Pulled Pork Mac & Cheese: A New Family Favorite

My husband cooks up large batches of pulled pork on the smoker every few months and then I freeze smaller portion sizes for quick meals throughout the weeks in between.  My youngest son has ordered pulled pork macaroni and cheese a few times from various restaurants and my husband and sons have been asking me to try making it at home.

So I finally did! It was delicious and really quite easy too. 

It might not look like much but I actually don't care for macaroni and cheese and I pretty much never eat pulled pork either but I thought this was really tasty. The cheesy flavor pairs so well with the BBQ! 

Ingredients:

For the crumb topping:

2 Tablespoons butter

1 cup Panko crumbs

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

For the macaroni & cheese:

1 16ounce box macaroni; cooked and drained according to package directions. 

4 Tablespoons butter

1/4 cup flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

2 cups milk (I used unsweetened almond milk but whatever kind you prefer would work)

16 ounces cheddar cheese; shredded

1 cup nonfat Greek yogurt

1 cup sour cream

2 cups leftover pulled pork (with BBQ sauce already cooked in or add in enough BBQ that the meat looks moist).

To assemble:

First I mixed up the crumb topping. I melted the 1 Tablespoons butter in a Pyrex measuring cup and added the panko crumbs and Italian seasoning. I gave it a good stir to make sure all the crumbs were evenly coated and set it aside.

I set a large pot to boil and cooked the macaroni according to the package directions.  At the same time I began preheating the oven to 350 and pulled out a 13x9 pan that I set aside to use later. 

While the pasta was boiling I started making the cheese sauce. First I melted the 4 Tablespoons of butter over medium heat and whisked in the flour, salt, and sugar to make a roux. Then I slowly poured in the 2 cups of milk and kept whisking until the mixture had thickened.  

Once the milk mixture had thickened, I added in the cheese, yogurt, and sour cream and kept stirring until all the cheese had melted and I had a nice cheese sauce. 

I didn't have BBQ in this bag of pulled pork so I added a bit to my pulled pork and using 2 forks made sure it was nice and shredded and evenly coated in sauce.

Once my pasta was done cooking, I drained it and poured it into a 13x9 pan. Then added the cheese sauce on top. I was worried that the sauce looked too watery but it cooked up perfectly in the oven. 

I used my forks to drop clumps of pulled pork over the top of the macaroni and spread them out slightly trying to make an even layer.

I sprinkled the panko toppings over the whole thing. I covered it up with tin foil and popped it in the oven for 20 minutes before removing the foil and letting it cook another 20 minutes until golden brown and heated through. 

It was bubbling and smelled incredible and the panko crumbs toasted up nicely.

We estimated that the tray would make 9 servings but I had a hard time stopping my boys from eating the whole thing!

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