Baked Chicken and Broccoli Mac-n-Cheese with Sourdough Breadcrumbs
A cheesy creamy casserole with chicken and the best ever sourdough breadcrumbs
Ingredients
Mac-n-Cheese Ingredients:
- 16 oz noodles of choice gluten free or wheat
- 4 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp garlic infused olive oil or normal EVOO
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour or gluten free 1:1
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 3 cups shredded organic cheddar cheese
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp freshly ground pepper
Sourdough Breadcrumbs Ingredients:
- 1/3 loaf sourdough bread, torn up
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
- pinch of salt
Add-ins:
- half a roasted or rotisserie chicken, picked
- 2 cups steamed broccoli
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Toss the torn sourdough in the olive oil and place under broiler for 6-7 minutes, until fully toasted. Remove and allow to cool. Pulse in a food processor until crumbs have formed. Toss the crumbs with Italian seasoning and salt. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Cook pasta according to directions BUT 1 minute less than instructed. Once it’s done, save 1/2 cup pasta water and strain the rest and put the pasta in a large casserole dish.
- Heat the butter and olive oil until melted. Whisk in the flour. Once the clumps are gone, slowly whisk in the milk and heavy cream.
- Bring mixture to a boil, whisking constantly. Once it boils, bring heat down to simmer and stir/whisk until mixture has thickened - about 4-5 minutes.
- Stir in the cheese and the spices. Stir until cheese is melted and add in the saved pasta water. Pour the cheese sauce over the pasta in the casserole dish.
- Add your chicken and broccoli to the mac-n-cheese and mix everything well. Top with the breadcrumbs and freshly shredded parmesan reggiano. Bake for 12-14 minutes.