Reuben Macaroni and Cheese

I’m a sucker for mac and cheese of pretty much any kind.  I even like the neon orange powdered stuff.  Is that bad?

So how do you feel about the flavors of a Reuben sandwich in macaroni and cheese?  I feel really good about it and I’m hoping you do too!  I told myself I’m going to make more healthy-ish recipes but when holidays are in the horizon, I just can’t help myself.  It’s an excuse to “be bad.”  It started with the Shamrock Pistachio Cookies with Bailey’s Irish Cream Glaze– which I have a TOTAL weakness for.

Then Gary made corned beef and  THE BEST  glaze to go on top of it.  It’s crazy good!  We made enough so we would have leftovers-either for sandwiches or to do something fun like this Reuben Mac and Cheese.

The idea started as a cheesy, spaghetti Reuben with ricotta cheese, but somehow turned into more of an elbow macaroni and cheese that starts with a roux and is baked in my glass baking dish.   It turned out so great and is really easy! I heart the easy stuff!  The real twist on this is the slight tang of the Thousand Island Dressing and Gulden’s Spicy Brown Mustard.  This is a fun and festive way streeeetch leftover corned beef that feeds 4!  Hope you enjoy it.

5.0 from 1 reviews

Reuben Macaroni and Cheese

 

Author: Jenn @ The Spice Kit Recipes

Prep time:  15 mins

Cook time:  30 mins

Total time:  45 mins

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Ingredients

• 8 ozs. elbow macaroni
• 1 cup leftover corned beef or high quality deli corned beef, chopped
• ¾ cup canned sauerkraut, rinsed, drained well (squeeze dry)
• 3 Tbsps. butter
• 1½ Tbsps. flour
• 1½ cups whole milk
• 1 (8 oz.) package (2 cups) Swiss cheese, shredded, dived 1½ cups, ½ cup
• ¼ cup Thousand Island Salad Dressing
• 1¼ tsp. Gulden's Spicy Brown Mustard
• ½ tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. black pepper
• ¼ cup panko bread crumbs
• Oil or butter for toasting bread crumbs

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Boil macaroni according to package instructions minus 2 minutes or just before al dente. Drain and return to pot and toss with corned beef and sauerkraut.
3. Melt butter in a medium sauce pan on medium heat and add flour and whisk together about a minute or two to make a blonde roux.
4. Gently pour in milk and whisk. Cook until thick and frothy.
5. Stir in 1½ cups cheese until smooth.
6. Stir in salad dressing, mustard, salt and pepper.
7. Pour sauce over macaroni and mix until well combined.
8. Grease a 8 x 8 inch pan and add macaroni. Set aside.
9. Spray a small skillet with oil or a little butter and toast the bread crumbs for 2-3 minutes over medium heat, stirring frequently, until golden brown.
10. Sprinkle ½ cup remaining cheese over the macaroni and then sprinkle with toasted breadcrumbs.
11. Bake 10-15 minutes until hot and bubbly.

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