The Herby Italian Upgrade Your Mac And Cheese Deserves

Mac and cheese is the ultimate comfort food, loaded with rich flavors and creamy, cheesy sauce. There are plenty of creative ways to make mac and cheese better, whether that's by breaking up sauce lumps in a blender or adding parmesan for a sophisticated date night dish. Even then, some people don't necessarily get the hype around this beloved recipe. If I just described you, read on because this mac and cheese upgrade is a serious game changer. It only involves one extra ingredient: our Italian friend, pesto.

Full of fresh, herby flavors, pesto can elevate the taste of salad dressing, pizza, and, surprise, your mac and cheese. Even if cooking isn't your forte, adding the pesto requires minimal effort. For a 12-ounce box of pasta, just stir through around 3 tablespoons of store-bought or homemade pesto as the final step when making your regular cheese sauce recipe. Your mac and cheese will taste more luxurious, with a new layer of flavor you never knew it needed. The vibrant green will also add some color to your plate and you can garnish it with basil to tie those herby notes together.

Adding pesto to your mac and cheese works for many reasons. The rich and sharp flavors in cheddar cheese are nicely contrasted with the bright flavor elements in the pesto. This spices things up for your tastebuds and is great for anyone who finds regular mac and cheese a bit bland and monotonous. Pesto also contains nuts which further emphasize the nuttiness of cheddar. Pesto's main ingredient, basil, will subtly shine through as well and give you a herby element with each forkful. 

This Italian sauce has a silky feel with a few chunks from the pine nuts, which also livens up the texture and gives the dish some crunch. If you usually bake your mac and cheese, the oils in the pesto will help keep the dish soft and creamy on the inside. Adding pesto to your pasta is also a great way to use up that half-empty jar in your fridge, as you can always add slightly more or less depending on your preference.