Cheetos Mac & Cheese Recipe!! (Burger King style)

2054

With burger king making a splash with the Cheetos Mac and cheese, I figured I would give you a fancy version served in steakhouses for years. I actually used to make this for family meal at a restaurant I worked at. If you want, you can use a Velveeta brick to replace the gourmet cheeses. Just add a pinch of blue cheese in to make up for it.
INGREDIENTS

  • 1 pound smoked cheddar shredded
  • 1/2 pound shredded cheddar
  • 1/2 pound shredded guyere
  • 1 pound cavatappi pasta (corkscrew)
  • 4 QT water for pasta
  • 2 tbsp sea salt separated (1 for pasta 1 for sauce)
  • 2 cups Cheetos crushed
  • 1/2 cup bread crumbs
  • 1/2 stick butter
  • 4 cups heavy whipping cream
  • 4 cups half and half
  • 1/3 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/2 leek (just rhe white part) finely diced about a cup
  • 2 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp fresh ground nutmeg
  • Pinched smoked paprika  (little goes a politicking way; caution)
  • 3 tbsp yellow mustard
  • 1/4 tsp rubbed sage

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 350
  2. Butter 1 13×9 casserole dish and set aside.
  3. In a large sauce pot heat butter on med high heat.
  4. Add in leeks and saute until tender. Reduce heat to medium.
  5. Add flour stirring constantly. Cook until just starting to brown.
  6. Add heavy cream and half and half. Stir until flour is incorporated and mixture slightly coats the back of a spoon. DO NOT BRING TO A BOIL!!!!!
  7. Add salt, black pepper, smoked paprika, mustard and nutmeg. Stir until combined.
  8. Add cheese a handful at a time. Reserve two large handfuls of cheddar for garnish and set aside (note if you feel sauce is too thick you can always thin with milk)
  9. Remove from heat after all cheese is incorporated. Set aside.
  10. Prepare pasta adding rest of salt to water before cooking.
  11. Drain and put pasta in prepared pasta dish and pour 2/3 (or enough to coat) of sauce over it and set rest aside for garnish.
  12. In a small bowl combine crushed Cheetos, sage, breadcrumbs. Sprinkle over top of dish. Also, sprinkle reserved cheddar on top.
  13. With a large kitchen spoon, ladle remaining cheese sauce over bread crumb mixture randomly.
  14. Wrap top of dish with foil and bake 20min. Remove foil and cook 5 more min or until top browns.

Credits to: Matty Matheson; m.facebook.com/albert.keaton