Macaroni and Cheese Soup

How about some warm and comforting macaroni and cheese but the surprise is it’s soup!

This Soup Eats Like A Meal

Is there anyone who doesn’t love macaroni and cheese?  You’d probably have to go far and wide to find anyone who doesn’t.

There’s many variation on the classic casserole, but I wanted to see how it worked as a soup.

Another thing I did was introduce beef elements using beef stock and tiny meatballs. This made the soup more hearty and into a complete meal.

This one really sticks to your ribs!

Make It Even Quicker

I used some small cocktail meatballs I had in the freezer. But if you don’t have any of those stashed away and don’t want to be bothered making any specially for this, simply substitute browned and drained ground beef for the tiny meatballs.

Change The Flavor

Don’t feel like beef? Then changing the base and the meat makes this a whole different soup!

This is a good way to use any leftover chicken you have in the fridge. If you do switch to using chicken in place of the beef, substitute chicken stock for the beef stock and you’re in business!

Get Fancier With The Cheese

My recipe is pretty basic. So is the substitution I gave in the above section, but this can be dressed up even more!

I used Velveeta as the cheese because I had a hunk I wanted to use up. However, Velveeta doesn’t separate and is very smooth so the soup will be velvety in texture.

Because Velveeta doesn’t separate once melted, any leftover soup will reheat and still be velvety. You can substitute shredded real cheddar cheese, but bear in mind, the soup will separate when reheated. However, it will still taste great.

In addition to the basic cheese(s) try adding a bit of Parmesan, Asiago or even bleu cheese into the mix. Just a small amount will do you here as those cheeses are rather powerful tasting. I’d suggest just a tablespoon or two.

The Recipe

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Macaroni and Cheese Soup

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time15 mins

Total Time25 mins

Servings: 4 -6

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 1 cup cooked mini cocktail meatballs -OR- 8 oz lean ground beef
• 2 tbs unsalted butter
• 3 tbs flour
• 3 cups low-sodium beef stock
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 6 oz process cheese i.e. Velveeta cubed
• 1 cup cooked elbow macaroni

Instructions

• If using ground beef, brown and drain; set aside.
• In a large saucepan or dutch oven, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and stir until there are no lumps. Cook for 1 minute.
• Whisk the beef stock in gradually, taking care there are no lumps. Cook over medium heat until this just begins to boil.
• Reduce the heat to low and add the process cheese, stirring constantly until it's completely melted and blended.
• Stir in the cream, meatballs (or drained ground beef) and the cooked macaroni. Heat through and serve.

Notes

You can substitute chicken stock and cubed cooked chicken for the ground beef/meatballs and the beef stock.

You may substitute 2 cups shredded real cheddar for the process cheese, but bear in mind the soup will separate upon reheating.

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