Outback Steakhouse Mac and Cheese Recipe

Published: 10/26/2022 | Updated: 03/27/2024

Outback Steakhouse is renowned for serving sweet and savory dishes. So much so that if you’ve ever had their mac and cheese, you’ll likely wonder how they make it that good and if it’s possible to make it at home.

This is where we come in. We’ll help you recreate the Outback Steakhouse Mac and Cheese, also known as Mac A Roo, on the kids’ menu and its flavorful memories.

The Outback Steakhouse Mac and Cheese is a popular comfort food. Furthermore, Outback has perfected its recipe with rich cheesy flavor and steakhouse seasonings to achieve the steakhouse flair.

How to Make Outback Steakhouse Mac and Cheese

You only require three main ingredients and seasoned breadcrumbs for this recipe. It’s simple, and anyone can make it at home. Plus, it takes 30 to 40 minutes, and you can prepare a large batch and store it for reheating later.

Ingredients

Two cups of macaroni of your choice (shell, elbow, rigatoni, or penne)
¼ cup of shredded Cheddar
¼ teaspoon of paprika
½ cup of heavy cream
10 ounces of Velveeta cheese
Salt and pepper
Paprika
Fresh Nutmeg
Parsley
Onion powder
Brown sugar
Garlic powder
Butter
Breadcrumbs
All-purpose flour

How to Make Macaroni

Step 1

Boil water in a pot and add salt to your liking.

Step 2

Add your macaroni when the water starts to bubble.

Step 3

Switch off your pot and strain all the water. Now, place aside and start working on your breadcrumbs and roux (the process of thickening the sauce.) You can also use store-bought breadcrumbs.

For this Outback Steakhouse Mac and Cheese recipe, we will make the breadcrumbs from scratch at home.

How to Make Breadcrumbs

Ingredients

Country bread
Garlic sun-dried tomatoes
Parsley
Parmesan cheese
Garlic

Step 1

Chop the garlic and put it in the food processor with sun-dried tomatoes and parsley.

Step 2

Trim the country bread and cut it into slices.

Step 3

Put the sliced country bread in the food processor with the garlic and parsley mixture and run the food processor.

Step 4

Add the parmesan cheese and mix in the food processor until you are satisfied with the consistency of the breadcrumbs. Once you are, the breadcrumbs will be good for use and you can freeze them for up to three months.

How to Make Roux/Mornay Sauce

This is a mixture of cheese and milk sauce. With this, you will need to spice it a little and add breadcrumbs.

Step 1

Put butter in a pan on low or medium heat and wait for it to melt. Make sure the butter does not burn.

Step 2

Since butter contains some water, stir it until it stops bubbling. Add half a cup of all-purpose flour while stirring with a whisk to remove the flour’s smell and taste. Add salt, pepper, nutmeg, onion powder, garlic powder, and brown sugar to increase flavor.

Step 3

Add the heavy cream slowly to the mixture while whisking to avoid clumps.

Step 4

Add diced Velveeta cheese into the mixture and stir until it forms a liquid sauce. Velveeta cheese is good since it melts well and fast. Keep the heat low because you will not want the sauce to boil or burn.

Step 5

Now that you have your mornay sauce, put freshly grated cheddar cheese inside a bowl and add the hot sauce until the cheese melts.

Step 6

Put the macaroni into the mornay sauce and combine until it’s all mixed in. Voila! your Outback Steakhouse mac and cheese is done.

Depending on the quantity and number of people, you can eat this mac n cheese as a side dish or as a main dish. If eating as a side dish, add some vegetables to give you more nutritious healthy accompaniments. However, to eat it as a main dish, you need more food options to add depth to your plate.

How Else Can You Spruce up Your Outback Steakhouse Mac and Cheese?

There are unlimited variations to mac n cheese. Thus, you could also add red meat to the recipe to make it a main dish or leftover breakfast, like sausages and bacon. But we’ll go with lobster since Outback Steakhouse adds that to its mac and cheese.

Let’s do the same with a lobster tail to make it similar.

Ingredients

Lobster tail
Butter
Salt
Pepper
Parsley

Step 1

Split the lobster into a pot until it’s almost done, then cut it into small bite-size pieces.

Step 2

Add butter, salt, and pepper to a pan and let it melt.

Step 3

Once the butter melts, add the lobster to the pan and stir until well cooked. When done with the lobster, pour it into the mornay sauce with the mac and cheese and stir it until it’s well mixed. You could add pieces of bacon and breadcrumbs and more cheese if you prefer it that way.

Can You Eat Outback Steakhouse Mac at a Later Date?

Of course. This dish is good to store in the refrigerator for five days and up to two months in the freezer. To this end, we recommend using a microwaveable container and wrapping it in plastic and aluminum foil before you store it in the freezer.

How to Reheat Mac A Roo After Getting It Out of the Fridge

To reheat Mac and Cheese, simply place the packs in your microwave for two minutes, then turn it and repeat until it’s steaming hot. Then, add some milk, stir, and eat while still hot. You could also put it in a pan, add heavy cream, and stir until it’s hot enough to serve.

Final Thoughts

Outback Steakhouse has learned to tame and perfect the American classic, mac and cheese. Hopefully, this recipe will help you make an equally good or better mac and cheese than this steakhouse.

As you have seen, this mac and cheese recipe is simple. You can now bring your favorite restaurant recipe home courtesy of Outback Steakhouse.

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