Baked Mac and Cheese with Tomato and Pesto Topping

A good baked mac and cheese is the perfect choice for any meal. I have loved mac and cheese since I was a kid feasting on the blue boxed kind, but once I discovered what REAL mac and cheese tastes like – and by “real” I mean baked mac and cheese, not boxed – I have developed a whole new love. I’m sharing a dressed up version of my baked mac and cheese thanks to a partnership with Wendy’s Fancy Food Tour and Moon Cheese.

One of my favorite things to do is to find new ways to dress up a basic baked mac and cheese to make it a little more “grown up” and maybe even a little fancy!

Since my basil is going crazy this summer with all of the hot humid weather, I have been making homemade pesto sauce nonstop. My tomato plants are doing really well also and I decided to take all of these garden treasures and make a baked mac and cheese recipe with a fancy tomato and pesto topping.

First, start out with your favorite baked mac and cheese recipe. (If you don’t already have a go-to recipe for this, my friend Courtney has a great one over on Courtney’s Sweets.) I like to make it in mini cast iron skillets.

Next, put drizzle some pesto sauce on top of the baked mac and cheese. If your pesto sauce is too thick to drizzle easily, you can just add a bit more olive oil to thin it out a bit. I freeze mine in plastic bags so I simply thaw and then snip a corner of the bag off to pipe it on.

Next, add some roasted cherry tomatoes to the top. If the weather is nice, I like to put them on a skewer and grill them until there is a bit of charred skin on them. If it’s winter, I just pop them in the oven under the broiler.

This last step is what really sets this baked mac and cheese recipe apart from the rest. Add a tasty crunch to the top by taking some Moon Cheese, crushing it, and sprinkling it on top. Moon Cheese is dehydrated cheese and it conveniently comes in a pesto and sundried tomato variety called “Mix ‘Ems” which is perfect for this recipe. (It also comes in a variety of other flavors including cheddar and even pepper jack.) I simply put some into a plastic bag and gave it a quick once over with the rolling pin.

And now you have a delicious and somewhat fancy mac and cheese!! Enjoy!

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I participated in Mom Blog Tour Sweets & Snacks Expo (#MomBlogTourFF) on behalf of Wendy’s Bloggers.   I received Moon Cheese products to facilitate my post, but my opinion and creative content are my own.