Change up your regular mac and cheese with this delicious creamy Baked Tomato Soup Mac and Cheese!
Baked Tomato Soup Mac and Cheese
Remember how at 1am I had the delicious idea to combine Korean pork bone soup with chicken noodle soup to make a spicy chicken noodle soup? Well I’m back with another sleepless night combination! This time, I’m combining tomato soup with a traditional mac and cheese! Canned tomatoes were on sale at the grocery store if we were to buy multiple so I’ve been making a ton of tomato soup lately which inspired this delicious baked tomato soup mac and cheese combination.
What You’ll Need To Make This Tomato Soup Mac and Cheese
- cavatappi pasta
- butter
- flour
- milk
- cheddar cheese
- marinara sauce
- tomato paste
- panko
For this tomato-y mac and cheese recipe, I used cavatappi pasta because 1. they were so cute and colourful at Bulk Barn and 2. because there’s a little more surface space for the sauce to cling onto than traditional elbow macaroni. Cavatappi pasta is a type of macaroni that’s short, tube-like, and corkscrew shaped that goes well with sauces that are thick or chunky. Oh, and the cavatappi comes in normal pasta colours too haha, bulk barn just had the super colourful one in stock.
I also used my homemade marinara sauce to make this baked tomato soup mac and cheese combo. I totally recommend making your own if you had a bit of extra time but pre-made sauce works as well :)
How To Make Baked Tomato Soup Mac and Cheese
- In a large pot, boil some salted water and cook your pasta in it. Note: be sure to keep an eye on your paste and pull it out of the water 1 minute before the al dente time on the bag.
- While your pasta is cooking, heat your oven up to 350F.
- Next, in a large pot, melt your butter and slowly whisk in your flour. Once combined, slowly whisk in milk until smooth. Bring your pot to a boil as you are whisking the mixture to thicken.
- Lower the heat and add in your cheese, a handful at a time, whisk until smooth.
- Once smooth, add in your marinara sauce (I use my homemade one) and tomato paste before tossing in your pasta. Mix to coat the paste.
- Next, scoop your pasta into an oven-safe dish and top with some panko and bake up to 20 minutes. To get your panko super golden and crispy, you can give it a spritz of cooking spray and then broil it for up to 2 minutes!
Tips and Notes on Making This Tomato Soup Mac and Cheese
- Do you want to meal prep this or make it into a freezer meal? If you use oven-safe glass containers, you can bake individual portions and then freeze it! Freezing the tomato mac and cheese in individual container means that when reheating, it takes less time compared to freezing it entirely.
- Removing the pasta 1 minute before al dente prevents the pasta from getting mushy as you cook the pasta a second time when you coat it with the sauce and bake it.
- If you can’t find cavatappi pasta, pick a pasta that has a lot of nooks and crannies such as shells, mini penne, elbows, and corkscrew-y types of pasta. I use around 1 lb of pasta but if you want to use less, keep in mind there might be extra sauce.
- Make this air fryer garlic bread to go with this baked mac and cheese!
Baked Tomato Soup Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 lb cavatappi pasta
- 3-4 tbsp butter
- 1/4 cup flour
- 2.5 cup milk
- 1.5 lb cheddar cheese, grated or cubed
- 2.5 cup marinara sauce
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- panko, enough to cover the top of the mac and cheese
Instructions
- In a large pot, boil some salted water and cook your pasta in it. Note: be sure to keep an eye on your paste and pull it out of the water 1 minute before the al dente time on the bag.
- While your pasta is cooking, heat your oven up to 350F.
- Next, in a large pot, melt your butter and slowly whisk in your flour. Once combined, slowly whisk in milk until smooth. Bring your pot to a boil as you’re whisking to thicken.
- Lower the heat and add in your cheese, a handful at a time, whisk until smooth.
- Once smooth, add in your marinara sauce (I use my homemade one) and tomato paste before tossing in your pasta. Mix to coat the paste.
- Next, scoop your pasta into an oven-safe dish and top with some panko and bake up to 20 minutes. To get your panko super golden and crispy, you can give it a spritz of cooking spray and then broil it for up to 2 minutes.
Nutrition Per Serving
Other places to connect with me
Instagram: @carmyshungry
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carmyycom
Email: [email protected]
Leave a Reply