Crab mac and cheese
Creamy baked mac and cheese with sweet crab, a little Old Bay and a crunchy buttery top, the budget take on a steakhouse favorite.
- 45 min total
- 25 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $1.84 a serving
- 660 calories
- Good the next day
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 8 oz elbow macaroni
- 3 tbsp butter, divided
- 2 cups milk
- 1 tsp Old Bay seasoning
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 2 cups shredded cheddar, divided
- 8 oz imitation crab, chopped
- ⅓ cup panko breadcrumbs
From your pantry
- 1 tbsp salt
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Each serving has about 660 calories, 30 g protein, 64 g carbs and 32 g fat, and costs about $1.84 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No elbow macaroni? Penne works.
- No butter? Ghee works.
- No milk? Half-and-half works.
- No shredded cheddar? Cheddar cheese or Mexican blend cheese or Monterey Jack cheese works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the oven to 375°F. Bring a large pot of water with the salt.
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
Cook the macaroni 2 minutes less than the package says, then .
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
High heatTimer: 6 min
Dolly’s tip: It keeps softening in the oven, so slightly firm now means just right later.In the same pot, 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat, in the flour and cook for 1 minute.
Melt. Melting means gently heating something solid, like butter or cheese, until it turns liquid. Low or medium heat keeps it from browning or burning.
How you’ll know: It’s smooth and liquid, and butter may foam a little but hasn’t turned brown.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Medium heatTimer: 1 min
Slowly whisk in the milk and 4 to 5 minutes, often, until thick enough to coat a spoon.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Whisk. Whisking means beating quickly with a whisk or a fork to blend things together. It smooths out lumps and mixes eggs, oil or sauces evenly.
How you’ll know: It all looks one even color and texture, with no streaks or lumps.
Medium heatTimer: 4 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: Pour slowly and keep whisking. That’s all it takes to avoid lumps.Take the pot off the heat and in the Old Bay, mustard, pepper and 1½ cups of the cheddar until .
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Melt. Melting means gently heating something solid, like butter or cheese, until it turns liquid. Low or medium heat keeps it from browning or burning.
How you’ll know: It’s smooth and liquid, and butter may foam a little but hasn’t turned brown.
the macaroni and crab and spread it in an 8x8-inch baking dish.
Fold. Folding means mixing gently by scooping from the bottom and turning it over the top, instead of stirring hard. It keeps light mixtures airy and soft things like berries or herbs in one piece.
How you’ll know: You use slow, wide strokes and stop as soon as there are no streaks left.
the rest of the butter, in the panko and scatter it over the top with the rest of the cheddar.
Melt. Melting means gently heating something solid, like butter or cheese, until it turns liquid. Low or medium heat keeps it from browning or burning.
How you’ll know: It’s smooth and liquid, and butter may foam a little but hasn’t turned brown.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
20 minutes, until bubbling at the edges and on top.
Bake. Baking means cooking in the oven with dry heat all around the food. It cooks evenly from every side, so you can mostly leave it alone.
How you’ll know: It’s golden on top and passes the recipe’s check, like a clean toothpick or the right temperature.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Timer: 20 min
Food safety: Rotisserie chicken, deli meat, canned tuna and cooked shrimp are already cooked. Keep them cold until you use them, and heat them until steaming hot if the recipe warms them.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
More dinners like this
Tuna pasta bake
45 min
Creamy seafood pasta
30 min
Instant Pot tuna mac and cheese
25 min
Creamy ham and pea pasta
25 min
Cozy comfort food ›Pasta recipes for kids ›What to make with pasta and cheddar ›