Copy Cat Noodles & Co. Wisconsin Mac’n’Cheese
The first time I tried Noodles & Co.’s Wisconsin Mac’n’Cheese, I was living in Colorado Springs. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Unfortunately, Noodles & Co. is not yet a restaurant that is found nationwide. So, like many other foods I have fallen in love with and then moving away from, I had to figure out how to make this.
AND…since my children have inherited the love of cheese and noodles, of course, I had to recreate this recipe for myself. ALSO…did you know that I have family from Wisconsin? And my Great Uncle had a cattle farm in northern Illinois that would occasionally send milk and beef to Wisconsin? So the Cheesehead genes are in my genetic code.
Copy Cat Noodles & Co Wisconsin Mac’n’Cheese
Equipment
- instapot
Ingredients
- 16 oz small pasta elbow noodles or small shell noodles
- 32 oz low sodium chicken broth
- 2 Tbsp dijon mustard
- 1 tsp hot sauce
- 3/4 cup half and half
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 8 oz Velveeta cubed
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add in the noodles, chicken broth, and butter into the instapot and pressure cook for 3-4 minutes. Once finished, let stand before rapid releasing the pressure for 5 minutes. Then rapid release the steam.
- Add in the dijon mustard and hot sauce into the noodles and stir to combine. Then add in the half and half as well as both cheeses, stir continually until the cheese is all melted. Salt and pepper to taste, and garnish the top with a little bit of shredded cheese and some chopped chives.
Notes
Nutrition
I’m not gonna lie, this recipe is very similar in flavor to the Panera Mac’n’Cheese as well. But I feel like Panera’s recipe calls for white cheddar and no Velveeta. BUT…honestly as long as the mac’n’cheese has noodles and cheese, can you really go wrong?
If you’d like to make this recipe vegetarian, just substitute the chicken broth for vegetable broth or water. If you use water, you may find you need to season with salt and pepper a little bit more.
As for vegan, I am on a mission to figure out a dupe for cheese sauce that is completely vegan. I have a very good friend who is allergic to the whey protein in milk products, so she is not necessarily lactose intolerant, it’s more of a whey allergy. So due to this, she has to live a horrible life without cheese. Yesterday she had to submit herself to vegan nacho cheese for her nachos. While the sauce was tasty, it wasn’t cheesy. So…once I find the properly flavored vegan cheese sauce, I will update this recipe for a vegan version. Stay tuned!
Hope y’all are having an amazing week!
