Sunday, August 24, 2014

Copycat Jack's Mac & Cheese

In Sacramento we have a chain of restaurants called Jack's Urban Eats.  It's one of my favorite places to go for lunch.  They make custom salads, serve freshly carved meats, mashed potatoes and Urban Fries... Don't even get me started on that deliciousness... {Okay, I'll tell you that blue cheese, hot chili oil and fresh parsley over hot french fries is AMAZING!}  But, today I'm talking about mac & cheese.  Jacks' also makes the most delicious creamy, buttery, yummy mac.  My kids go crazy for it!  I've been trying to recreate it for years, and finally have my six year old Lily Claire's stamp of approval.

Let me tell you, this is the easiest mac & cheese that you will ever make.  If you can make it from a box, you can make this.  It takes the same amount of time as the boxed stuff, but is sooo much better!  Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Ingredients
10 oz. pasta (fusilli, penne, elbow, any short pasta will work)
1 cup of whole milk
4 slices of american cheese
2 tbs of butter
salt to taste

Directions:
Prepare your pasta according to package instructions, then drain well.  Return pasta back to the hot pan you cooked it in and place over medium heat.  Add the butter and break the cheese into small pieces and add to the pasta.  Stir well and slowly add in milk.  When the cheese and butter are melted and the milk is completely combined, you're done!  Season with a little salt to taste and serve.

If you added a little grilled chicken and some steamed broccoli you've got yourself a meal in minutes!

5 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for this recipe! I really enjoy making it for myself, and it's quite good. I have always wondered how Jacks urban eats makes it, and I think you have come the closest! Thanks again!
    Sincerely, Weston martin.

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  2. going to try this out tonight!! sounds delish

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  3. Thank you for this, going to try tonight! Do you think I could make the cheese sauce (cheese, butter and milk) separately and then add to noodles?

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  4. Hello,
    Thank you for this recipe, my son loves the jacks mac and cheese and I’m so excited to give it a try. I have a question. The jacks sauce is white, should I use white american cheese? Your photo shows yellow slices, wouldn’t that make the sauce yellow? Thank you.
    To the comment about making the sauce separate, someone in reddit said that jacks has the sauce ready to go warming in a pot and just adds it to the pasta. I have actually seen them do this at jacks while I was waiting in line to pay. They toss the sauce and pasta together in a big metal bowl.

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  5. I just made this and kids rated it 9.5/10 with Jack’s getting 10/10.

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Thank you for your lovely comments!