Try this Mac and Cheese Pizza Cups recipe
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp italian seasoning
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1/2 cup mini pepperoni slices
- 2 cups large macaroni noodles
- 1 cup pizza sauce divided
- 1 cup colby jack cheese shredded
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese divided
- 1/4 cup italian bread crumbs
- 1/2 tbsp butter melted
- freshly chopped parsley for garnish if desired
- Carbohydrate 6.70193346100782 g
- Cholesterol 66.9358687776772 mg
- Fat 13.8549312990515 g
- Fiber 0.423620310261364 g
- Protein 15.6835450191495 g
- Saturated Fat 8.45634401112892 g
- Serving Size 1 1 to 12 muffin cup (88g)
- Sodium 483.335817803259 mg
- Sugar 6.27831315074646 g
- Trans Fat 0.855812778083077 g
- Calories 215 calories
Step-by-step
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a muffin tin with non-stick spray, set aside.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the macaroni until al dente, so they are still a little firm (about 8 minutes). Drain and place in a large bowl.
- Add the butter and egg to the bowl and stir to combine. Stir in the milk and ½ cup of the pizza sauce. Add the garlic, Italian seasoning, colby jack cheese, 1½ cups of the mozzarella cheese and pepperoni slices and stir to combine.
- Scoop the macaroni noodles into the prepared muffin cups, so they are piled high (I got about two ice cream scoops into each one).
- Use the remaining pizza sauce to spread on top of each muffin cup, followed by the remaining mozzarella cheese. Combine the bread crumbs, melted butter and salt in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Sprinkle the tops with the crumb mixture.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes to until the tops are golden brown. Let cool slightly before running a knife around the edges of the muffins to remove from tin. Enjoy!
Traditional skillet macaroni and cheese relies on a flowing sauce, but portioning pasta into handheld vessels requires structural integrity. Starch management dictates success here. Cooking the macaroni strictly until al dente—stopping at eight minutes in boiling water—leaves the interior of each noodle firm enough to absorb dairy fats without collapsing into mush during baking. Fusing the pasta with a raw egg while the noodles remain hot is the crucial binding step. Proteins in the egg coagulate in the thirty-five-hundred-degree oven, creating a stable matrix that holds the macaroni, mozzarella, and colby jack together once removed from the muffin tin. Historically, baked pasta shapes like timballo or kugel used pastry crusts or deep casseroles to maintain form, whereas modern adaptations utilize individual muffin cups for built-in portion control. Coating the interior of the metal tin with nonstick spray prevents the bubbling cheeses from adhering to the carbon steel. Tossing the bread crumbs with melted butter prior to topping ensures an even golden-brown crust rather than dry, scorched flakes. Allowing the baked cups to rest for ten minutes permits the internal melted cheeses to set slightly, making extraction with a paring knife much cleaner.
