I’m just going to say it: this is the best macaroni cheese I’ve ever eaten – better than the macaroni cheese I ate as a child; better than the macaroni cheese I brought my own children up on when they were little (they don’t agree); better than any fancy restaurant macaroni cheese with white truffle or lobster; better than any macaroni cheese I have loved in my life thus far, and there have been many.
I don’t feel it’s boastful to say as much, as the greatness lies not in any brilliance on my part, but in the simple tastes of the ingredients as they fuse in the heat. That’s home cooking for you. I do rather love the way these little macaroni cheeses, with their pixie-penne, look like they’ve been made with artificially colored, cheap squeezy cheese or out of a box, when in fact their exotic glow comes courtesy of the earthy goodness of a sweet potato.
Ingredients
Serves 4
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Put on a large-ish pan of water to boil, with the lid on to make it come to a boil faster.
Step 2
Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them roughly into 1 inch pieces. When the water’s boiling, add salt to taste, and then the sweet potato pieces, and cook them for about 10 minutes or until they are soft. Scoop them out of the water into a bowl–using a ”spider” or slotted spoon–and lightly mash with a fork, without turning them into a purée. Don’t get rid of this water, as you will need it to cook your pasta in later.
Step 3
In another saucepan, gently melt the butter and add the flour, whisking to form a roux, then take the pan off the heat, slowly whisk in the milk and, when it’s all combined and smooth, put back on the heat. Exchange your whisk for a wooden spoon, and continue to stir until your gently bubbling sauce has lost any floury taste and has thickened. Add the mustard and ¼ teaspoon of the paprika. Season to taste, but do remember that you will be adding Cheddar and salty feta later, so underdo it for now.
Step 4
Cook the pennette in the sweet-potato water, starting to check 2 minutes earlier than packet instructions dictate, as you want to make sure it doesn’t lose its bite entirely. Drain (reserving some of the pasta cooking water first) and then add the pennette to the mashed sweet potato, and fold in to combine; the heat of the pasta will make the mash easier to mix in.
Step 5
Add the feta cheese to the sweet potato and pasta mixture, crumbling it in so that it is easier to disperse evenly, then fold in the white sauce, adding 1 1/4 cups grated Cheddar as you go. Add some of the pasta cooking water, should you feel it needs loosening up at all.
Step 6
Check for seasoning again, then, when you’re happy, spoon the brightly sauced macaroni cheese into 4 small ovenproof dishes of approx. 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cup capacity (or 1 large rectangular dish measuring approx. 12x8x2 inches deep and 6 1/2 cup capacity). Sprinkle the remaining Cheddar over each one, dust with the remaining ¼ teaspoon of paprika, then shred the sage leaves and scatter the skinny green ribbons over the top, too.
Step 7
Put the pots on a baking tray, pop into the oven and bake for 20 minutes (or, if you’re making this in a larger dish, bake for 30–35 minutes), by which time they will be piping hot and bubbling, and begging you to eat them.
The macaroni and cheese can be made 1 day ahead. When the pasta has cooked, reserve 7 tablespoons of the cooking water and add this to the white sauce (it may look a little thin but the pasta absorbs the sauce as it cools). Transfer to the ovenproof dishes (without the sage topping). Once cool, cover and refrigerate within 2 hours of making. Sprinkle with the Cheddar, paprika and sage just before baking and cook for an extra 5-10 minutes, checking that the macaroni and cheese is piping hot in the center before serving.
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Reviews (19)
Back to TopThis recipe is phenomenal. I had a pound of frozen sweet potatoes that I wanted to use and found this recipe. My daughter and I have perfected our own mac and cheese recipes, but I cooked this myself. She absolutely loved it and asked what I did differently. She would have never even tasted it if I told her it contained sweet potatoes. This is will definitely be on the meal plan rotation! Thank you.
Chris
Jacksonville, FL
9/4/2022
Perfect! The fresh sage was a great touch and my fussy little dude ate it.
amandacstringer1437
Dundas ON
9/14/2020
Perfect comfort food on a cool fall evening. I used smoked paprika and added extra, stirred in chopped sage in addition to the topping, stone ground instead of English mustard, and a variety of cheeses I had on hand. Very forgiving recipe as long as you don't overcook the pasta. Will definitely make again. Next time I'll try sprinkling panko bread crumbs on top.
Anonymous
Petaluma, CA
10/19/2019
Yummy and easy. I made a half batch of this with leftover mashed baked sweet potato, which made it very quick to put together.
jillianthered
Perth, Australia
5/15/2019
I’ve made this repeatedly with parmesan or Romano replacing the feta because it’s what I had on hand. Finally clicked tonight when I didn’t bake it (we like our mac looser) and I added a few shakes of garlic powder. It added an element that cut the sweetness of the sweet potatoes.
happychica
2/21/2019
This is excellent , it is a filling meal cheap to make, great for kids and adults..in fact I made it and blogged it. On my sososimple Blog
gilliw1
Auckland NZ
2/8/2017
I was hoping for more flavor. It was fine, just not anything special.
Anonymous
2/1/2017
New favourite recipe! The only alteration that I made was to add 2 or 3 Tbsps of Nutritional Yeast to the sauce (a genius idea by the way). Everyone loved it and it was voted a "new staple".
jo_c
Toronto, Canada
4/18/2016
I first found Nigela's original recipe in metric measures. The first attempt I cooked too much pasta, second attempt was great! Instead of Feta I used Gruyere and I did mash the sweet potato to a smooth consistency before mixing in, so it looks closer to the boxed variety bright orange.
bottomlineLinda
Michigan, USA
4/9/2016
The flavor of this dish was good but I didn't care for the texture of the sweet potatoes which made the dish a bit grainy. I didn't overlook the potatoes. I think I will experiment with the flavors but stick with just the pasta.
rjkk
Santa Rosa, ca
4/8/2016
Actually a quick and silly question. What exactly is English mustard in America, and would smoked paprika throw off the flavor much?
emcnally8
Hillsborough, NC
3/3/2016
Made it for a Th'giving visitor whose tradition includes mac n cheese for Th'giving. She loved it. Others enjoyed it too. To me it wasn't a standout though.
bmacmichael
Durham Nc
11/27/2015
This recipe came out great. I agree with another reviewer about reading the instructions. The combination of the cheeses and sweet potato really complimented each other. Raves from everybody that tried it. Next time I am going to double the recipes as another person had done.
spud14901
Plaistow, NH
11/15/2015
My whole family loved this recipe, including my foodie husband and picky toddler. The texture and flavor were both perfect for a cool fall evening.
erinbdc
Charlottesville, VA
11/15/2015
Outstanding, and relatively easy to make as well. A new staple.
patrickhu
Ann Arbor, MI
11/12/2015
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