
- 8 ounces lump crabmeat
- 5 tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning (optional)
- 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasonings
- 2 cups milk
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 4 ounces cream cheese (optional but good!)
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella
- 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar
- ½ cup shredded parmesan
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- Cooking spray, as needed
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Follow the instructions on the package to cool the macaroni in a pot, then rinse under cold water.
- Heat a skillet on the stove and add a tablespoon of butter.
- Let it melt and then add the shrimp and Old Bay seasoning. Add Cajun seasoning too if liked. Cook for 3 minutes or until cooked through.
- Add the crab and stir, then take the mixture off the heat.
- Heat another skillet on the stove and melt 4 tablespoons of butter in there.
- Whisk in the flour, bit by bit, to make a roux. When it’s combined, mix in the milk and cream.
- Add half the cheese (plus the cream cheese if using) and keep stirring until most of it is melted.
- Stir in salt, pepper and onion powder, then taste and adjust the seasonings if necessary.
- Put the cooked pasta in the pot you cooked it in, drizzle the cheese sauce on top and stir.
- Stir in the seafood as well as the butter sauce from the seafood and season again if necessary.
- Grease a 13 x 9-inch baking pan with nonstick spray.
- Add half the pasta and half the cheese on top, then repeat with the remaining pasta and remaining cheese.
- Bake for about half an hour or until the cheese has melted and is bubbling.
- Keep cooking or broil if you want a golden crust on top.
- Cool for 15 minutes before serving.
Marie Rayner is a retired Chef, freelance writer, recipe developer, food blogger, and Cookbook author. She makes her home in Chester, UK, where she lives with her husband, Todd, and their much beloved English Cocker, Mitzie. Her motto is “Life is far too short to eat bad food,” and her goal is to share delicious and easy recipes which anyone can enjoy and cook in the comfort of their own home.