Habanero Basil Mac and Cheese
Super spicy habanero pairs perfect with basil in this creamy delicious mac and cheese! Habanero has a nice fruity flavor, but it’s hard to notice with all the heat! Taking out the seeds helps, but when you put it into a dairy heavy dish like this mac and cheese, the heat is balanced and the true flavor comes through! You know when you eat something spicy and you need to have milk to cancel it out? It’s kinda the same thing with this pasta.
The inspiration for this recipe
I had some close friends over this weekend for summer foods. We made ribs, corn and mac and cheese. Everyone had lots of fun and ate until they were bursting at the seams. I wanted a nice spicy mac and cheese because I looked at my archives and I haven’t really made many spicy versions of the dish. The flavor of basil with habanero is one of my faves, so that was what I based the mac and cheese around. I served it to a bunch of spicy food lovers, and a couple people who like things mild. Surprisingly they all loved it! Some just had a harder time eating it than others.
Preparing the habanero
You probably want to use gloves for this unless your fingers are used to spicy foods. Cut the stems off the habaneros and then cut them in half. Remove all the seeds and ribs inside each little pepper, then mince them as small as you can. I like using a mix of habanero colors because it looks nice in the mac and cheese.
Build the spicy base for the sauce
Habanero and garlic in the pan with lots of butter. Right away we are neutralizing the heat from the peppers with dairy! Then add half and half. I used radiatore pasta for this because you want the sauce to cling inside every little ridge in the pasta shape! Add the pasta in and then some sour cream.
Slowly add the cheese
You want to be real slow with the cheese! I do about 1/3 first and wait until it is fully melted to add the next 1/3. Once all he cheese is in there add in the basil and serve.
Serving the habanero basil mac and cheese
There is nothing else to do but serve it! Get some bowls and dish it out to everyone asap.
The habanero gives it that trademark tropical spice flavor to this beautiful mac and cheese, and the basil adds a little sweetness for balance. The pasta is super creamy and cheesy, and all the dairy helps keep the heat under control.
So good! The people in the group that didn’t like spicy food still somehow ate a decent amount of this, but they were crying while doing it. The radiatore is perfect for the cheesy sauce because it really holds so much of the sauce in the groves.
Twists on habanero basil mac and cheese
You could of course lower the amount of habanero in this habanero basil mac and cheese if you are worried about it being too hot! But trust me, the heat is greatly reduced by all the dairy, and why even bother with a habanero recipe if you can’t stand a little heat?
If you love mac and cheese, check out my cowboy burger mac and cheese, or this tasty pork belly mac and cheese!
Habanero Basil Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 12 habaneros seeds removed, minced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 cups half and half
- 1 pound radiatore pasta
- 1 cup sour cream
- 8 ounces cheddar shredded
- 4 ounces jack cheese shredded
- 4 ounces fontina cheese
- 25 leaves basil chopped (about 14/ cup)
Instructions
- Bring a pot of heavily salted water to a simmer.
- large frying pan over medium heat, melt the butter and add the chopped habaneros. Cook about 8 minutes to soften. Add the garlic and cook 2 minutes.
- Drop the pasta into the boiling water at this point.
- Add the half and half to the pan and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat.
- Strain the pasta when it is about 80% cooked with the slightest crunch remaining. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking liquid. Stir the pasta into the half and half mixture in the pan. Add the sour cream and half of the reserved pasta cooking liquid. Stir to fully combine.
- Stir in about 1/3 of the cheese and keep mixing as it slowly melts. You may need to put it back on low for a minute, but stay patient and make sure not to overheat or it will seperate.
- Continue with the next 1/3 of the cheese, and again wait until it is fully incorporated and melted before adding any more.
- Finally stir in the basil. If it is too thick, you can add more of the reserved pasta cooking water. Otherwise it is ready to serve!