Sriracha Mushroom Sausage Mac and Cheese
This mac and cheese is bursting with spicy and savory flavors from the sausage, mushrooms, and sriracha! It is my favorite mac and cheese to make in the fall because it is so comforting! It’s also deeply cheesy all throughout!
The inspiration for this mushroom and sausage mac and cheese
This mac and cheese has been haunting me for over a year. It was on the list, but kept getting pushed back. The idea sprang from something I ate at an upscale pub awhile back. Since I love the combo of mac and cheese with sriracha but never officially posted such a recipe on here, I was excited to make it. I kept pushing it back because I didn’t think it would be exciting. When I finally made it I wished I had sooner!
Cook the veggies and sausage first
Some sausage in the pan with onions, then add all the mushrooms! I used a whole pound and a half! I just used baby bella mushrooms this time around, but in the past I have done it with more mushroom variety and it is great either way. Notice how much the mushrooms reduced in this photo. The quartered mushrooms end up matching the shape of the pasta and make eating this sriracha mac and cheese fun!
Make the roux
Butter and flour in the pan with everything. Cook it down a bit to add flavor before adding the milk. If you are new to roux, check out this great guide!
Time to add the cheese and pasta
I used lumache pasta for the sriracha mac and cheese because it is a similar size to the cooked mushrooms. Add the pasta after the sauce thickens, then slowly add the cheese.
Bake the mushroom sausage sriracha mac and cheese
Layer it in the baking dish with some cheese and sriracha, then top with buttery breadcrumbs. I baked it on super high heat cause it was already warm and I wanted the breadcrumbs to get browned up well.
Serving the mushroom sriracha mac and cheese
Let the sriracha sausage and mushroom mac and cheese cool for about 10 minutes before you dig in! So much flavor!
Just the right balance of heat for me!
Twists and tips for this recipe
You could use a better mushroom variety in the sausage sriracha mac and cheese. I have done that as well. You could also leave out the sausage and it would still be great. Or replace with a vegan version of sausage if you want to go that route. Other types of sausage work well too, I tried it with bratwurst before and it was great.
For more flavorful mac and cheese ideas, check out my habanero basil mac, cowboy burger mac, or this amazing pork belly mac!
Sriracha Mushroom Sausage Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
- olive oil
- 6 ounces breakfast sausage
- 1/2 a medium onion diced
- 24 ounces baby bella mushrooms trimmed, cleaned, and quartered
- 1/4 cup butter
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 2 cups milk
- 8 ounces lumache pasta
- 6 ounces cheddar grated
- 6 ounces jack cheese grated
- 1/2 cup sriracha or to taste
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
Instructions
- Bring a salted pot of water to a boil. Preheat oven to 450
- In a pan over medium heat add a splash of olive oil and add in the sausage and onion. Cook, stirring often, for about 5 minutes while breaking up the sausage.
- Turn the heat to high and add in the mushrooms. Cook on high heat about 10-15 minutes until everything is browned and much reduced in size.
- Turn the heat on the mushrooms back to medium and add the butter to melt. Add in the flour and cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes to lightly toast the flour and make sure there are no clumps.
- Meanwhile, add the pasta to the boiling water and cook to the package instructions for al dente.
- Stir in the milk to the mushroom pan. Bring to a simmer. The sauce will thicken. Remove from heat.
- Strain the pasta and add it right into the mushroom mixture. Stir. Add in about 1/4 of the cheese and stir until it is all fully melted. Repeat with the next 1/4, then the third 1/4. It probably won't all melt in the third time.
- Pour half of the pasta mixture into a baking dish. add half the remaining cheese and half the sriracha. Stir slightly. Repeat to fill the dish.
- Mix the melted butter with the breadcrumbs and add them to the top of the baking dish.
- Bake at 450 for about 20 minutes until bubbling and browned on top.
- Wait 10 minutes before serving
This sounds fantastic, and definitely something I will be making! Anything with sriracha sauce is gonna be something I’d eat!! 🙂 One question: did you mean that the flour should be added to the onions to cook, as the mushrooms have already been cooked and moved to the baking dish?
Thanks Rebecca, I changed the wording on that.
omg. What can I do for some beer-sausage-butter juice?
Wow, you’re eating mushrooms now? I’m impressed!
Another gem. Is the sriracha Huy Fong or something else? Also how on earth did you think of this?
I just made this for my husband and brother, who are both sriracha lovers. I substituted about half of the gruyere for some smoked flagship cheddar, and topped it with crushed potato chips (we were out of panko). They loved it! I had a hard time stirring all of the ingredients together in the baking dish, so I tossed everything into the sauce, and then back into the dish. Thanks!
Glad you liked it Stacey! Thanks for the comment. Yea, I have a nice big baking dish that is convenient for stirring things in.