Copycat Famous Dave’s Mac ‘N’ Cheese
At a birthday party we were at recently, our friends had catered Famous Dave’s. It had been YEARS since the last time I had eaten there, so I obviously forgot how good their food was! Wowzas (I know, a real professional word, right?)
One of my favorites was the mac ‘n’ cheese. I have tried numerous homemade mac ‘n’ cheese recipes over the years. When I was pregnant, I always craved Wal-Mart’s Great Value thick and creamy mac ‘n’ cheese. I could eat a whole box myself, but I did divide it up into well, 2 servings. Better than one, right? When I would try to make something similar, the cheese always ended up “mealy” in a sense. I was never fully satisfied and decided to just keep trying.
Often with “famous” recipes, you can find copycat recipes online. I decided to see if I could find one for the Famous Dave’s mac ‘n’ cheese and sure enough! There were numerous out there, but all had roughly the same ingredients. This recipe is adapted from a LA Times newspaper article. I tweaked it just a tad for our liking and I must say, it was incredibly good! It was creamy, tasty, and very filling! This will definitely be my go-to homemade mac ‘n’ cheese recipe!
Copycat Famous Dave’s Mac ‘N’ Cheese {Print Recipe}
Ingredients:
- 3 T. butter
- 3 T. flour
- 2 c. milk
- 3/4 c. half and half
- 1 T. mustard
- 2 t. barbecue sauce
- 1 t. salt
- 1/4 t. pepper
- 4 oz. cheddar cheese, shredded
- 8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, cubed
- 8 oz. colby cheese, cubed
- 1/4 c. fresh parmesan cheese
- 2 jalapenos, finely chopped
- 1 T. fresh parsley
- 1 lb. elbow macaroni cooked and drained
Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees
2. Melt butter over medium heat
3. Whisk in flour
4. Slowly whisk in milk and then half and half
5. Whisk in mustard, barbecue sauce, salt and pepper
6. Simmer the sauce and whisk frequently for 8 minutes
7. Whisk in all cheeses and frequently stir until melted
8. Stir in macaroni
9. Pour into 9×13 pan
10. Bake for 30 minutes, or until bubbly
**Note: the original recipe calls for aged white cheddar cheese, instead of 4 oz. cheddar cheese, but aged white cheddar is expensive, so I substituted with the regular cheddar cheese. Also, the jalapenos do not make it too spicy (that is coming from someone who doesn’t like real spicy food)
Thank you for the recipe, can’t wait to try it and may God bless our brothers and sisters in Christ. Merry Christmas and a happy new year.
Do you include the seeds when you chop the jalapenos? Thx!
I do not, as they add too much spice, but if you like a little kick you, can definitely add some!
Forgot the corn
Made this tonight for my daughter who loves mac and cheese. This was terrible. It was very oily and the cheese did not stay creamy. It was still bubbly when I served it, but started congealing the minute it hit our dinner bowls.
Oh no! I’m sorry you had a bad experience with this! I have not had this happen to me, I do know if you overcook dairy, it can congeal! I’ve had that with Alfredos before, I’m curious if that’s what happened?