Martha Stewart's Family-Favorite Mac And Cheese Has One Unexpected Addition

Ready to make some delicious and decadent mac and cheese? Before you start, let us convince you to make the dish the Martha Stewart way. After all, if there's anyone who knows how to turn a humble comfort American staple dish into something effortlessly elegant and foolproof, it's Stewart. And not only that, it's one of her mother's favorite dishes and ways to enjoy mac and cheese.

To make your next batch of mac and cheese as Stewart does, as she shared on Instagram, you need to add a common pantry staple: tomato paste. And you can do this with your favorite mac and cheese recipe, as long as it includes the step of making a cheese sauce. All you do is mix tomato paste into the cheese sauce until it's fully incorporated. For a cheese sauce made with about 3 cups of milk and lots of grated white cheddar cheese, Stewart adds 4 tablespoons of tomato paste. This is enough for a pound of uncooked pasta.

The result is a light, salmon-colored cheesy sauce. The mac and cheese is rich, thanks to the cheese, milk, and butter that Stewart adds. However, it's also balanced thanks to the acidity and tang from the tomato sauce, which acts to slice through all that richness. 

Stewart likes to bake her mac and cheese for about 45 minutes and serve it nice and hot, straight from the oven. But if you're crunched for time, you can skip the baking process and finish cooking the mac and cheese over the stovetop. 

Stewart's way of adding tomato paste to mac and cheese already elevates a classic, comforting dish, but there are always ways to upgrade an easy meal further. For example, if you're looking to add a little heat and umami to this dish, consider adding an Asian twist by incorporating gochujang (a Korean fermented chili condiment) or sriracha to the cheese sauce. Just stir it in when you're mixing in the tomato paste. 

Or, let's say you're looking for varied textures. To add some crunch and bite to the mac and cheese, you can stir in Panko (Japanese milk bread crumbs) before baking the dish. You can also top the dish with bread crumbs, as Stewart usually does. Aside from adding texture with bread crumbs, Stewart likes to adorn mac and cheese with a crunchy parmesan topping.