5 Meats That Go Perfectly With Mac And Cheese

There are few dishes as crowd pleasing as macaroni and cheese. Even in its worst incarnations — where the noodles are dry and hard in the corner edges of the pan and there's more milk than cheese or when quickly made from a box with a questionable orange powdered cheese flavored substance from a packet — there are still some die-hard fans. Honestly, there's a lot to like there: pasta, cheese, cream or milk, a roux to hold it all together, and more cheese and bread crumbs to top it. Mac and cheese attacks every one of your pleasure centers and is so simple to make. 

While there are plenty of folks who could eat it just like that every day for the rest of their lives, some of us dream of taking our favorite dish to higher heights with the addition of meat. While one could make the case that just about anything is amazing when enveloped in cheese-laden elbow macaroni (truly, you'd be hard-pressed to find a non-vegetarian/vegan who disagrees), even recipes for mac n' cheese featuring veggies are insanely decadent, especially when they have butternut squash, mushrooms, or cauliflower lurking beneath their bubbling crusts. 

But for the sake of brevity, we've narrowed it down to five stellar meat choices that pair perfectly with this well-loved dish — chicken, barbecue leftovers, birria beef, canned fish, and shellfish.

You need to be careful when riffing on mac and cheese, a time-honored dish tinged with comforting memories and nostalgia that has sparked full-on brawls at family cookouts when done poorly. Whatever additions you choose must be able to speak to the flavors of the classic version. This calls for something adaptable and unobtrusive, yet equally beloved, something as popular as the dish itself — fried chicken. 

Let's face it, fried chicken and mac n' cheese go together like peanut butter and jelly. The trick here is to double fry those battered chunks until they're golden-browned and crispy. Then, carefully fold them into the mac n' cheese mixture before pouring into a baking dish and topping with cheese. But if you want your crunchy chicken to retain its ultimate crispiness, the real move here is to pile it on top that bubbling crust right after serving it. But you better keep some hot sauce handy and maybe a refreshing wedge salad topped with bacon crumbles and a hit of creamy ranch to balance it all out.

Hot tip: Wanna mix things up? Take some inspiration from our absolute favorite fast food mac n' cheese from Noodles & Company and try tossing your fried chicken chunks in Buffalo sauce for a spicy kick, or hit it with some gochujang for a Korean Fried Chicken twist! 

Mac n' cheese is a no-brainer when it comes to the most satisfying sides to serve alongside the sweet, smoky heat of charred favorites from the grill. Which is why leftover barbecue meats make for a super easy transition to zhuzh up your main dish mac vibes. This made in heaven (or at least the version of it that is your backyard) combo works deliciously with everything from meaty braised brisket to the siren's call of shredded pulled pork, or the fall-off-the-bone tender chunks of cider and chili-glazed baby back ribs. Grilled and smoked meats make for an absolutely epic add-in or topper for your family's legacy version of pasta and cheese.

The only caveat? You've got to get the cheese thing right. When it comes to smoky brisket, take inspo from your favorite barbecue joint's cheese-sauce-laden brisket sandwich by mixing smooth, mild, and nutty favorites like gouda and gruyere, with just the right amount of aged smoked cheddar. That sweet Kansas City-style pulled pork is just begging to defile your creamy queso blanco mac, and those chili-glazed ribs would make fast friends with a Monterey Jack-white cheddar combo. Serve it up with a side of spicy sriracha collard greens or jalapeño-buttered corn niblets, and top it all off with a drizzle of sticky-sweet brown sugar bourbon barbecue sauce for some down home, finger-licking tastiness.

When it comes to canned tuna and mac n' cheese it just may go without saying. It's a classic pairing we've been eating since we were little. It's one of those things that you could "cook" all by yourself (Can you boil water? You're in). We'd make that pasta according to the blue box directions, open a can of tuna, drain the juice, and break it up with a fork before stirring it in to the hot, cheesy noodles. And that's it — a complete meal in minutes. As we aged up and our cooking skills got better, we started experimenting with adding extra cheese(s) and crunched up potato chips or Doritos before giving it a quick trip under the broiler for that perfectly cheesy-stringy-crunchy crust. 

But now, you're grown. You've evolved and so has your mac n' cheese. You make it from scratch now, with three cheeses and panko bread crumbs. You've tried it with butternut squash at least once. Isn't it time, to grow up your canned fish game? While there are loads of ways to upgrade your mac n' cheese, when it comes to canned fish, there's nothing better than salmon. Canned wild-caught salmon, whether in Alaskan, sockeye, pink, or coho varieties, lets you bring your "A" game to this time-honored classic. Try adding cream cheese, thyme or herbs d' Provence to the mix or keep it simple, toasting your panko with butter and Old Bay before baking to blissful sophistication. 

Birria tacos only get better with the addition of cheese, so why not flip it around and blow up the flavor of your mac n' cheese with this savory-spiced Mexican stew? Birria's rich flavor and color come from a trio of red peppers (guajillo, ancho, and árbol) but its complexity comes from slow-cooking meat in its own rendered fat, broth, tomato, and those red peppers, along with garlic, Mexican oregano, cumin, ground cloves, cinnamon sticks, bay leaves and, black peppercorns. The runaway popularity of the dish became a viral TikTok sensation in the form of birria spice bombs. Which means, if you don't have the time, inclination, or skills to make birria from scratch, you can still make your birria mac dreams come true, nabbing some at your favorite taqueria. Whether you buy it premade, make it in less time with a flavor bomb, or let the flavors meld low-and-slow in your crockpot, stovetop, or pressure cooker, you can turn a basic chuck roast into the good stuff. 

You can mix-it-in or plop-it-on — this spicy shredded beef (goat, pork, or lamb) has one just warning — strain it (to keep your mac from being sloppy). Add some smashed corn tortilla chips and some Mexi-Blend cheese or crumbled Cotija for an unforgettable mac n' cheese with all the crave-worthiness of birria tacos. Want more? Dip a few bites in that unforgettable consommé and eat it with a side of shredded green cabbage salad with radish slices and lime. 

While Niecy Nash's "Auntie" character might eschew shrimp in her mac n' cheese — you don't have to. In fact, when it comes to shellfish, you should get in on this happy marriage. There's nothing quite like lobster mac n' cheese —  except maybe prawn, scallop, or crab mac. Better yet, put 'em all together for an incredibly decadent seafood mac n ' cheese! While you can go to the fish market and get the freshest  ingredients for these luscious-cream laden versions, you can also do it at a more modest price, subbing lobster for Trader Joe's frozen Langostino (or squat lobster) tails. While these crustaceans aren't actually lobsters, they are a very decent replacement with meat texture similar to lobster and a flavor somewhere between lobster and shrimp. Experiment with canned or imitation crab, and frozen prawns or shrimp from places like TJ's or Amazon, where prices are, at times, mouthwateringly lower than organic chicken. 

And don't sleep on clams or mussels in your mac n' cheese. These tender powerhouses of briny flavor lend themselves beautifully to milder, less cheddar-y incarnations. Think flavor profiles the likes of linguine and clams or traditional preparations of escargot, doubling down on ingredients like persillade (minced garlic and parsley), parmesan, fontina, mild white cheddar, butter, and cream for a truly elevated macaroni and cheese experience that goes well with your favorite dry white wine.