The Spicy Pantry Staple That Belongs In Your Mac And Cheese

As one of the richest comfort foods, mac and cheese welcomes an added spicy kick to cut through all that dairy goodness. While we've made the case for fancy additions to mac and cheese like lobster, bacon, and pulled pork, a jar of hot sauce is the pantry staple that'll supply all the complexity your mac and cheese needs in one easy go.

Hot sauce brings a trifecta of heat, spice, and tanginess to the salty, savory, and decadently creamy profile of cheese sauce. The underlying cheese flavor that you want to be the star of the dish will shine even brighter with the complementary tasting notes that hot sauce provides. You can also control the spice level for kids and spice-averse eaters. A mere couple of teaspoons will brighten cheese sauce with a subtle bite akin to adding a pinch of baking spices. On the other end of the spectrum, a fourth to a half-cup of hot sauce will satisfy spicy-heat lovers without overpowering the cheese.

There are several ways to add it. Simply add hot sauce to the finished cheese sauce before pouring it over macaroni shells or elbows. Or stir it into a thickened roux with shredded cheese for an even dispersal of spice. If you're using a chunkier hot sauce or salsa, add it along with the cheese sauce to a pot of fresh pasta, without completely mixing it in. If you're a hot sauce lover, just finish each plate of macaroni and cheese with a hearty drizzle of hot sauce.

Hot sauce encompasses numerous brands, flavors and textures that can take your mac and cheese in exciting new directions. Tabasco sauce is a Southern classic used to bring heat to dishes like deviled eggs and bloody Mary cocktails. It will work perfectly in a classic and simple macaroni and cheese recipe with sharp cheddar. Another popular pantry staple born in New York is buffalo sauce. You could make a unique buffalo cheese sauce with blue cheese, jack cheese, buffalo sauce, garlic, and onion powder. Pour it over macaroni and stir in some shredded chicken for a one-pot dinner.

If you're looking for Asian flare, sriracha or even a spoonful or two of chili crisp would taste delicious. Try adding two tablespoons of sriracha to this recipe for kimchi mac and cheese. You could substitute a can of hatch green chilies for a can of green chili salsa to stir into this green chili mac and cheese. Of course, chilies are a Mexican native crop, so you'll find the widest variety of hot sauces in the Mexican food aisle of your grocery store. Cholula and Valentina are among the most well-known. But, a sweet, smoky, spicy chipotle sauce would supply the most complex depth of flavor with mac and cheese. Spicy mustard sauces are another growing variety that'll bring a unique heat and often a more pronounced tanginess to complement sharp cheeses like cheddar or smoky cheeses like gouda.